The National Literacy Trust are offering the Gift of Reading this Christmas. For as little as £7, you can buy the Gift of Reading gift card for your friends or family and the National Literacy Trust will use the money to give disadvantaged children books to keep. A shocking statistic is that one in seven…
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Master of Arts (Adult Dyslexia Diagnosis and Support)
I am thrilled to have been awarded my Master of Arts degree with distinction from London South Bank University My dissertation examined the link between perceptual talent and dyslexia. It proved to be a fascinating research area as I delved into the different thinking styles between people with dyslexia and people who are not dyslexic.…
Dyslexic spies
‘Dyslexic spies: GCHQ’s secret strategy to tackle terrorism and espionage‘. An article in the Sunday Times this week focussed on how GCHQ is utilizing dyslexic strengths in their work against cybercriminals and terrorists. The case of Alan Turing, the dyslexic cryptanalyst and mathematician who succeeded in breaking the Nazi’s Enigma code during the Second World War, is…
Claymation interviews
I love this short animated, claymation film which features interviews with some very famous (and entertaining) characters! It was produced by art students in Sydney with the support of Marianne Mullally, a Davis facilitator.
UK Davis Dyslexia Programme bursary fund
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Klaire de Lys’s bursary campaign. Once the campaign reached £5000, she fulfilled her pledge and shaved her head. There is an incredibly moving 2-minute video on her blog.
Dyscalculia and the Davis Maths Mastery Programme
Mathematical understanding runs throughout all areas of our lives. It measures change according to a standard and enables us to establish order through the sequential steps, and to assess the result. It is estimated that between 3 and 6% of the population struggle with dyscalculia, an inability to conceptualise numbers and the number facts.
Mandatory phonics test
You will be familiar with recent discussions in the news about the Government’s plans to introduce a mandatory phonics test for all six-year-olds. These plans were the subject of a ‘phone-in on BBC Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme “You and Yours” on 10 April. Six and a half minutes (6:21) into the programme, there is an…
‘Dyslexia Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me’
Donna Flagg, author of Surviving Dreaded Conversations, has written a moving account of her experiences at school and how her success (she now owns and runs two businesses) ‘is directly tied to my ostensible failures of the past, not because of the scars, but because of what I had to learn in order to survive…
SuperReading
I have finished the SuperReading course. It ran over 10 weeks and guaranteed to double my reading efficiency, a calculated relationship between speed and calculation. However, it requires you to practice the techniques for 40 minutes each day which is a considerable commitment. The final results for the dyslexics in my group rose from being…
Post Graduate Diploma in Adult Dyslexia Diagnosis and Support
I was pleased to hear that I have been awarded my Pg Diploma in Adult Dyslexia Diagnosis and Support. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying this section and hope to be able to progress to the MA. However, with the LLU+ unit closing because of the cutbacks, I will need to wait until the next academic year to…