World Book Day 2010
Next Thursday, March 4th, is World Book day. All school children will receive a £1 Book Day Token to buy one of the special World Book Day books. There will be six books suitable for children from 5 to early teens.
For older readers, there will be ten new titles in the Quick Reads series. These action packed stories are written by bestselling writers and celebrities and range from advice on how to make money work for you to Rolf Harris’ memoires about his childhood pet, Buster Fleabags. All that for just £1.99 each!
Schools’ attitude to dyslexia must change
4 February 2010
There is an interesting article in the Irish Times by Ann Heelan, executive director of Ahead, the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, asking schools to challenge the way they regard children with learning disabilities.
She wrote
‘The economic reality of hi-tech jobs in a fast-changing world means that employers need problem solvers, creative thinkers and technical experts. Many children with disabilities and specific learning difficulties have these skills in spades. They are great outside-the-box thinkers – they see the world differently.
‘They think laterally and make great leaps in understanding, seeing links and connectedness others do not see. Many are highly motivated, having had to negotiate an unwelcoming world.’
She calls for funding to be linked to new rules requiring schools to reflect the mix in the community, including children with disabilities.
You can read the full article at IrishTimes.com
Ealing Dyslexia Association - workshop
Saturday 6th February 2010, 10.30 - 12.00
I will be giving a talk at the Ealing Dyslexia Association as part of their series ‘Methods for Dyslexia’. I have been invited to talk about the Davis methods and run an interactive workshop to show how the creative talents of dyslexics can be used to help overcome their difficulties.
Please come to see how the method works in practice. All are welcome. The talk will last for about an hour and there will be time for questions and talking over tea and coffee as well.
There will be a small charge.
Ealing Centre for Independent Living,
1 Bayham Road (off Bedford Road)
West Ealing
Information Technology - some new ideas
18 January 2010
I went to the BETT (technology in education) exhibition last week and had the opportunity to try out some new software and see what updates had been added to old favourites.
I thought I would select my top 3 things, but even that is difficult as there was so much to choose from. So, in no particular order …
Ginger Software – a add-on spellcheck for your existing word processing software. Rather than just look at the individual word, it checks the entire sentence and ensures that all the words are viable in terms of both meaning and grammar. You can get a 14-day trial copy from http://www.gingersoftware.com/
ClaroReadv5, a text-to-speech programme (standard version only) which is runs directly from a USB stick so you can take it with you and use it on any computer. www.clarosoftware.com
Mantra Lingua TalkingPEN This recorder pen can be used to listen to books and record your own stories. It also lets you create audio files on sticky labels which you can then add into your documents and listen back to them later. Fantastic for making an audio mind-map! The labels are re-recordable and re-usable. There are lots of ‘sound enabled’ books (suitable for ages 2 to 9) that can be used with the pen too. The link to the Mantra catalogue is here.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to you all .
I have had an enjoyable Christmas break and hope that you have too.
I am looking forward to starting a couple of new programmes this month and catching up with the people who I haven’t seen for a few weeks.
Best wishes for 2010.
Sara
Davis Autism Approach
26 November
The Davis Autism site has been expanded with a lot more information about the Davis Autism Approach. It makes fascinating reading and, although there is currently only one person in the UK who has finished their training, there are several others nationwide who are working on the assignments and should finish in the next few months.
Ron Davis’ personal description of his experience as a ‘Kanner’s baby’ and his awareness of how he had to develop a sense of identity and social integration is particularly interesting.
Dyslexia Awareness Week 2009
Dyslexia Awareness Week
1st to 7th November 2009
This year the theme is Dyslexia Strengths.
Wimbledon Books & Music
40 High Street
Wimbledon Village
London SW19 5AU
are supporting the campaign and will be featuring books about dyslexia and
offering advice on how to select a dyslexia-friendly book for your child.
Please visit them to pick up a copy of the leaflet that I put together for them.
unlocking-learning
14 October
I am a member of the Davis Dyslexia Facilitators’ Association (DDFA), a professional association for licensed Davis practitioners, and we have been building a new website over the last few months.
The project has grown over time; it started out as a website to let people search for a Davis Facilitator in their local area but it has developed into a site with information, search facilities and celebrations of the achievements of many Davis graduates.
You will find it at www.unlocking-learning.co.uk
National Poetry Day
8 October
Today is National Poetry Day and here is one of my favourite poems
Digging
To-day I think
Only with scents, - scents dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot’s seed,
And the square mustard field;
Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;
The smoke’s smell, too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.
It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth.
Edward Thomas 878 – 1917
Collected Poems by Edward Thomas is published by Faber & Faber, ISBN: 0-571-11368-0
Adult Dyslexia Diagnosis and Support
18 September
Phew! Just handed in my portfolio for Unit 2 of my ADDS course.
It feels great to be finished - I wont know the results until next month but I think I’ll celebrate the ‘completion’ anyway!