I have just qualified in Developing Writing Skills in Adults with Dyslexia (Level 5) with Dyslexia Action. It was particularly interesting to explore how people typically acquire and develop writing skills, and why this is more difficult for a dyslexic adult. It was also useful to pick up some new ideas for support strategies, and have contact with other specialist tutors.
The Davis Attention Mastery Programme introduces strategies to control attention focus and overcome behavioural, or organizational difficulties. The programme includes the exploration of concepts, such as consequence, sequence and order, which enables individuals to develop an understanding into their self-created barriers.
Working with a client on these concepts always results in me having a good re-organisation of my own work environment once they have left. Lockdown2 has presented the perfect opportunity for me to ‘create order’ in my desk.
In the early summer I was contacted by a mother who had been told by the school that that her daughter, Jessie aged 7,was two years behind in her reading and playing up. So we embarked on the Davis Reading Programme for Young Learners, a learning enhancement programme which builds confidence with the alphabet and develops accurate reading skills.
During the holidays, I worked directly with Jessie, and provided guidance to her mother who also worked with her at home. Her mother worked with her regularly throughout the summer while taking care to keep the sessions fun. Her dedication and commitment is reflected in the change in Jessie’s reading and writing, and highlights the importance of good parental support for these programmes.
Jessie returned to school with enthusiasm. I was thrilled to hear that her teacher, who also taught her last year, is planning to move her up a set in her reading and support groups, and commented that it is very rare to see this progress. Congratulations to Team Jessie!
Jessie created a model of a log to represent ‘a’ and then practiced writing her words.
This practical online six-session course will run in the evenings 7:30 – 9:30.
The course starts by discussing how dyslexic people think and learn, how their perceptual gift can also cause a problem and suggests ways to optimise the home learning environment. It then provides strategies for improving reading comprehension and explores the role of creativity in learning.
This is done through a mix of short presentations, interactive discussions and plenty of practical exercises to provide techniques that can be used to support your child.
Terrific set of podcasts by Fish Don’t Climb Trees which shed light on the ‘gift’ of dyslexia, not the ‘dys’ in dyslexia. Perhaps I’m biased as I’m featured in the 4th one which discusses the connection between perceptual talent (the gift part) and dyslexia – but have a listen to them all and see what you think. The Podcasts are part of The Whole Dyslexia Society’s campaign to bring about knowledge and understanding, and hopefully a change in our education system, which they hope will bring about a cognitive equal opportunity for all.
Great news that PictureGrammar is now available for Android phones. This clever dictionary gives a visual meaning to nine parts of speech and includes more than 150 illustrated definitions of the most common adverbs, determiners, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. It’s less than £2.50 so great value to support Symbol Mastery.
I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my first online Why Ty for Parents course. I hope to run another one in the Autumn so please contact me if you are interested.
The course runs over six sessions and gives a good understanding of the Davis methods and how you can support your child. It starts by exploring the idea of a threshold for confusion, how this leads to disorientation and how we can alleviate this by using the Davis tool of ‘Release’. It goes on the explore how ‘perceptual talent’ can cause a problem for picture-thinkers as disorientation, conflict of sensory information, can cause a learning difficulty.
Learning must be active and incorporate pictures, words, and creative personality. The course participants experience this active and creative learning through the medium of plasticine. Some words lack strong mental image, and this can have implications for reading if you rely on mental imagery to remember or understand things. The course introduces how you can use Symbol Mastery to fill those gaps, and a Davis reading technique that uses mental imagery. We looked at how these techniques can be used with fiction, and then moved onto using them for factual texts and school work. This technique aids discovery of unknown areas and provides a strong long-term memory of mastered texts. The course also had Q&A sessions with specialists and Richard Whitehead, author of the book Why Tyrannosaurus But Not If?
The course was well received, one parent wrote:
Great for parents who really are feeling at a loss as to how to approach helping a dyslexic child. Helps understanding of the challenges facing the child and provides an insight into solutions to help them access the written word.
If you would prefer to find out more about the Davis Methods by watching short videos rather than reading, subscribe to Carl Nigi’s YouTube channel ‘Overcoming Dyslexia’. He adds a new post every couple of weeks.
“She is doing well this term, very motivated and enjoying school and homework … We are really pleased with her progress and the summer has made an enormous difference, so thank you.”
- Mother of 9 year-old girl
“Since doing these courses I have improved my confidence in my job, instead of holding back now I have had the confidence to organise things better and to put myself in different situations.”
- DF (58 years old)
“{five years ago} my daughter spent a week … on your program. Over the last few years I’ve seen her make quantum leaps... I will always be eternally grateful to you for making that difference in A’s life.”
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“I am so grateful to have found the Davis approach... her reading skills have soared – she is already sounding so much more fluent. A heart-felt thank you to you for your wonderful input so far.”
- Mother of eleven year-old girl
“He takes his Koosh balls to school in a little bag he made for them and teaches all his friends to play!! He thinks that making clay models is the solution to all reading problems and is very ready and willing to show all his mates how it’s done!”
- Mother of 13 year-old boy
"I got 100% for my exam and the highest in the class. I’m so proud of myself and thrilled that all my hard work paid off. … Thank you once again."
- S (aged 28)
“I had especially wanted to contact you at the end of last term to tell you how well N had done ...We have stayed off the Ritalin and tried hard to implement the habits of the Davis method. It seems to be paying off.”
- N (10) had goals to improve his reading and reduce his headaches
"I have really learnt a lot about my dyslexia and how it effects me over our sessions. I have learnt many helpful techniques to manage it and I certainly feel more confident about it now."