Archive


Archive of material that may be no longer current but still of some use for reference.


The information contained within the articles on this site does not imply any specific recommendation by the SDA.



Letter from the Chairlady, December 2007

Dear Member

Thank you for your continued support last year. I hope that the events and literature sent out have proved interesting and useful to you. The volunteers who gave their time and effort have been invaluable.

Following our meeting with our local MP Daniel Kawczynski, we have achieved a positive outcome. I have recently received the following correspondence:

"For your information we are looking into funding at the present time. Daniel has also written to the secretary of state for school children and families looking for testing for dyslexia to be compulsory at primary school.When we have a response I will let you know."

"Daniel has also asked for a meeting with the minister to try to obtain extra funding for Shropshire schools part of which could be used towards extra support for children with dyslexia."

His office has supplied us with a number at county to whom we can refer and that is Jan Lane, Head of Behavioural Support and Inclusion tel. 01743 264323.

I hope you feel that the SDA is a worthwhile charity and will continue to support it. Attempts are made to deliver a programme which addresses the needs of dyslexic children, adults and their families, and professionals who help dyslexics. There are reduced rates at events for members and the AGM is free for members.

Our next big event, arranged jointly with PATOSS, is taking place at Oswestry School. The guest speaker will be David Crystal, the internationally renowned linguist. The price for this event will be £5 members and £10 non-members. It will take place on Monday 17th March 2008. Further details will appear in the January SDA Newsletter.

Subscriptions pay for affiliation to the British Dyslexia Association which includes payment for their three times yearly `Contact' magazine. You will receive at the same time a copy of the SDA Newsletter with local information. The subscription also pays for the office in the Roy Fletcher Centre plus stationery and telephone calls.

The 2008 subscriptions due in January are:
Families / individuals £20
Schools £35
Concessions £10

Subscriptions are half price if joining takes place from June to December.

Please send the enclosed form with your subscription to arrive during January so that the next 2008 Newsletter and Contact magazine can be sent to you. These will include further details of forthcoming events.

We are at present investigating obtaining funding from various bodies and have a very pro-active member spearheading the campaign, but any further thoughts or help on this direction would be appreciated. Also if you would like to join the committee or have any ideas for future events etc please contact me I will be more than happy to hear from you.

I look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Yours sincerely

Beverley Brown Chairlady SDA

MA in special education, Diploma in Dyslexia (D.I.), SpLD APC (patoss), Cert Ed., AMBDA



First Class Honours for Local Dyslexic(pre08)

Dyslexic Kate Mead was recently awarded a first class BA Honours degree in Textile Design (Embroidery) at Birmingham University of Central England. Kate attended William Brookes School in Much Wenlock

and also the Shrewsbury Dyslexia Workshop.

In this issue's insert, Kate shares the tips that helped her at college and university.

Very well done Kate and thank you.

Carol Goodhew


DYSLEXIA AND THE LAW (pre08)

A very interesting and informative talk was given at Shirehall on 7th November by Bryony Walker, a partner with Mortimers of Bridgnorth. She specialises in the field of family and educational law and has personal experience of living with a child with Special Educational Needs.

Bryony skilfully explained how the Special Needs Code of Practice is used in schools. She stressed the importance in the first place of communication between schools and parents.

If communication breaks down or the child fails to make progress, the parents or the school may wish to apply to the LEA for a Statutory Assessment of the child with a view to obtaining a 'Statement of Educational Need'. Usually, the dyslexia needs to be profound to receive this.

A 'statement of need' outlines the learning difficulty of the individual and the resources allowed for additional help either in school or in another educational establishment if the needs cannot be met in mainstream education.

Many applications from parents are turned down and there is a possibility of appealing the decision of the LEA at a tribunal. Bryony outlined the procedure, stressing the need to ensure there is a 'paper trail' at each stage.

Having a child with Special Educational Needs can be very stressful and she recommends keeping records of letters, assessments and meetings with LEA etc.

If anyone needs to discuss this area further contact the SDA office, helpliners or Bryony herself at Mortimers.

Joy Armstrong

 

Vital Issues: Employment and the Adult Dyslexic(pre08)

A twilight meeting was held at the Roy Fletcher Centre on the 10th July. This was hosted by Ann Pierce who is the Disability Support Officer from 'Job Centre Plus'.
Ann explained that through a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), a locally based trained specialist, people affected with dyslexia can be helped to find and keep work.
Once contact has been made, job centre staff can arrange for assessments and provide an 'Action Plan' in which training, advice to employers and job seeking can be undertaken by 'matching' job seekers to appropriate employers.
She maintained that all levels of support can be continued and financial help can be given to employers if specialist equipment or training is required.
She gave a FREEPHONE helpline number which can be used to set up an appointment with a DEA.
Helpline Number: 0800 032 1181

Joy Armstrong

Dyslexia and Visual Perceptual Difficulties(pre08)

I work as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired for the Sensory Inclusion Service. Due to visual perceptual difficulties within my family, I became interested in the visual difficulties faced by children with dyslexia. I assess children who have visual perceptual difficulties; this can include distortion of print, poor visual memory and difficulty with complex images. These perceptual difficulties can impact greatly on ability to read, copy from the board and navigation around a complex work sheet. Many children also have Meares Irlen Syndrome, which is a sensitivity to glare from white paper, white boards and interactive boards. Visual perceptual difficulties occur frequently in children with dyslexia, the autistic spectrum, dyspraxia and ADHD; these neurologically often overlap too.

The first step to checking for visual difficulties is to take your child to an Optometrist to rule out any refractive errors that may need correction with glasses. If there are still problems, you can ask for either referral through your GP to the Orthoptic department or referral to the Sensory Impairment Service. We take referrals through the school SENCO; I will arrange to visit your child with a parent/carer present. I take a full background history of the visual difficulties from a parent and teacher. I look at the seating position in class, samples of handwriting and current reading books. I use the Arnold Wilkins Colour Overlay Assessment and assess rate of reading both with and without an overlay. If I consider the child/young person would benefit from an overlay or needs further investigation I will refer directly to the Orthoptic department at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for eye movement/colorimeter assessment. I also write a report with recommendations for school and parents.

The use of a colour overlay/tinted specs is not a cure for dyslexia but helps to improve visual perceptual difficulties. Undiagnosed dyslexia needs investigating through the school SENCO/ LSAT. Dyspraxia needs assessment by an Occupational Therapist and the CAHMS team diagnoses autistic spectrum disorders, both routes need referral through your GP.

Georgina Barre, Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired Sensory Inclusion Service, The Glebe Centre
Glebe Street, Wellington.

Access Arrangements(pre08)
Access Arrangements for school children taking public exams.
Prepared by Pat Stokes-Smith
See ARTICLES

Your Library Service(pre08)
Did you know that you can now go online at: www.shropshire.gov.uk/library.nsf to
- join the library
- find out which books, music, films...are in the library service (All the Harry Potter books are available to borrow in large print and on tape/CD read by Stephen Fry)
- see what you've got out on loan/renew or reserve items.

You'll need to get a PIN to do some of these things. You can get this from the library. Do tell us if there's something you want that isn't in stock. We'll do our best to get it for you!

Joining is free. You can borrow up to ten books and up to six other items such as DVDs or CDs. If you or another member of your family is dyslexic, you can get a special library ticket which allows you to borrow items for longer. Just ask at your library for further details.

Surf the web for free using broadband internet access (with parents' permission) and look out for special activities, especially in the school holidays.
Please tell us what you think about your library, especially your ideas for making it better. We want everyone to enjoy using the library.

Barrington Stoke books
Barrington Stoke is a wonderful publisher of children's books for dyslexic readers -and everyone else aged 8+! They publish short and exciting stories by top writers such as Michael Morpurgo, Terry Deary, Malorie Blackman and Jeremy Strong. The books are printed using a special secret font on cream paper. This makes them easier to read.
Barrington Stoke consult with young people like you to get their books just right. Maybe you'd like to be one of their consultants? For more information, log onto: www.barringtonstoke.co.uk.
Anne Williams

'Wordshark' in Libraries(pre08)

Following recommendations through SDA about the usefulness of the spelling software 'Wordshark', Shropshire libraries at Oswestry, Shrewsbury (Main). Shrewsbury (Information), Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Harlescott, Market Drayton, Craven Arms, Broseley and Ellesmere have installed the package in their children's computer sections. The software is great fun to use, it covers a wide range of spelling levels and is a most useful revision tool. Do try it out!

Thank you to the Children's Library staff for their work to obtain this facility.

C.Goodhew

 

The Dyslexic Child as a Whole Child(pre08)

As part of our AGM on the 29th June at the Malthouse in Atcham, we welcomed an interesting and thought provoking discussion on the holistic approach to dyslexia.

Terry Hobday traced her background through being a concerned mother of a dyslexic son to training as a special needs teacher. She noticed that many of her pupils had a variety of other issued such as allergies and emotional problems. In an effort to help she continued training in the fields of nutrition and kinesiology.She found that for children to learn and to be psychologically and neurologically healthy they need:

A) a good nutritious wholefood diet with regular meal times.

B) plenty of water and sleep.

C) lots of playtime.

D) a secure and stable homelife.

Particularly important for dyslexics she found were good levels of trace minerals which are vital for psychological functioning (magnesium, selenium). In some cases there can be wheat and dairy intolerances and levels of preservatives and additives need to be reduced or stopped. Terry found that treating dyslexic children in this holistic way working alongside special education, led to marked improvement in their literacy and learning skills.

Joy Armstrong

Calling All Parents/Carers(Jan08)(modified Feb09)

Parents Survey on Dyslexia
Calling all parents. If you have a child who has Specific Learning Difficulties, including dyslexia, please consider filling out our Parents Survey. Simply go to the Homepage of the BDA website at
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk. Please be assured that the survey does not ask you to give any personal details and is therefore completely anonymous. The results will help provide statistics and evidence to persuade Government to take the needs of dyslexic children in the UK seriously. Thank you.

For more information and contact details see website:

Local Education Authority Contact(Jan08)

The SDA has been trying to find a helpful person to contact within the Local Education Authority, so that concerned parents can have direct contact to discuss their situation. At the time of printing, you can call:
Jane Lane
Head of Behaviour Support and Inclusion
Also:
Jayne Corns
Education Advisory Service
Please contact the Roy Fletcher Centre for current telephone and email details.
Beverley Brown and Joy Armstrong had a recent meeting with Jayne to discuss the SDA’s concerns on dealing with dyslexia in schools and also to update her on the many calls we receive on our helpline, regarding parent worries. Jayne confirmed that she was happy to hear from our members regarding the educational support available to children in schools.

From Janet Price to all SDA members and supporters who sponsored my swim on 3rd August. (Oct09)
I am pleased to say that I completed 70 lengths, exceeding my target by ten lengths. Although beset by leg cramps in the preceding days, I felt super-charged on the actual day and could have done even more if I’d had to! I must have been fired by the responsibility and the fact that my husband, Geoff and two neighbours were there to verify my counting because a few days later I struggled to do half that number! To date I know that £263 has been pledged, and the final figure is likely to be higher. Thank you very much to everyone for your generous support. The proceeds will be used to purchase much needed resources to benefit the children who attend our workshops.