Australian Dyslexia Update – New Funding Announcement
You will be happy to read the following News Story below in the link which I received just moments ago, which will hopefully provide assistance for Dyslexia In Children in our schools.
I would like to think that we all had something to do with today’s announcement by Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
The secretariat of the educational funding review for disabilities told me personally that there had been a large number of submissions from families, educators and professionals requesting funding for dyslexia. Thank you for your support. This is a great start. I will keep you posted as more information comes to hand.
You will be pleased to read this–News just 40 minutes old!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/03/3206527.htm?section=justin
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/03/3206527.htm?section=justin
You will also be pleased to know about a Learning Disabilities Conference, which is to be held in Melbourne, Australia later this month on May 26th. Called Engage and Empower, it has been convened by NDCO, Jill Sears. Jill has organised a great line up of experts and professionals to speak about ways to enable students with learning disabilities to realise their potential in education. See their contact details below. You can ask them to email you a brochure on the event. I hope to see you there.
Enquiries
Melissa Brown – Gateway LLEN
Tel: (03) 9285 4844
mbrown@gatewayllen.com.au
Jill Sears – NDCO
Tel: 03 99255269
Jill.sears@rmit.edu.au
PLEASE REGISTER BY 20TH MAY*.
Categories: Helping Children With Dyslexia
This is a good start but the news article does not mention dyslexia only the following autism, sight and hearing impairment, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and Fragile X syndrome which are all recognised as disability’s and if dyslexia is not recognised as a disability then how are children with it going to get any help.
Hi Nigel, You are right it doesn’t specifically mention dyslexia and the devil is in the detail. However…. by the Federal Governments own admission (within the Federal Disability Act), Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia are considered disabilities. This funding is minimal and will not go far, but it is a start to recognising that students with disabilities in our schools require more funding. Hopefully there will be more to come. And another point, I actually don’t consider my children to be disabled, they are in fact super smart it is our school system that is disabled. I just use this term because it is the only way I can protect their interests within the limitations of the education system.
Regards Liz Dunoon
@Liz Dunoon
Hi liz
I agree we do not consider my son to have a disability, just has a different way of learning and he too is very smart and has been tested to show he is in the top 5% of his age group, he just cannot write his thoughts down on paper and does not fit into what a school regards as normal.
Hopefully this is just the point of the wedge that opens the door to more funding and support for these kids.
Regards
Nigel
I agree with Nigel , great start, but the omission of the word dyslexia certainly worries me. I live in NSW and at the grass roots level, dyslexia is certainly not recognised officially as a learning difficulty let alone a disability. I was told by our school counsellor that my child’s symptoms just don’t fit into any funding criteria and that the department does not recognise ‘Dyslexia’. Which seems very contradictory when the NSW board of studies allows children’s with Irlens Syndrome to apply for special provisions during tests like Naplan and HSC.?? I am also of the understanding that it is the school’s decision as to whether coloured paper will be used on a daily basis in class. We are lucky, my 3 talented dyslexic children do go to a public school where the staff are recognising their dyslexia and we are allowed to use coloured paper, and the teachers do change the colour background of the smartboard. I feel for those who go to school’s in this state where the school is not so open to these small adjustments in how they present lessons.