If you are loking for support for Dyslexia In Children On the West Coast of Victoria, then have a look at this news article

Jillian Zocher of Wamberal recently started the Central Coast Dyslexia Association which provides information about dyslexia and advocates for changed attitudes to the condition.

http://express-advocate-gosford.whereilive.com.au/news/story/group-to-tackle-dyslexia/

Last week I had the privaledge of interviewing Reece Gains. Reece who is dyslexic, has just completed 6 years at university, even though he doesn’t put reading, writing or spelling at the top of his ‘favourite things to do list’. Reece has a high intellect, like many individuals with dyslexia and used technology instead to get through his university courses as well as the option of part time study to reduce his workload. Reece tells me that technolgy to assist dyslexics is readily available in universities and TAFEs, but not in our schools. Now Reece is back working in the state education system as a social worker. He told me in his role he is often called in to assist children with challenging and difficult behavior and in nearly all instances it can be traced back to a difficulty with learning including Dyslexia In Children. Reece is certainly well placed to understand their issues.

Reece has assisted the Disability Liason Unit at Royal Melbourne Iinstitute of Technology (RMIT) to create some ‘how to’ videos for Dragon Speaking Naturally and Text Help, which you can find on the link below.

http://rmit.com.au/browse;ID=yz2m3m7es9qw

This link will take you to the home page of The Disability Liason Unit of RMIT. On this page you will find the heading

-Technology we offer to aid your studies.

Dyslexia In Children
With over 100 people on the waiting list to attend the recent May LD conference, National Disability Coordination Officer and convenor Jill Sears had pulled out all stops to repeat the conference on Thursday June 23 so more people can attend and access the amazing and up to date information on dyslexia. Funded by DEEWR this conference is well worth attending and costs only $70 to attend for the whole day.

Speakers include

Commissioner Helen Szoke who tells us why lack of recognition of Dyslexia has become an Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Issue here in Victoria, Australia.

Dr. Helen Bourke Taylor who has recently completed a revealing study on the health and participation of mothers of children with a disability.

Joanne Webber who as a past NDCO has 15 years experience with LD. Joanne is just finalising her PHD studies which explore the transition of students with LD into higher education.

Audiologist Sharon Cowan who demostrates the newest classroom technology for kids with auditory processing difficultes.

And too many more to mention Please see all the details in my recent newsletter for the seminar with booking details, attached to this newsletter. I will be in attendance and will be contributing to the panel discussion and available to answer any questions you have for me.

A repeat of the Learning Disabilities Conference is to be held in Melbourne, Australia later this month on June 23rd. CalledEngage and Empower, it will be 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 the May brochure attached below. The line up remains the same, but the venue has changed to accommodate more attendees. You can use the same TryBooking link on the electronic brochure to book your seats for the June conference. I hope to see you there.

Dyslexia In Children

Dyslexia In Children

Dyslexia In Children
Do you have a child or children with dyslexia who are increasingly unhappy at school. Are they not getting the support for dyslexia to help them progress. Have you tried talking to the school teachers and headmaster and are still not getting the help that is required to help your children. Are you now needing to change schools and need some help working out how to go about finding a new school for your children. 

If this is you, here are some suggestion that may help.

Go into the members area of the website Helping Children With Dyslexia and look at the Educational Psychologists I have listed in your state, who can assess for dyslexia and ring them directly to ask them if they know of any schools that offer support to children with dyslexia.

Each state Education Dept employs Ed Psychs to assess and support children attending state schools. These individuals can assess for dyslexia. I would try to locate the one in your area and ask this question of them. Your school principal should know who this person is or ring the principal at your local state school if yours child currently goes to a private school. There is also a head Ed Psych for state schools who manages all the ed psychs in your regions and some times the whole state. Locate them and speak to them too.

Specialist tutors who can assist children with dyslexia often see a lot of children and can give you some insight into which schools are best.

Another avenue is to try your local state education office. Ask to speak to someone who is knowledgeable in the area of learning difficulties or learning disabilities who can offer you some suggestions.

You have also got the option of contacting you local NDCO National Disability Coordination Officer. They usually know what is happening in our schools.

It is my experience that some Christian based schools can be more student welfare orientated and can offer better support to children with dyslexia. I hear mixed reports about all types of schools, but hear more good than bad. Most private schools have good structures in place to support children with dyslexia. When you pay for a private school education you are purchasing a product, that is education. A majority of private schools do not announce their programs to the public, but they exist all the same. Ring and speak to the head of learning support directly and gauge the reception you get. This will give you a pretty good idea.

You will also find many more helpfully strategies in the book Helping Children With Dyslexia

Dyslexia In Children

How do you go about obtaining these provisions?

It is a case of just knowing your rights. It seems everyone is in the dark including most of our teachers and principals. I was speaking to an NDCO (National Disability Coordination Officer) recently and she told me that the way it is worded within the Educational Standards of the Federal Disability Act makes it clear that a child with dyslexia cannot be discriminated against. The same rules apply to a child with a physical disability who is perhaps in a wheelchair and needs a special desk provided for them to work at. If a child with dyslexia needs a scribe, tinted paper, an audio book or a text reader for example, it should be provided so they are not discriminated against when it comes to accessing the age and class appropriate curriculum and class content. There have been court cases over this exact thing.

The best idea is to try and work with your school and teachers to provide the best educational outcome for your child, but if you are continually hitting roadblock you are well within your rights to mention the Disability Act. It states quite clearly that individuals with dyslexia or a learning disability cannot be discriminated against. I know of some parents who have spoken to their state education office about the provisions for their dyslexic children in schools and have seen improvements in what is provided, however this can also cause friction if not handled correctly. You must always ensure (if possible) that you stay on good terms with all parties for the sake of your child’s ongoing education.

Dyslexia In Children can be tough… But…. Watch This

There are many learning programs available to help support Dyslexia In Children. It can be very hard to know which course is best suited to your child and different courses will suite different children.

In regard to which course to choose. There are a few things to consider. The first place I look as to which is the best path to take with my children is to consider their diagnostic reports. I look for two things, their major weakness areas and major strengths areas. I then try to choose a program that uses my child’s strengths to overcome their weaknesses. They will have greater learning success if you use this formula. The programs I choose is always based on this concept. If you need some advice to understand your dyslexic child’s report seek help and advice from the person who conducted your assessment. This kind of advice should be provided without extra charge.

There are many programs available to help children with dyslexia and many are worthwhile. It is a good idea to find a program that is proven to work well, as some programs are better than others for certain children. You need to choose the one that suits your child the best. The way they like to learn, the best time of the day to take in new information and how the program will fit your families lifestyle. Do you want to go to a tutor once, twice, three time a week or have a program you can use at home which can be done before school? Whichever way you choose to go make sure your child’s teachers are kept well informed as to what you have decided to do and how they can help you to help them when they are at school. If you work together as a team your dyslexic child will feel fully supported and begin to become more confident. Remember doing something with them each day is better than once a week. In my experience it generally takes a child three weeks to get into a program and see results for themselves, and this is very important as they must become motivated and responsible for their own effort if they are to achieve personal success. Once this begins to happen they will be keen to continue.

While all this is going on I try to read to my children every night or share a book. Tonight with my son we took turns reading a sentence each. Another great option is audio books from the library which are age and interest appropriate for your child. This will help to expand their vocabulary while giving them motivation to learn to improve their reading. It also increases word processing rates as they follow the words with their eyes as the audio is read to them. There are a lot more ideas in the books too.

If you know of a learning program that works well you can let everyone know by posting a comment on this blog. Helping Children With Dyslexia Blog