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When you are concerned about your child’s learning and if they are dyslexic, it can be very difficult to know what to do for the best. There can be conflicting advice and it can be hard to decide whether to act on your instincts or take the wait-and-see approach. Well, as with most parental concerns you must trust your instincts.  80% of children with dyslexia are not being identified whilst at school. This means that a great number of dyslexic children are struggling unnecessarily with their learning and their self-esteem and are prevented from receiving the support they need. You need ..read more

Slow processing that is one common feature of dyslexia. It can make learning key skills very challenging and make keeping up with peers in class a real struggle. This can lead children to experience anxiety and frustration and feel less capable than others around them – which is very much not the case. It is a common misconception that the word ‘slow’, especially when used to describe a cognitive function, is a bad thing and is often considered synonymous with a lower level of intellect.  However, this is far from accurate when it comes to processing speed in dyslexics. Archive cabin ..read more

7 Effective Ways to Boost Your Child’s Early Reading Skills When your child does not progress with their learning in primary school it can be a real worry especially in the early years and whilst it is commonly said that children’s reading and spelling skills do tend to even out as they grow do follow your instincts and talk to your child’s teachers.  In the meantime these are a few very effective ways you can help your child to develop their early reading skills at home. 1. Read to them The benefits of reading to your child cannot be underestimated at any age from birth into teenage year ..read more

Approaching your child’s teachers can be very difficult.  You have concerns but don’t want to be too pushy, take up too much of their time, the teacher may not seem approachable and you may not be certain of how to explain your concerns and you may worry that you won’t be taken seriously. As a mother myself I understand this hesitancy only too well, but if you don’t speak up, you may risk your child not receiving the support they need whether they are identified as dyslexic or not. Book a meeting So  the first step is to book in a telephone/ Zoom/ in person meeting with your child’s ..read more

Did you know that over 500,000 adults in the UK have a stammer? This invisible neurological condition, like dyslexia, can literally cripple the confidence of grown men and women everyday, making them feel fearful, embarrassed, ashamed and even stupid at any and all speaking opportunities. This coming Friday (22nd October 2021) is International Stammering Awareness Day 2021 and because chances are you know someone who has a stammer or a stutter (both the same conditions by the way) it’s therefore important that you understand what it means to struggle with talking and how you can help. Having b ..read more

It can be hard to see dyslexia as the positive learning difference that it is when you see your child struggling with their learning. So here’s a few ways that you can rethink how you see dyslexia for the benefit of your child. Three ways to change your mindset to benefit your dyslexic child’s self-belief Explore the limiting beliefs you have around how you see dyslexia. Firstly, you need to think about how you view dyslexia? Maybe you have personal experience of the challenges of it can encompass, perhaps you have struggled in school. Alternatively, you may have simply been conditioned, lik ..read more

Dyslexia is often misunderstood and regularly thought of in a very negative light but what actually is dyslexia? The formal definition regards it as, ‘a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling…Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.’ Rose, 2009. Despite these challenges with traditional education, dyslexia is a cognitive difference that produces unique ways of thinking. Dyslexic people are highly creati ..read more

Have you ever heard someone say ‘I’m not athletic’ or ‘I’m not a maths person’ or even have said something like this yourself? Until relatively recently many people have believed that there are certain aspects of ourselves which will always remain unchangeable, however following years of research, Carol Dweck, the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor at Stanford University, found evidence to demonstrate that human intelligence, creativity, athleticism and other qualities are not fixed straits that we are born with. Instead they can be developed and changed with time and effort using growth minds ..read more

So this is me, Zoë Dinsdale (maiden name) when I was at school myself and before being diagnosed as dyslexic. A walking advertisement for my mother’s fine hairdressing skills! I grew up not far from where I live now in rural South Norfolk although I travelled and lived in a number of other parts of the world before coming ‘home’. I struggled a lot at school with reading, writing and recall. Often being frustrated by the nonsensical nature of the English language. As a (later diagnosed) dyslexic child, I not only needed things to make sence before I learnt them, I also needed to understand why ..read more