Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Dystinct Magazine

This article is broken into two sections. The first section is about my journey with dyslexia. It describes how I experienced dyslexia in school, pre- and postdiagnosis and how it has affected many areas of my professional and personal life. Ultimately, I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing these days were it not for my dyslexia. The second part of this article talks about elements of my work on how young people, their families and teachers can work together so that young people are supported to thrive in their educational journey and beyond. INSIDE MY OWN DYSLEXIA My journey with dyslexia is absolutely the foundation for why I do the work I do now. There are so many different factors that have nudged me along the way…

Illustrator Abby de los Santos Age 10 Dyslexia San Antonio, Texas, USA Abby is in the fifth grade. She enjoys spending time with her friends and being creative. She loves taking her dog on walks and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Illustrator & Reporter Ava Eldridge Age 9 Dyslexia NSW, Australia Ava loves art, animals, cooking, her family, playing the piano and she really enjoys reading! Her newfound love of aerial acrobatics keeps her busy. Reporter Flynn Eldridge Age 10 Dyslexia & Dysgraphia NSW, Australia Flynn finds reporting fun, sometimes scary, and ultra exciting. Flynn likes to dress up as an old-time reporter and ask a range of questions, as that is his style. Flynn builds loads of different lego creations such as the rainbow, spinning-top…

Amazing app! This app is really wonderful because it spreads awareness to the Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia and Dysgraphia community. They share personal stories and artwork. By sharing those, it really helps people feel less alone and find similarities with others. Definitely check out Dystinct mag! So Informative and Uplifting Dystinct is a brilliant publication. It provides practical articles from specialists that inform and gives really positive insights into SLDs. The fact that it includes the artwork and stories of people with learning differences is so lovely. Great advocacy at work here. Dyslexia Informative, celebratory and up to date. A magazine worth reading for those living with dyslexia, for family members supporting and advocating, for educators and for those pushing for change. Fabulous platform-inspiring content Neurodiversity is every bit as important…

Justine Vilgrain was a turbulent child, constantly getting into trouble with her teachers and parents because of her dyslexia and undiagnosed ADHD. On her own admission, she got kicked out of two schools in Paris, France, before being shipped off to a boarding school in the UK at 14 years. Justine believes that the French education system was not adapted to cater to dyslexic students and that her move to London was a blessing, although she didn't realise it back then. "As soon as reading and writing started at school, everything became problematic. My teacher realised I was dyslexic and told my parents. I got diagnosed immediately at six years, but the teachers still thought I was lazy. Because of my ADHD, sitting still in a chair was not my…

Throughout the course of my seven-year career, I have acquired several tools that enable me to reach Primary(K-2) and Upper Elementary (3-5) students. I understand the logical progression for teaching phonics, the scaffolding of comprehension and embedding writing with all components of reading instruction. However, that was not the case until I met Lee*. Let me tell you the story of Lee and how he changed my reading practice. THE STORY OF LEE* In the fall of 2019, I administered a TPRI (Texas Primary Reading Inventory), which measures decoding, graphemic knowledge (spelling), fluency and comprehension, to Lee, a 2nd-grade student. After testing him on these skills, he could not decode or spell one word, was dysfluent but answered all the comprehension questions correctly. Seeing him struggle with basic foundational skills…

It’s a busy morning at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida. Dr Praba Soundararajan is at his desk, working meticulously through the paperwork for filing patents and licensing the latest inventions at his center. When it’s time for Praba to finish up for the day and head back home, he is excited. His head is brimming with innovative ideas that Pumpus, the pumpkin, Filberta the robot and Filbin the rubbish bin, will take kids on in his next new STEM storybook and hands-on project kit. "The brain is very plastic in the first 10 years of a child’s life, and dyslexic brains are wired differently. You have to approach learning from a different perspective. We live in a text-centric society. Millions of years ago, text didn't exist. Text is a…

Sharon Scurr explains what constitutes the Structured Literacy approach and how being trained in the approach guarantees better student outcomes rather than following a ready-made program. She also warns about being mindful of companies that use wordplay to pass off ineffective programs as genuine Structured Literacy Programs. Who first coined the term Structured Literacy Approach? The Board of Directors at The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) made a landmark decision in 2014 to help promote their approach to reading instruction. The board named this approach "Structured Literacy" and stipulated that it would encompass all approaches to reading instruction that conform to IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards. Today, this successful approach to reading instruction is widely known by many names depending on the location: Orton Gillingham, Multi-Sensory, Explicit Phonics, etc. In different…

There is a certain nostalgia in owning an object that transports you to a bygone era that keeps collectors yearning to find that perfect antique piece to add to their collection. This longing for nostalgia is not entirely limited to older people looking to escape into the golden past. Henry Bates is a 12-year-old vintage enthusiast from Selwyn, Ontario, who has his mind set on owning a bell phone booth and a 1979 Toyota pickup truck. "I am saving up to buy a bell phone booth-you know, the kind where Clark Kent changed into superman and my dream truck, the 1979 Toyota pickup truck… oh and also the 1979 Sony Walkman," shares Henry. Henry’s love for antiques began when his dad, Russell Bates, gifted him a Sony Walkman. Henry listened…

I am sure no one reading this magazine needs to be reminded that word study can be a really stressful time of the day for children with reading and spelling challenges. Highly stressed and anxious students are often so busy negative self-talking that they can't recall what they actually do know about words, and in particular about letter-sound correspondences. All books have words; even wordless books have a title that can be noticed! One way to actively involve students in word study without the stress is through children’s literature. Picture books, in particular, are a lovely entry point, and thankfully there are a lot of gorgeous ones for older children as well as younger ones. Picture books can be shared at home, with the caregiver and child enjoying the text…

TECH ENTREPRENEUR Jacobo Díaz Polo is a tech entrepreneur from the UK. He has a team of developers and dyslexia experts working with him to create a fun and affordable learning solution for dyslexic students. His determination to launch the educational app that he is working on is evident in Jacobo’s networking on social media platforms. I connected with Jacobo on LinkedIn as one of his posts passionately describing his project caught my attention. If it weren't for the young face on his profile picture, I wouldn’t have noticed that the CEO and founder of Activate E-Learning was a 15-year-old. Jacobo shares that he has lived in many countries as his family moves for work every three years. He now lives in the UK. The constant moving around between different…

Human relationships are complicated, as are the variables governing them. I have sat with countless couples and families for counseling. Their presenting concerns have covered a broad range of issues, many of which involve specific events leading to distress. Over the years, researchers have tried to capture the psychological impacts of various events, even to the point of rating them by severity. We all respond to events differently because of our uniqueness and contextual variance. Nevertheless, stressors, by definition, will stress. When a family member is identified as being dyslexic, a natural inclination is to find a remedy immediately. Less often considered is how the dyslexia diagnosis will impact the family system. Academic literature reveals that reading and spelling difficulties negatively impact family relationships. As the parent of a dyslexic…