Innehållsförteckning för November 2021 från Dystinct Magazine

Dr Katrina Merchant Reading The Past Youtube Twitter Instagram TikTok Katrina earned her PhD in early modern literature and culture from the University of Sussex in 2015. She is the creator of the YouTube channel "Reading the Past". Every week she researches, writes, films, edits, uploads, and promotes historical education content to the channel. The channel explores, among other things, biographies (particularly relating to women's history), significant moments in our past and material and textual history. "Reading the Past" has 70,000+ subscribers, 4.2M total views and 895.5K hours of watch time. She is also an educator (for primary and secondary aged visiting school groups) and a live costumed historic interpreter at various heritage sites for Past Pleasures.…

DYSTINCT JOURNEY ROSALIN ABIGAIL KYERE-NARTEY interviewed by ZAHRA NAWAZ Rosalin Abigail Kyere-Nartey is a trailblazer on the path to championing the cause of learning difficulties across the continent of Africa, altering people's perceptions of dyslexic children as just "academically lazy". Rosalin has a story as remarkable as the work she does at Africa Dyslexia Organisation, ensuring that nobody gets left behind in a continent where marginalisation of individuals with learning difficulties at educational institutions and workplaces is still pervasive. Rosalin grew up in Suhum, Ghana, not knowing how to read or write her own name. She regularly ranked at the bottom of her class at the international school she attended, often scoring zero in all her subjects. She was often ridiculed by her family and struggled to make sense of her…

Katie E Squires School-age Assessment and Intervention in Language and Literacy (SAILL) Facebook PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL Katie E. Squires, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCSCL, is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Central Michigan University, where she specializes in child language and literacy, specifically in the area of dyslexia. As a former elementary teacher who became a speechlanguage pathologist, Dr Squires has more than 25 years of experience working with preschool and schoolage children. She has authored peerreviewed journal articles, spoke at state and national conferences, and co-authored a chapter in the Handbook of Language and Literacy.…

HOW WE READ KEEP IT SIMPLE Laura MacGrath For decades, especially leading up to the 2000s, educators and researchers have debated how children should be taught to read and how exactly the process of reading works in our brains. The discussion has been at times intense and impassioned, which is understandable given what is at stake. After all, we live in the age of information where reading is really not optional, meaning those who don’t read well are significantly disadvantaged. For example, Canadian adults in 2012 with “level 4-5” reading skills (able to integrate information from multiple dense texts, using reasoning and inferencing) reported 70% higher household income, compared to those with “level 1” reading skills (able to locate single pieces of information from short texts with basic vocabulary). We all…

Lois Letchford LoisLetchford.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Click here to purchase this book. Lois Letchford's dyslexia came to light at the age of 39 when she faced teaching her seven-year-old non-reading son, Nicholas. Examining her reading failure caused her to adapt and change lessons for him. The results were dramatic. Lois subsequently qualified as a reading specialist. Using her non-traditional background, multi-continental experience and thus her passion to assist failing students, she continues to change teaching methods to ensure all her students become successful readers. Her learning has equipped her with a unique skillset and perspective. Lois continuously engages in reading academic literature, strengthening the connection between research and teaching practice. Her stories have her audiences on edge. Living with dyslexia, Lois overcomes writing challenges--daily. Reversed: A Memoir is her…

In the Spotlight SPOTLIGHT ON interviewed by ZAHRA NAWAZ What do you do at the African Dyslexia Organisation? Our work at the Africa Dyslexia Organisation (ADO) is centred around raising awareness, providing advocacy, and supporting people living with dyslexia in Africa. It also aligns with the Sustainable Developmental Goals of United People Global. What are the countries that the Africa Dyslexia Organisation caters to? For now, we serve Ghana. But we have an initiative called the Africa Dyslexia Ambassadors, where we call out for people interested in being trained in the basics of dyslexia. These ambassadors then do our work in various countries in Africa, spreading awareness about dyslexia until we can travel there and establish a major initiative. Currently, we have five ambassadors in five different countries. Through this initiative,…

Putting the Simple View to Work If we plot the two processes of reading against each other (D x LC), we get a model that shows four possible scenarios of reading ability. Although it differs somewhat from what Gough and Tunmer originally proposed, the model below is based on current understandings of reading difficulties (e.g. Bishop & Snowling, 2004; Adlof & Hogan, 2018). A clear understanding of this model is crucial; it will help us understand the problem and figure out the right solutions. QUADRANT OF READING AND LANGUAGE SKILLS, BASED ON THE SIMPLE VIEW OF READING…

/’evɪdǝns/ Matters FOSTERING RESILIENCE IN CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES Lois Letchford It goes without saying that every person will face circumstances beyond their control at some point in their life. Some people face more obstacles than others and at different times in their lives. And as the saying goes, "It is not what happens to you that counts; it is how one reacts that matters." Lessons in resilience aid children when they "fall" and help them "get up" and be stronger, wiser, and continue to grow. Children with learning differences face challenges earlier in life, more often, and for longer. Such a confronting start to life requires doubled efforts to overcome such challenges. The Merriam Webster Defines resilience as: resilience noun re· sil· ience | \ ri-‘zil-yǝn(t)s 1: the capability…

ADHD LOOKING BEYOND THE CO-OCCURRING LABELS Simon Da Roza One cannot simply 'see' ADHD in a child, adolescent or adult, yet it's widely acknowledged that if you've met one person with ADHD, you've met one person with ADHD. Illustration by Louise Ghossain Each ADHD presentation is unique and demonstrates a variety of strengths and challenges. Perhaps this is one reason why so many myths and misconceptions persist, adding to the tainted community perception of ADHD. In situ, teachers cannot suggest ADHD or co-occurring conditions, nor can they assume a child may have dyslexia just because they have ADHD. However, it's important to understand that the 'disorder' can coexist; but the following conditions often coincide. ADHD has an extensive list of co-occurring conditions; 66-90% is the probable number. Without training and tools,…

DYSTINCT JOURNEY KATRINA MARCHANT Dr Katrina Marchant, historian, YouTuber, researcher and lecturer specialising in modern literature and culture, talks about her experience growing up with undiagnosed dyslexia and how being diagnosed during her doctoral studies helped open up new horizons for her. Before I write about my experience as a dyslexic person, I think it's important that I point out that much of that experience is that of an undiagnosed dyslexic. My diagnosis came quite late on. In fact, I wasn't assessed and diagnosed until I had already started my doctoral studies in my late twenties. So, what was it like to grow up and live as an undiagnosed dyslexic until then, and how has my life been changed and/or improved by the diagnosis? Well, some of my earliest memories…

Kelly B. Cartwright KellyCartwright.com Twitter Kelly B. Cartwright, PhD, is Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Teacher Preparation at Christopher Newport University (CNU), where she directs the Reading, Executive function, And Development Lab (READ Lab) and serves as a Research Scholar for the Center for Education Research and Policy. Kelly’s work explores the development of skilled reading comprehension and the neurocognitive and affective factors that underlie comprehension processes and difficulties from preschool through adulthood.…

Lorraine Hightower LorraineHightower.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Lorraine is a certified Dyslexia Advocate & Consultant and who works with families to support children with dyslexia through the special education process. By working collaboratively with school districts, she has been able to help countless children acquire an appropriate educational plan that allows them to learn and thrive. Through her personal outreach she continues to inform and influence local education leaders, legislators, and community members on best practices for educating children with specific learning disabilities. Lorraine holds a certificate in Special Education Advocacy from the William and Mary Law School and is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). In her role as a state leader with Decoding Dyslexia Virginia, she has been instrumental in affecting local policy…

/’evɪdǝns/ Matters SPEECH ERRORS CAN PREDICT POOR PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS Did you know that there is a crystal ball of sorts that can help predict if a child will struggle with phonological awareness skills? Dr Katie Squires These are the skills that allow a child to manipulate sounds without seeing the corresponding letter. Children demonstrate phonological awareness when they create rhyming words, count the number of syllables in words, and manipulate sounds within words. Long before children start reading and writing, they are engaged in the acquisition of oral language, and it is within this domain that warning signs of poor phonological awareness are first manifested. Children with speech sound disorders have difficulty with the accurate and consistent production of sounds and words and are more likely to demonstrate difficulty with phonological awareness…

Pete Jarrett Tutorum.tech LinkedIn Pete Jarrett is a specialist teacher and assessor with a focus on barriers to maths learning and dyscalculia. He is a founding member and current Chair of the British Dyslexia Association Dyscalculia and Maths Learning Difficulties Committee. He was a member of the SASC/BDA Working Group that wrote the definition and published guidance on the assessment of dyscalculia. Pete writes and presents at conferences globally on barriers to maths learning. Pete is co-founder of Tutorum Technologies, an innovative ed-tech start-up that uses machine learning to improve financial capabilities in precarious populations globally.…

Megan Pinchback DyslexiaOnDemand.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Youtube Megan Pinchback is a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist, Certified Academic Language Therapist, and owner of Dyslexia On Demand, who leads a team of 59 CALTs and ALTs. She holds a master’s degree, has over 10 years’ experience specific to dyslexia, is a Certified Special Education (EC-12) and General Education teacher (1-8) in the state of Texas with 18 years of experience, including leading special education teams and heading ARD/IEP meetings. She is certified by the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), sits on the board of the Austin branch of the International Dyslexia Association, and is considered dyslexia advocate in the state of Texas, who is asked to speak and train at local area ALTA meetings for her peers. She and her company have received…

Simon Da Roza XceptionalLearners.com Facebook Instagram Youtube LinkedIn Pinterest Simon Da Roza, a passionate educator with over 33 years of diverse educational experience as a classroom teacher and currently principal consultant of Exceptional Learners, has advocated and supported the welfare of the disengaged, marginalised, disadvantaged and divergent students. He focuses on empowering children, parents, families and school communities with current philosophy to unlock neurodivergent potential. Simon is a well-established expert in the area of divergent education; he's gaining international recognition for his collaborative, positive approach to help all kids thrive in inclusive educational settings. He's also a fervent advocate for teachers' professional learning to empower them with knowledge. He provides implementable, effective classroom strategies for teachers; these make a tangible difference for neurodivergent children, everyday classrooms, and support teachers' wellbeing.…