Growth Through Learning
Introduction
Helpline (01743 231205)
Offering both general and specific advice. The office is routinely manned on Wednesdays between 10am and noon. If the office is not manned a recorded message will provide a 'duty' helpliner to contact.
SDA Committee Members
2008
Chairwoman: Beverley Brown
Secretary: Joy Armstrong
Treasurer: John Mitchell
Carol Goodhew
Ian Tyler, Royce Mitchell
Kris Prince, Helen McMahon
Belinda Hutchinson-Smith
Dominique Creighton, Karen Fidler
Conferences and Talks
Given by experts in their own fields.
Assessments and Screening
Diagnostic assessment and screening is available by qualified specialist assessors. This can be provided for both adults and children. Contact the office for details.
Workshops
Tailored One-to-one tuition for dyslexics. These run during term times at Shrewsbury, Telford and Church Stretton.
Library
In our office, we hold a good range of teaching reference books for specialist teachers, as well as dyslexia related topics for parents and reading books for children.
2008 S.D.A. membership fees
are as follows:
Families or individuals £20 per year
Concessions £10 per year
Schools £35 per year
Renewal of membership is in January
Membership is very important to us; it helps us to keep the issues relating to dyslexia in the public eye, enables us to run teaching workshops and provide help and advice.
What is Dyslexia?
The word ‘dyslexia’ has been coined from the Greek and literally means ‘difficulty with words’. The old way of describing it was ‘word blindness’ – an inability to read letters and numbers in the right order – but that’s far from the whole picture.
Dyslexic people can experience difficulties with organisation and short term memory. In addition to problems with reading, spelling and writing, dyslexic people may:
* confuse directions, muddling left and right or up and down
* find it hard to remember a list, dates or times
* have difficulties following a sequence – days of the week, a map of the London Underground or alphabet order.
How can you recognise dyslexia?
A PRE-SCHOOL CHILD MAY…
* have difficulty learning nursery rhymes
* enjoy being read to but shows no interest in letters or words
* be accused of not paying attention.
A PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD MAY…
* have particular difficulty with reading and spelling
* put letters and figures the wrong way round
* leave letters out of words or put them in the wrong order
* have difficulty following instructions
* find it hard to remember multiplication tables
* have difficulty pronouncing words
A YOUNG PERSON AGED 12 OR MORE MAY…
* still read inaccurately
* still have problems spelling
* have difficulty planning and writing essays
* have poor confidence and self-esteem.
AN ADULT MAY…
* read slowly and have to re-read several times before understanding
* miss out lines and confuse words that are similar * make spelling mistakes
* dread giving and receiving complicated instructions
* have problems with personal organisation
Dyslexia and the individual
Today dyslexia is viewed as a combination of abilities and difficulties.
Dyslexic people often have good problem-solving skills, enhanced creativity and they may excel in the arts, design, architecture and computing.
All dyslexics will have their own pattern of what they can do easily and what they find difficult.
While dyslexia cannot be cured, individuals can be helped to overcome their problems while allowing their abilities to shine.
Your local Dyslexia Association is able to offer practical help to individuals and their families.
It also seeks to increase awareness amongst those who have a professional interest in this condition.
The web page was established in 2001.