You are doing a great job! I love your videos they are brilliant to watch.

Just watch your video it was such a joy to watch, your a Natural Pav on Video.

Your encouraging words are going to help other Dyslexic Children, who better than yourself to assist them.

Keep them coming they are Inspiring just what dyslexic children and their parents need.

Great work pav

Best wishes

Ann

Keep up the great work

All the best,

Antonio

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I would like to view the green,brown, yellow, etc. videos, but when I click on these videos, it says, try back
later, when will these videos become available for viewing.

Thank you

much love,

Anne L.

Many Thanks
Hayley

We will be linking ‘Play’ buttons with the videos as soon as we release them.

Thanks for your kind words

I just watched your videos and was delighted that you could communicate so well on the subject. I too have traveled this road, though I did learn to read and write, got a degree at 25 yrs, and a couple of masters in my 40′s. Unemployment has been more of a hallmark on my personality than dyslexia, but of course the two are related. I even found filling out all those unemployment forms a nightmare and a couple of times experienced real poverty as a result, with my daughter, a child then. I was just considered ‘wierd’ wherever I went. And later my daughter was diagnosed as dyspraxic, with severe language processing difficulties, but it took me till she was nine years old before I got the school to acknowledge that she had a problem. That only happened because this very important psychologist took us on for a low fee, though she usually charged fees that were far beyond me. She taught my daughter to read very well, but she never learned to write, till she got a keyboard. Now she is literacy FIT, but the scares remain. Though she has a great personality, and fighting spirit, like yourself.

I am in the middle of my PHD on writing and dyslexia: What is the impact of not learning to read on development and performance of writing? I too have had a real struggle with the material, with every second line saying ‘disordered, dysfunctional, deficit, difficulty, atypical’ and feeling that the label of disability is inappropriate; that dyslexia is a construct imposed on the bearer of the label, and a cover for the inadequacies of the education system force-feeding us the reading-writing system, that is not natural, but again another construct. The theories of how to teach it only add to the concept of dyslexia being an ‘abnormality’. And my perspective cost me my job on several occasions. Now I am trying to run my own business, but it is hard to go against the political grain, the huge combine that is the education system.

So, I have been struggling with that. Empowerment is a good word for it, but as I have been a university tutor and assessor of dyslexic students for 8 years, and belonging to various bodies who regulate the trade, I have had a real struggle with the social construction of dyslexia too, in education networks especially.

At present I am struggling with where my loyalties lie, and the bank manager, as per usual. I would love to have a chat. Let’s skype.

Aileen

Sandra, could you tell us abit more about the text to speech function on iPad? Can you personalise the voice or what is it like?
My son is going into high school and someone suggested a kindle, so he could scan his assignments
into a file, load it onto kindle and have it convert to speech. Would the iPad do this as well do you know?
And has anyone any recommendations for specialised spell checkers? Do we know if they work on the iPad yet?
My son finds vowels impossible so the usual spell checks never work for him.
Any tips anyone?

Thanks

We organize his work in ihomework.

With regards to his courses in school, we look up the topics he is doing in iBooks and buy simpler books with pictures ( such as magnets) so he can understAnd the material, yet be able to read it in an easier format. The school has great too.

You mention going out on the road…….if you find yourself in the lakes near Penrith we own a large open spaced community style cafe which would be a good venue to speak at, in what is a very small ( minded) area of the country. I know its neither a school or college but it may be of use, if so get in touch

I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog …

I was definitely streamed as dim!! they always told me I had to try harder, focus more, stop day dreaming ect, ect, when i left i never looked back. So hopefully, as you say the education system now recognise (and support LD students) who have unrecognized potential to achieve on the same level as their peers. Although reading some comments from the being dyslexic forum it is clear that some people are still put in the position where they have to fight for assessments..therefore support.

I also had to work hard for my place in uni, i did outreach classes in the community and then access school. Thanks for your words of advice, university is winding down now so not as stressed as I was. Good luck to you when you pick your studies up again

I had no choice but to interrupt my studies, if I could have continued I would have. I worked really hard to get my university offer so I was really peeved that I couldn’t continue. I think that what you are doing is great – YOU WILL GRADUATE – Just watch your stress levels. A constant state of low arousal (tiredness and depression) or high arousal (anxiety) is bad, aim for your mid-zone and you’ll be fine. Extreme states of arousal definitely affect concentration and will, without doubt, exacerbate dyslexia. Try relaxation techniques to maintain your ‘zone’. Another tip: if bibliographies are stressful, use an automatic citation system such as Zotero or RefWorks (quick Google), I use the former, it’s free.

When writing it takes me a long time to transfer my ideas to paper, when i do i can get a decent mark but like you peter, this does not transfer well in exams. Alan, i relate a lot to what you have said about reading, it does literally send me to sleep within a very short space of time, and some nights it is impossible. The prolonged stress of trying to keep up with academic work, (plus life in general) does indeed take its toll on physical and mental health. I admire the fact you have taken a year out, to recharge, and wish sometimes i had done the same (almost finished my Bsc).

I smiled to myself when i read your description about remembering names and dates etc, as i ‘know’ this also. When submitting any written work i can never remember the correct date to put on the front of my work, usally in the stress of the moment (as its almost always late, like peters) i put the wrong date on. sometimes im a few days out, sometimes a few months or even decades!

I would like to study further, but i am thinking it may be jus to much stress….dont know! All the best to you guys in your studies, to undertake a Msc or any further study is an amazing thing for anyone, but to know before you start that you will have to always work harder is something special.
shirley