Indice dei contenuti per January 2022 in Dystinct Magazine

EDITOR'S NOTE Happy New Year to you all! With six issues of the Dystinct Magazine completed, this brings us back to our January issue for 2022 and our first anniversary of launching the Dystinct Magazine. Happy New Year to all of you who have been following our magazine this past year. 365 days have passed since we launched, and despite the ongoing challenges we all faced in 2021, it was a positive year for us, and I’m grateful for this platform to connect with you all. On the anniversary of our launch, I’m excited to announce that the Dystinct Magazine is now available at public libraries worldwide that offer the Libby app service to their patrons. So please spread the word among your friends and family to access the Dystinct…

Dystinct Journey DYSTINCT JOURNEY ALYCE PROCTER 32-year-old Alyce Sophia Procter is an art teacher who operates out of a shipping container converted to a stunning studio in picturesque Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria, Australia. Alyce who is dyslexic and neurodivergent has a beautiful way with words, and she hopes to write a book someday soon. This is her story told in her own words. I want to talk about how frustrating it is for me to live in a world/society where academic results and professionalism are so highly regarded and appreciated, but visual and interpersonal skills are not. Growing up as a young child, I loved making cubbies out of furniture with my brother. I loved learning how to sew and knit with my Oma and mum. I loved…

STEP 2 DEVELOP YOUR PERSONAL QUALITIES AS A TEACHER Pointers to develop your qualities as a teacher 01 Embrace Change 02 Be Organised 03 Structure Your Lesson 04 Use Different Types of Teaching 05 Be Open-minded 06 Be Approachable 07 Be Caring 08 Be Inspirational 09 Be Grateful 10 Be Patient 11 Be Enthusiastic 12 Build a Rapport 13 Develop Respectful Relationships 14 Build Good Peer Relationships 15 Create Belonging 16 Invite Guest Speakers 17 Have One-on-One Conversations 18 Manage Learners' Anxiety 19 Track Learners' Progress 20 Verbalise Intentions 21 Make Learners Accountable 22 Be Wise with Homework…

/’evIdǝns/Matters THREE HOMESCHOOL STRATEGIES THE KEYS TO SUCCESS KAREN WILLSON PHOTOGRAPHY - KATE GRIBBLE Illustration by Louise Ghossain THE RISE OF HOMESCHOOL Homeschool registrations in Australia are rising rapidly as more and more families decide to educate their children at home. Homeschooling is understood to be the fastest-growing educational sector, with figures showing a significant increase in registrations across all states between 2019 and 2020. During the COVID lockdowns, many families experienced learning from home. Many who had considered homeschooling in the past realised that making the leap was now a much smaller step and jumped into homeschooling full-time. CAN I DO THIS? Many families find their decision to homeschool is met with opposition. Schools often warn parents they won't have the knowledge or expertise to homeschool their children with learning difficulties.…

STRATEGY 3 FIND YOUR VILLAGE Seek community and connection with others who walk this road. WHY? Because you need others, who understand your struggles and challenges – a community to support and encourage you on your journey. You need a community that provides fresh ideas and suggests options for resources and opportunities that might work in your family. WHERE CAN YOU FIND THESE COMMUNITIES? There are online communities. These come with the good and the bad. In online communities, everyone's an expert – or not. Some people, however, are gold. Pick your mentors carefully. Local homeschool face-to-face groups can be helpful too and are often much more flexible than school. It can take time to find and grow your community, but it's worth the effort. Supportive professionals can also be…

Perceptions about Dyslexia Across Various Cultures STEPHEN EMMANUEL DEFINITION OF DYSLEXIA Definitions for dyslexia vary, and this could cause confusion when the focus is either too broad or too narrow. Dyslexia has come to be a well-known name for a learning disorder that shows up as difficulties in reading and spelling development. However, while different aspects may be emphasized and uncertainties arise in the research, there is convergence on a common understanding. The definition by the International Dyslexia Association will be used in this article. This definition was developed with input from scientists and clinicians from universities in the United States and Canada. It is the definition of dyslexia that is also accepted and used by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Dyslexia is a specific…

Dystinct Report FLYNN ELDRIDGE Dystinct journalist, Flynn Eldridge's interview with Karen Willson of Simply Homeschool. Karen Willson is the creator of Simply Homeschool. Her business helps parents and carers get through homeschooling smoothly by providing planning and programs so that they don’t have to do it themselves. They have fun activities suitable for kids with learning differences, such as creating a working lighthouse. Flynn interviewed Karen Willson to find out facts about homeschool and whether Minecraft is a part of homeschooling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erC-q81Rixk Requires Internet connection and access to YouTube to play this video. Flynn Eldridge Dystinct Journalist Age 9 Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and ADHD inattentive Regional NSW, Australia https://dystinct.org/team/flynn-eldridge/ He started homeschooling in 2020 as the result of the COVID-19 lockdown. Flynn homeschools because of school bullying, claustrophobia from the small…

/’evIdǝns/Matters MOTIVATION MOTIVATING STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA TO LEARN DR GAD ELBEHERI What is it that motivates students to learn? Are they aiming to please their parents, someone else or themselves? Are they after good grades and high achievements in life? Is it their desire to outperform their peers and their underlying drive to compete, or is it their fear of failure? Is it their hope to generally succeed in life and feel welcomed and accepted in their community? Are they promised rewards if they learn, or does it simply make them happy to learn? What drives children to do things? It's often the prospect of succeeding or improving in something to succeed. The more children feel competent at a task, the more likely they will enjoy the activity and the…

STEP 3 IMPROVE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF LEARNING Pointers to increase motivation of your students with dyslexia to learn. 01 Learning Environment: Seating 02 Learning Environment: Scenery 03 Learning Environment: Distractions 04 Learning Environment: Work Display 05 Learning Content: Relevance 06 Learning Content: Fun 07 Learning Content: Interesting 08 Allow Learners to Work Together 09 Create Healthy Competition 10 Focus on the Process 11 Create Study Routine 12 Collect Clear Data 13 Assign Classroom Jobs 14 Give Clear Tasks 15 Explain Task Rationale 16 Use Appropriate Task Difficulty Level 17 Utilise Social Media 18 Utilise Scaffolding Techniques 19 Utilise Appropriate Assessment Methods 20 Utilise Extracurricular Activities 21 Explain Long-Term Benefits 22 Encourage Collaboration 23 Encourage Learning Styles 24 Encourage Active Involvement 25 Encourage Self-Questioning 26 Encourage Self-Motivation 27 Encourage Self-Assessment 28…

STRATEGY 1 LEARN Learn as much as you can about the challenges your child experiences. If you suspect they have challenges you don't understand, begin some general research. Increase your knowledge. Search out the indicators. Learn about the different types of learning difficulties and start making written observations about your child's challenges and how these come out in practice in daily learning. WRITTEN OBSERVATIONS Write your observations each day, so you have a record of indicators, patterns of behaviour, questions, and struggles over time. Pay attention to specific practical difficulties. For example, if you realise your child knows times tables, but it takes them one to two minutes to remember the answer, this could potentially be a slow processing speed issue. You could try having a times table chart in…

/’evIdǝns/Matters WHAT’S LANGUAGE GOT TO DO WITH IT? THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE ON LITERACY You may have heard that language has an impact on literacy. You also have likely heard of the International Dyslexia Association’s definition of dyslexia (2002) as a “languagebased learning disability”. Perhaps your child has the classification of specific language impairment on their IEP or receives services from a speech and language pathologist. Despite regular reminders of the importance of language on literacy, you may still be left wondering how language is connected to literacy. The purpose of this article is to demystify the construct of language by explaining that literacy is language, just in written form. JULIA J. YI WHAT IS LANGUAGE? One definition of language offered by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is: The comprehension and/or the use of…

Dystinct Journey DYSTINCT JOURNEY SKYLAR LAHODA written by Linda Hymel, mother of Skylar Franklin, Nashville, Tennessee, USA Skylar is a friendly and sociable 16-year-old girl who has always had a lot of friends, more friends than I have ever had myself. She adores her friends and all animals. She is a great listener with compassion for others. Socially she is wonderful; academically, not so much. Skylar is severely dyslexic as well as dysgraphic. I'm not sure why Skylar is dyslexic. At birth, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck for several minutes, and the doctor had to "jump-start" her in order to start her breathing. Could this have caused it? Or is it hereditary? Both her father and her maternal grandmother believe that they are somewhat dyslexic. But, if they are,…

STRATEGY 2 CHOOSE THE BEST CURRICULUM/RESOURCES YOU CAN AFFORD A curriculum is not required for homeschool. You can develop your own curriculum or use natural learning. There are also thousands of free resources available. There are four reasons you might choose a curriculum and paid resources to homeschool. SAVE TIME You are time poor if you have a child with learning difficulties or a child with high emotional needs or have multiple children and also need to juggle work commitments. Although many free resources are available, it can be incredibly time-consuming, wading through hundreds of pages to find the gems that will work for your child. A curriculum or paid resources – for at least part of your child's learning – can be a great time saver. It's planned, structured,…

Dystinct Report EMPOWERMENT CAMP REPORT LOGAN MONRO I went to Empowerment Camp, organised by Blank Canvas Awareness Art. The camp was at the selfie museum, where I met other people with dyslexia. Dyslexia makes it hard to read, which makes it hard to learn. Sometimes, this leads to making you feel left out. At the camp, they were trying to bring us together and teach us to use our dyslexia. Many other people have had it before us and gone on to do great things. We learned about them through a treasure hunt. My favorite person we learned about was Kobe Bryant, who was an NBA player. Walt Disney had dyslexia and created not only Disneyland but many cartoons. Albert Einstein, a famous scientist, also had dyslexia. My favorite activity…