Tabla de contenidos para March 2024 en Dystinct Magazine

"Try your best to be kind, but you don’t have to be liked." As we celebrate the incredible contributions of Pat Jones upon her retirement, her words strike a chord in me. Advocating for children within a system often resistant to acknowledging and supporting their challenges is undeniably challenging. It often leads us to be labelled as ‘that parent.’ While many teachers genuinely care and do their best, they operate within a rigid system that leaves little room for kindness towards children who don’t fit the standard mould. Yet, as parents, we can intentionally practice and model kindness in our advocacy efforts. Kindness and providing access to information, rather than resorting to snark or criticism, are more likely to build a collaborative relationship with teachers. Or we can try our…

As a parent of a child with dyslexia, what did seeing Pat’s journey in Mical mean to you? The story was a powerful reminder that we are not alone. It is also a powerful reminder that we must do something to change our educational systems to ensure teachers know how to support students with dyslexia because this kind of suffering is completely preventable. How was your experience similar to or different from Pat and Mike’s? Specifically, as a mom with a son with dyslexia, every part of their story resonated with me, including the innate instinct to figure out how to help my son and hopefully help others. In my case, our family’s commitment has been the REED Charitable Foundation. I will never forget watching the film and hearing Mical…

As a teacher, what did seeing Pat and Mike’s journey in Mical mean to you? Witnessing Pat and Mike’s journey in Mical was enlightening as a teacher, providing valuable insights into the challenges dyslexic students face and fostering empathy and a deeper understanding in my teaching approach. What qualities or attributes make Pat stand out as an outstanding advocate for individuals with dyslexia? Pat’s outstanding advocacy for individuals with dyslexia is marked by her unwavering support, empathy, and commitment to raising awareness about dyslexia, showcasing resilience and determination in overcoming obstacles. In Pat’s transition to retirement, I express heartfelt gratitude for her tireless dedication to empowering dyslexic individuals. Her legacy inspires us to continue championing inclusivity in education. Lola Aneke MAT SpEd, Ph.D Student Neurodiversity Consultant Founder/CEO C.A.D.E.T Academy NGO Dewdrops…

When we think of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the image our minds most frequently conjure up is one of a combat soldier returning from war. While many of our soldiers do feel the effects of PTSD, the other very real faces of PTSD are children and adults who struggle to read. Struggling readers wrestle with a host of emotions and reactions, many of which they themselves cannot understand or explain. These trauma responses occur in classrooms, office spaces, within relationships, and in other situations where the struggling reader is experiencing the shame and humiliation of not knowing how to read. This is reading trauma in action. These reactions can vary but are very much rooted in abject reading failure. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very real for millions of Americans…

Alistair Sims, PhD (36), born in 1981, is an Independent Scholar, local Artist, Dyslexia advocate, Bookseller and Publisher at Books on the Hill/BOTH Press. The winner of the ‘Daily Point of Light Award’ on World Book Day 2023 for his work on dyslexia and literacy. Regional finalist in the Southwest for Small Press of the Year in the ‘British Book Awards 2023’. Winner at the ‘Dyslexia Awards 2023’ of the Community Shinning-Star award and the Innovation Award. Finalist for the Entrepreneur Award. EARLY YEARS I grew up with my sister Jocelyn, who is a year younger than me, and my youngest sister, Harriet, who is seven years younger. Both Jocelyn and I were diagnosed with apple peel intestinal atresia (this is where your intestines are shaped like an apple core)…

My parents and teachers first thought that my brain wasn’t fully developed. So, they thought it best to keep me back a year in kindergarten. It took until the fourth grade for me to be diagnosed with dyslexia. Even after I was diagnosed, there were years where I wasn’t properly educated. I did not receive a proper education until I was in Middle School. I found myself lucky to have gone to Landmark School after leaving the public school system. Not only was Landmark School only two towns over from where we lived, but it turns out it was one of the few schools in the country that taught dyslexics at the time. You may also find it interesting that I am a twin. My twin brother and I are…

Journalist Ava Eldridge Age 10 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. Illustrator Celina Hamdani Age 19 Social anxiety disorder & ASD London, UK Celina is a self-taught digital artist. She studies art media and design at John Ruskin College, Croydon and is enrolled in an animation course with Danimation Entertainment, Burbank, USA. Her hobbies include listening to music and creating short animation videos. Her goal is to pursue a career in animation that will allow her to merge her love for art, storytelling, and technology. Journalist Flynn Eldridge Age 11 Dyslexia & Dysgraphia NSW, Australia Flynn finds reporting fun, sometimes scary, and ultra exciting. Flynn likes to dress up…

Pat Jones was a trained teacher, but she still didn’t know how to help her son, Mike. She was desperate for assistance from the school, but they could provide no support. In fact, she tried to get help for Mike at four different schools. None of them knew how to help. She learned asmuch as she could about dyslexia and then homeschooled Mike. Her drive to help her own children became the catalyst to starting adyslexia support unit, then to the founding of the Bristol DyslexiaCentre in 1989 and the Belgrave School. Her services to dyslexia were recognised in 2015 when the Queen awarded her with an OBE. Dystinct reporters Flynn and Ava Eldridge have a chat with Patabout her work and life as she prepares to enter retirement. EXCERPTS…

Kenley McKenna is no ordinary teenager; despite facing the challenges of dyslexia, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and vision issues, such as binocular convergence insufficiency, ocular motor dysfunction, and visual perceptual dysfunction, her journey is defined by resilience, determination, and a passion for making a difference. From her initial struggles with reading to her remarkable achievements as a national champion baton twirler, student ambassador for the Reed Charitable Foundation (RCF), and reigning Miss Jacksonville’s Teen, 13-year-old Kenley’s journey speaks volumes about overcoming adversity. I just didn’t understand why Kenley was having such a hard time with her sight words. Kenley’s journey began with the discovery of her dyslexia at the age of six. During her kindergarten year, her mum, Jennifer McKenna, diligently worked with Kenley every night to help her practice…

‘Games divert attention away from the tyranny of the right answer, creating a more open field for ideas of all qualities.‘ In this article, we examine the role of games in specialist maths tuition and diagnostic maths assessment, looking at examples and exploring their advantages. NUMBER PATTERNS Research has shown the importance of the automatic recognition of the number patterns - the patterns on a dice. For children with a poor sense of number, there are definite benefits from working with patterned visual number images: • The images prevent a ‘one after another’ view of numbers. • Each number pattern has a distinctive identity. • The images develop a view of numbers as internally patterned constructs, wholes that can be built up, broken down and built up again. To begin…

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…

“I used to go into Mike’s school, and the administrators would quickly go into their offices. I was that parent. I had to be. My son was 8 years old, and he couldn’t read. He couldn’t spell. There was no one acknowledging his struggle. You try your best to be kind, but you don’t have to be liked. There’s too much at stake.” -Pat Jones OBE (aged 80), speaking to a group of parents and educators in Northern Ireland. This was Pat’s last public speaking event after a lifetime of advocating for dyslexia. A journey that began in the 1970s on the floor of her 8-year-old son Mike’s bedroom, hugging him as he screamed in frustration from not knowing how to read. Little could she have imagined that the journey…

As a teacher, what did seeing Pat and Mike’s journey in Mical mean to you? Seeing Pat and Mike’s struggles in the film was a harsh reminder of the emotional toll illiteracy has on a child, as well as on their entire family. Students with dyslexia often hide their struggles at school or learn to mask their struggles so teachers do not see their exhaustion from tasks that can appear simple to peers. I often hear similar stories of exhaustion from parents who describe their child as having "explosive outbursts" or "daily meltdowns" after school because of the self-control it takes to get through a school day. These behaviours often, although not always, happen behind closed doors where we, as teachers, do not see the emotional tool of inappropriate, ineffective…

Before I was a mom, I was a pediatric speech-language pathologist (SLP), and before I was a pediatric SLP, I was a graduate student. In graduate school, many classes center around formal aspects of speech-language pathology, like assessment procedures, evaluation considerations, diagnoses, and treatment strategies. The model is designed to create professionals who feel confident in their abilities to serve the clients that are on their caseload. Professionalism has an implication of independent competence. When I was in graduate school, what I envisioned professional competence to look like was a service provider who walked into the room knowing exactly what to do. I had no idea, at that time, how competence in caregiver collaboration is a key element in being an ethical and impactful practitioner. When I was in graduate…

All examples use fictitious names and situations based on real-world scenarios that may occur. Parents and teachers regularly deal with children’s behaviors. Oftentimes, these behaviors are widely experienced and thought of as typical and are easily worked through. But what happens when behaviors form an ongoing pattern, and the strategies parents and teachers are using don’t work? That’s one of the most common questions parents and professionals ask. WHAT IS OPPOSITIONAL BEHAVIOR? Oppositional behavior is when one refuses to comply with the direction of someone who is in a position of authority or power. For example, when Ms Rudd reminds Jasper to complete his math test, he yells at her and then rips up the paper; he is showing oppositional behavior. Alternatively, when Coach Jennings tells Julie to be safe…