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<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dear All,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>It was good to meet you all
yesterday. Thank you for allowing my daughter to stay. I wanted her to
experience learning set aside from schooling. She’s been busy with GCSEs
which is leaving little time for reading more widely. It must have worked; she
is full of enthusiasm and is now busy transferring the creative projects tree
to a computer representation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>We enjoyed the
communications workshop, looking at speaking and listening for personalised
accessible learning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Regarding
disability and special education needs, I’m conscious that I was asked to
write a short paper about my experience with dyslexia. Please accept my
apologies for not having time to do this hence being ill prepared for
yesterday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>To the best of
my knowledge I am the only member of my family to have been affected by
dyslexia and by a twist of fate it hasn’t been passed down to my
children. However, it should be noted that the word ‘dyslexia’ is a
very broad term which can have implications beyond genetic transmission, for
intergenerational learning.</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> This can be compounded by compulsory
education where standardisation can fail to capture creativity of the young
and/or disabled. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Some describe
dyslexia as a specific learning disability (SpLD) whilst others see it as a
gift of neurological diversity. I guess, where adjustments are made to learning
it becomes less of a disability, where they are not the opposite may apply. It
is doubtful however to be clear-cut because for some the effects can be severe.
For example, dyslexia is associated with conditions such as ADHD. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Then
there’s the issue of how society constructs disability. Some argue for
inclusion, for equality of opportunity, whilst others see inclusion as a
dumbing down of excellence or cheating. State education in England has provided
few favours. It has been in a state of flux since the 1944 Education Act on how
to divide children. Recent amendments to state education around admissions and
academies will mean it will only get worse for those who don’t fit the
mould. What this essentially means is that Higher Education will become a
distant dream for many. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>There are legal
protections in the Equality Act 2010. Basically, if a condition is expected to
last for more than 12 months reasonable adjustments must be made. I’ll
revisit this at some point.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The Scottish
Government have produced a working definition of dyslexia which is quite
useful <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><b><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p><span
style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Dyslexia can be
described as a continuum of difficulties </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>in learning to read, write
and/or spell, which persist despite the provision of appropriate learning
opportunities. These difficulties often do not reflect an individual’s
cognitive abilities and may not be typical of performance in other areas. The
impact of dyslexia as a barrier to learning varies in degree according to the
learning and teaching environment, as there are often associated difficulties
such as:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span
style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>auditory and /or visual processing of
language-based information</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>phonological awareness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>oral language skills and reading fluency<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>short-term and working memory<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>sequencing and directionality<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>number skills<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>organisational ability<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Motor skills and co-ordination may also be
affected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dyslexia
exists in all cultures and across the range of abilities and socio-economic
backgrounds. It is a hereditary, life-long, neuro-developmental condition.
Unidentified, dyslexia is likely to result in low self esteem, high stress,
atypical behaviour, and low achievement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Learners
with dyslexia will benefit from early identification, appropriate intervention
and targeted effective teaching, enabling them to become successful learners,
confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.<span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>My extreme view
for what it is worth is based on retrospection combined with what I have learnt
at the University of Lincoln on a child studies programme. Everything we
become, our ability to process language, with the exception of profound and
unrelated illness, relates to our attachment to our primary caregiver and our
culture: social interactions with other people and
institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The work of
Russian educational psychologist and revolutionary Lev Vygotsky has had a
profound influence on me, but not in the usual sense. As is common to many
dyslexics I often miss chunks of text, transpose meaning and arrive at a
different place. I misread Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
meant I would need to analyse gaps in my own skills in order to find additional
support for my children’s homework. Anyway, all was not lost by failing
to realise that teachers are intended to provide support within the zone of
consolidated knowledge and potential ability. At this point I had spent three
years campaigning for the underlying deficits associated with premature birth
to be passed from health into education so knew Vygotsky had been at work here
too (long story). It also became apparent that interventions such as REAL
(Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) use his </span><em><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
font-style:normal'>theories of ZPD and</span></em><em><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span></em><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>language
development. <em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-style:normal'>Moreover,
the correct interpretation of Vygotsky’s </span></em></span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>work was he rejected the notion that </span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>children
have</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'> </span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>to
first meet a particular stage of maturation in order to move on to the next
stage of learning. With the right support learning could take place through
effective use of language. Most importantly, he had noted learning can precede
child development. He was ahead of his time. Current fMRI studies are noting
that brain development occurs in spurts and the brain is far more plastic than
was previously thought, particularly in teenage years. Professor Price (UCL)
recently said: "We have to be careful not to write off poorer performers
at an early age when in fact their IQ may improve significantly given a few
more years”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Why am I waffling on about brain
development and how does it relate to dyslexia?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Allen Schore et al. have
provided a multi disciplinary synthesis of neuroscience from which they have
determined sensitive periods of brain development, particularly in the first 6
months, 24 months and adolescence (up to 21/25 years of age). Most importantly,
this type of research reinforces the influence of the environment on the brain
throughout life – on human potential. Furthermore, i</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>t is now generally noted that when damage occurs to one area of the
brain, the problem can be mediated by making another area of the brain
accessible for that activity. </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>This is why we need to make
reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities in the assessment
process. We need to move away from standardisation and state control. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Best wishes,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Alan </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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