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hello my name is curtis

I have a 7 year old son who is going to a peds doctor on feb2 to be diagnosed with dyspraxia, we are 150% sure that is what he has and i am wondering is there any families from canada in this forum and if so have u gotten any funding to help with schooling or anything like that. I hope to learn alot more about this and how ''WE'' as parents handle situations and become more patient then i have been

hope to hear back from all of you

28/01/2012 17:36:13
Van_canucks (Member)

Hi I'm Sue, I have 2 children aged 13 and 10. Currently we live in Istanbul in Turkey as expats. My 10 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed with dysgraphia and dyscalculia. The school here picked up her difficulties at the beginning of this school year and asked me to get her assessed.

24/01/2012 20:57:30
chilwell (Member)

Hi guys. I have been reading some posts and realized that some of you are living my life story. I would have never thought. Thanks for opening my eyes.

I posted my story under The topic ''Could it be Dyslexia?''.

21/01/2012 14:57:22
Mike

Hi

I am 69 years old, at school I was called lazy, not showing interest, I soon learnt the art of abbreviation, and that got me through life until the age of the PC I now use the spell checker on Google toolbar for Firefox and get 99% of my words correct. but you must use Firefox 2.00 to get the toolbar,letters are wrote in Microsoft word that corrects my grammar and spelling.

Good luck to all my young friends out there Who like myself can not spell due to dyslexia, but don't give up you will soon find out you excel in other ways,and as long as you can make yourself understood you will succeed.

The nife is blunt but will stil cut

Rex.

27/12/2011 20:24:35
R G Houldershaw

Hi, My name is Lucy and I have 2 fabulous boys Thomas who has just turned 12 and William who is 10 1/2. My Thomas has Dyspraxia and William is Autistic. Thomas was a text book baby until it came to talking - I really wanted him to talk but it never came! I got him into a great pre school for children with special needs and the staff helped me get a statement (in just 7 months!) which has just been increased for secondary school. He is a good boy but there is alot of frustration and he gets very angry at home - when he can concentrate - which isnt for long, he does great bits of homework, last term he did a drum solo in front of maybe 200 people, that was a good confidance booster - but hes not that confidant in all situations. Dyspraxia is such a confusing condition! And my Autistic William, he has done great things, he went from a baby who cried for the first year of his life, calling me ''mummy'' just before he was 5 which i will never forget - he is also statemented and saw a chiropractor and started a special needs unit in Dover which is fab! Now full time in mainstream with support, earlier this year he was chosen to help make an animation which will be shown at the 2012 olympic games! But William does like his own company which isnt good for Thomas as he likes company!

Enough of that - I could talk about them all day! And those of us which do have special children - theres a reason why we have them!!

We need to keep strong for our children!!

Lucy

15/11/2011 09:34:39
Lucy

Hi Luqman in Malay I live in KL my 6 year old granddaughter has severe global dyspraxia can you help me to help her?

angelscout 28/8/2010 could you give me any advice please?

13/11/2011 09:56:03
Bernadette pala

hi my name is ian caffrey i said write this post to show people of young kids with dyslexia what is posable out school system.I myself am have dyslexia and after maney years of working full time away form schooling system i am retraning full time in social studies.In last 2 years i went back to school full time and sat my leaving cert and got A1s and two B3 doing maths English History Bussines and biology.AS young person and right through my life i have struggled through life knowing i was labled by this term and that i would never make best out of what i had to offer.Dont be afraid to bad down doors and fight for what you need for your children the changes that are in place now are making huge differance and i for one am getting full benfit from them.Dai of ireland has been great help to my and can say enough about them.

10/11/2011 20:21:08
ian caffrey (Member)

Hi i have 7 year old identical twins girls with DCD/Dyspraxia. Both diagnosed about 2.5 years ago and doing very well in most areas

28/10/2011 18:07:48
aeiz (Member)

hi i have a 3 year old child and she has shown signs of autisum and adhd! still not been diagnosed yet as she has been being tested for other things so its just a waiting game, she his very hyper active wich on the go from 6 in morning till gone 8 at night very fidgty wich raises my cocercns about adhd and her dad has it so is ganetic! but on the autisum side i dont know much about apart from the symotms ive read up she has a lot of phobias mainly of certain noises certain feel of things for and has recnetly started wakin up through night with very vivid nightmares, when she gets upset by these things is very hard to calm her down and the thing that has upset her has to be moved out of sight can any1 who suffers from autisum or knows some1 with autisum say wether these are quite common symptoms or give me any advice

19/10/2011 17:21:13
stacey

I'm presently a translator and a civic rights advocate. As a former teacher - for decades - I met several students with often undiagnosed dyslexia: though I have no training in neuroscience, being mildly dyslexic myself at least gave me enough info to suggest that they do test for it.

I once met one of these students again, several years later. He told me he had followed my advice, and had been indeed diagnosed as dyslexic and had been able to get some therapy. However, he was finding writing and reading assignments, now that he was a university student, rather uphill. So I showed him some useful tricks he could use with his text editing software (MS Word), and told him about screen readers.

But I'd like to learn more about dyslexia, also because I am involved in the WebMultimediale.org project, which is about making online multimedia content accessible to all - including people with disabilities - and showing that the means to do that are also great creative tools.

13/10/2011 22:12:09
calmansi (Member)

hi all :) i just joined this morning after being told yesterday that my son had DCD, iv spent all night reading up on it to discover that its also known as dyspraxia (this was mentioned to me a while bk so i started researching and stumbled across hazel carr's book ''dancing with dyspraxia which was a real eye opener for me so thankyou hazel...your work is amazing and the exercises in your book are used daily :) ) we recently had to relocate due to circumstances beyond my control and therefor had to change schools, i have now been told that my son cannot get any extra help in this new school untill he is statemented, in his previous school he was in a nurture group of 4 children for half a day, every day, and had 1 on 1 support in the classroom, as he was very solitary, had no attention span, very poor memory and understanding, and was quiet disruptive etc. i feel my child could not function in the classroom without this support....surely they have to provide him with help!!! can i get a statement without having to wait again for months to see a new ed psych etc?? no one seems to want to help very much and i feel as if im banging my head against a brick wall...i have even contacted social services to see if they could help but i was told that unless i was reffered to them there was nothing they could do! would the school let me go in and sit with my son to give him that support untill i can get a statement? im sorry if i am posting this in the wrong section but it was unintentional....i did just want to say hi lol :)

28/08/2011 10:28:35
helen.

HI I'm a mom with a Dyslexic Daughter. I want to encourage parents who have kids with Dyslexia. Look for your child's gifts, strengths and talents- there will be many. So often we focus on trying to fix the problem that we miss out on the amazing talents!

My Dyslexic Daughter's Talents (age 11):

Drawing

Loves animals

Great at preparing meals

Loves to help with little children

Makes stuff out of clay

Makes cartoons with computer animation

Invents things

Tells stories

Never gives up!

Sings

She's not afraid to to be herself

She's happy to help around the house.

She loves to garden

She can do math in her head really well.

She has mastered a sport called Parkour.

She's a great photographer.

What are her weaknesses? She couldn't tell the difference between a ''b'' and ''d'' or read the word ''the'' until she was NINE! She needed brain training therapy- we used Dyslexia Games = DyslexiaGamesDOTcom - I also learned a lot from a book called ''The Gift of Dyslexia'' She enjoys reading and writing now. The types of talents she possesses are common to kids with Dyslexia- they often very creative, imaginative, fearless and compassionate.

24/08/2011 06:33:52
Sunshine

Hello everyone!

I am new here and really in need of some support regarding my son. I will start a new thread for the discussion, but just wanted to introduce myself and my family.

My husband and I have a 9 year old boy and 4 year old girl. We live in beautiful BC, Canada.

My son was diagnosed with Developmental Dyspraxia, NonVerbal Learning Disorder and Visual Spacial Perception Disorder at the age of 6.

My daughter does not appear to have any difficulties (other than listening to her mom! lol)

Anyway, I hope to offer insights to other parents and gain valuable insights for myself at the same time!

12/07/2011 06:34:23
MissLiberty (Member)

Hi, I have just found this site. I am 53 and for most of my life ive been distressingly aware of having a 'shameful' fault - and it is only in recent years I have realised the culprit is dyspraxia. As a child from earliest memory I was poor at socialising with other children and sport. The opinion of peers is very important to young children and becuase of the dyspraxia I was constantly deeply ashamed and humiliated wich caused long term damage to my confidence, and I think caused such traumatic situations that it caused ptsd. Academically my brighness got me through school until the final years wich I failed. I remember my main desperation was to be well thought of by my peers at school and well meant actions such as keeping me down a year in third grade actually caused humiliation and more isolation. I think the first poster Hazel Carr is onto something as her approach helps integrate the kids back into the mainstream without shaming them. There is a story in Steven Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective people about his son (who I think might have had dyspraxia). The son was 'inadequate' at sport and academically and they did there best to 'help' him to no avail. It was only when they stepped back and looked at themselves they realised that they saw him as being unable to succeed on his own (fundamentally inadequate) and that he reflected badly on them. Armed with this knowledge they began treating him as fundamentally able to deal with life from his own resources. They picked him up when he stumbled and then sent him out to work throught the problem rather than surround him in cotton wool. He was distressed greatly for the first months, but then they were amazed to see a quiet confidence begin to take hold in him - and he became excellent by any standard in many areas. From my own experience the danger with dyspraxia is the damage it does to the childs self esteem - and they were able to get him through that to discover confidence. A second point id like to make is the strange bias many people have against people with dyspraxia. Becuase it doesnt affect intelligence many people seem to think the dyspraxic is slacking or just needs to suck it up (like they did..). But their sucking it up and overcoming was done most probably with the aid of intact confidence and self image. I think that or something like it is behind the indifference and negative mislabelling one encounters (apparently still among many teachers - wich doesnt suprise me).

21/05/2011 15:25:41
Jack

Hi I am new here. My son has dyslexia, I am at the beginning stages. The principal refuses for unknown reasons to get him tested for dyslexia. He also has ADD. His symptoms are long and I see them affecting his esteem more and more. It has been very stressful because we cannot afford private school or private testing. We did get some preliminar tests done ourselves and payed ourselves which proved that i was right! It in fact proved my now 9 year old son is superior IQ (just below gifted) and I was told his good academic standing was fooling the principal because he was in fact ''cheating/guessing'' his way through. He needed testing and right away! I hope now the principal gets him the help he deserves.

I find it tough because a lot of people have judged and said ''your son isn't really far behind in school so whats your worry my dyslexic child is so far behind ...'' The test reinforced what I believe all along, dyslexics are very very able in one area but struggle in others. My son's strength also make it seem like he is keeping up more than he is.

I am glad I didn't let no stop me but I am feeling overwhelmed with the work that is to come ahead with not just getting the school to acknowledge it but also the help he will need along the way!

I have done a lot of research into this and are finding out whatparts of dyslexia fit him the most, where he struggles the most, what his strengths are.

The more I read the more it upsets me that the principal will not help my son!

07/05/2011 01:33:01
c90213 (Member)

Hi I'm Kim, I have ADHD and I have a mild case of dyspraxia, mainly dyspraxia of speech but I suffer in social, handwriting, and coordination areas as well. After an awful summer trying to work in a camp kitchen I rediscovered my dispraxia diagnosis and looking for support

I'm a young adult, I enjoy being active, love the outdoors, love playing with children, love being around people and talking with them.

03/03/2011 19:04:42
wonderingyoungadult (Member)

Hi I'm Regan. I have a daughter with Dyspraxia. She is 18. I'd like her to get a job, but she is pretty much innumerate. I'd love it if she could find something that will dignify her rather than grind her down.

I guess I'm looking for a support group that can offer advice and support and perhaps even a gateway to help Katherine get work!

Thanks

08/02/2011 21:03:08
ReganD (Member)

Hi i have an 18 year old son who is severly dyslesic , he is really struggling at the minute with passing his car theory test, he has failed 2, was just wondering if anyone could advice us o the best way to help him pass . Thank you

25/01/2011 20:21:43
Anita (Member)

Hello everyone my name is Roger Whitting I am a dyslexic person I have written an eBook Help Overcome Dyslexia to help people that have it or people that have dyslexic people around them, help overcome dyslexia as I have.

Having been one of those children, that dyslexia was not picked up at school, in the seventies. I have lived through it and have been very successful with it, achieving most of my goals in life.

I am also going to tell you about how I have overcome a lot of my dyslexia over the years by myself without any outside help.

My eBook Help Overcome Dyslexia is in two parts:-

Part one: My interesting work life over 35 years:

Dairy farming in England to selling International Property running a Export Company to selling James Bond Toys in Dubai and the Middle East, to name just a few, also living in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Thailand.

Part two: Things that have helped me over the years that I wish someone had told me, early in life as it would have helped me overcome some of my dyslexia earlier in life.

I have overcome most of my dyslexia and so can you

10/01/2011 18:02:15
Roger W (Member)

Hi! My name is Judy Hanning. I am interested in blogging about the recent trends and news related to learning disabilities. An advocate for learning differences and an evangelist for neuro-sensory educational therapy. I enjoy spreading the word and keeping people up to date on the news affecting those with learning disabilities.

27/12/2010 10:11:35
judyhanning (Member)

Hi everyone! My name is Yana and my identical twin daughters (imagine that!) have been recently diagnosed with dyspraxia. I would've never considered it as a serious possibility. To be honest I never heard about such an illness before the diagnosis. Well, both are very physically active, described by a school as good athletes, and started climbing trees when not yet three! They are 10 now. But handwriting… math… reading… Should I continue the list? Since I was completely unaware that they should have any problems with movements, I started piano lessons at the age of 5. Both passed now Grade 4 (only just though, no merits) without special provision. How we managed that I still have no idea! To make matters worse I have a rather serious case of sibling rivalry and all the related problems. I would really appreciate if anyone, who is in a similar position: two children with the same problem could share their tips and experience. It is an uphill struggle and I am at the end of my tether. Thank you all!

16/12/2010 11:11:32
Yana (Member)

Hi my name is Lynne and my daughter has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia aged 8, this has been after 3 years of frustaration and dispare at her school. She is very intelligent and it is to her own credit that has acheived as much as she has (she often comes home from school looking totally drained) Her difficultites has caused her very low self esteem this has been made all the more difficult because her brother, who is only school year below her is a high acheiver. She quickly noticed this and began to sadly hate herself. I could no longer watch my daughters utter unhappiness and got her privately assessed, we followed their advice on how to explain it to her and she was instantly releived (she described her situation before as fireworks going off in her head and not knowing which one to look at or a jigsaw piece that did not fit in school). She has recently started and new school and they have been so far very supportive and our little girls confidence is returning.I have joined this group to get advice on the best resources for her.

30/11/2010 12:24:40
lynne (Member)

I am motjher to an almost 4 year old who has been diagnosed with dyspraxia. He has slight fine motor delays and more moderate speech delays ad complexities.... I am interested in finding out more about bilingual homes and children with dyspraxia. I have always spoken english to my children but when my son started having speech problems was advised by most speech therapists to just speak one languauge (spanish..we live in Chile) until he figures that one out a little more. I have researched the internet but there is not much information available on that specific subject.

05/11/2010 19:12:41
Brendaps

Hi

My name is Gill. My son who is 12 has been diagnosed with dyspraxia and he is having real difficulties coming to terms with it.Apart from the usual disorganisation problems he has extreme anger/behaviour issues, to the point of threatening my daughter with a knife held to her head.He is currentlt tearing the family apart. Can anyone help??

02/11/2010 11:31:07
Gill (Member)

Hi, I'm Barbara.

I have a 22 year old son who has dyspraxia and I am, myself, dyspraxic. I applaud Ann Gould's comments about dyspraxia being a ''poor relation'' of dyslexia. Having dyspraxia means having to cope with incredible frustration due to the lack of help and support available.

As a Hypnotherapist, I have developed programmes that deal specifically with some of the problems associated with dyspraxia, that can make a positive difference to the everyday situations faced by people who have it.

I am also a founder member of KeDA (Kent Dyspraxia Association). www.keda.org.uk

30/09/2010 23:20:10
BNeill (Member)

Hi, my name is Heidi I am the mother of a 10 year old girl who is dyspraxic. I knew for 8 years something was not quite right with my girl, but no one could diagnose it. Finally, we have our answer, but now we need help. How does the school support her...biggest issue is her clumsiness and banging into other kids. No one wants to be her friend and she is actually very nice. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks. Heidi

22/09/2010 14:31:10
Heidi (Member)

Not sure if I have a claim to be here but would love to chat with you just in case I do..

I'm 29 years old and am about to submit my application for PGCE to teach at Primary School. In doing some research into SEN teaching, I came across dyspraxia, something I'd heard of but never knew what it really was. While I read the list of possible symptoms, I found I kept saying: that's just like me.

It could all be coincidental, so I guess I'm here to gauage the response and see if it sounds possible. Things I noted go right back to childhood, from the fact I never crawled but shuffled on my bum; have never been able to pick up sports or physical activities easily (despite coming from an incredibly sporty family); constantly flitting from one activity to another; giving up on so many tasks out of frustration; frequently bumping into things and falling over; problems with numbers; being slow to get dressed..well, you get the idea.

So I wonder: is it possible to have mild dyspraxia and just always feel a bit like the odd one out in life? People have made and still make fun of me a lot of the time, and I really do suffer with inner self esteem (not that I let a class of kids know this!)

I know doctors aren't so au fait with dyspraxia, so if you only have it mildly, is it even possible to get a diagnosis or at least talk to someone about it?

Thanks for taking the time to read this - I know I have it easy, but it would be great if anyone has had a similar experience and doesn't think I'm crazy :)

17/09/2010 20:12:40
Jenny

I am the mother of a fabulous 5 year old boy who has a bilateral hearing impairment and was diagnosed with developmental dyspraxia at age 3 1/2. Found this website, looking for support and to gain knowledge from others with similar experiences. Also, I am hoping to find resources in the US. Thanks!

12/09/2010 04:59:27
Cbryant (Member)

Hi, my name is Michelle (Shell), I'm 38, and I have been searching the web for information on dyscalculia in adults. I have, for as long as I can remember, had problems with maths, with addition, subtraction, division, multiplication.. everything. When I was at school I was put in a 'special' class to help me but it didn't help, and have struggled with maths since. I get very anxious when ever maths or numbers are brought up in conversation, and find it very frustrating that I am unable to help my daughters with their maths home work. I'm not sure yet what I am to get out of joining this forum , but it great to be able to talk about it without feeling embarrassed or silly. Thank you.

10/09/2010 23:48:07
Shell (Member)

I love this blog. It is nice to read.

I wonder how I didn't find this blog before.

Sharing is a virtue, and more bloggers need to see this post.

I will surely share. Many of my twitter friends will appreciate this.

Thanks and keep up the good work!

:P

10/09/2010 12:51:46
omglol

Hi!

I am Gill, mum to E who is 5 and A who is 19months

E has recently been diagnosed with dyspraxia, verbal dyspraxia and low muscle tone.

A also has low muscle tone with a view to dysprxia.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone,

28/08/2010 20:32:07
angelscout (Member)

Hi,I am new to this site. I am 38 found out 3 years ago i had dyspraxia,i became very depressed when i found out.I knew things were not right,but could not work out why.always losing my keys,starting one job around the home,never finishing a task.

When i am stressed and having to deal with offical situations ... of any kind,i really really get stressed out and anxious and find it hard to put my thoughts in order. It

would be good to hear from others that find these areas of difficulties.

I have not faced my dyspraxia until now, so it would be good to chat to others, and hopefully support them.thank you for the welcome,

Best wishes,

Anne.

15/08/2010 13:56:15
anne (Member)

hello, i'm Victoria, and i have recently been officially diagnosed with Dyspraxia. I joined out of curiousity and interest to see what would be generated.

10/08/2010 22:35:05
Moo (Member)

Hi I'm Pixie and I am going to be taking my GCSE's this year in my final year of school.

I have joined this hoping I will be able to learn tips for learning disabilitys as I have dyscalculia.

Most people don't think dyscalculia exists, but it does if they had it they would believe in it!

08/08/2010 21:23:44
Pixie (Member)

Hi everyone I'm Pete, 38 live in Liverpool, England. I have Dyspraxia with dyslexia. I am a staff nurse.

31/07/2010 16:17:53
Peter Keegan

Hi Everyone,

I am a parent of a gifted 6 year old with Dyspraxia and ADHD as well as a school counselor. My familiarity with the public school system and special programs has been very valuable in helping my child survive 1st grade. We are currently working with his doctor, an OT and the school to get him help. I hope to be able to assist other parents with information on how to work with the schools to enhance the educational experiences of their children.

01/07/2010 14:43:35
Tammy

Hello everyone,

My name is Luqman Michel and I am from Malaysia.

I have been teaching dyslexic children on a one to one basis for more than 5 years.

I would like to share my findings with everyone here and at the same time learn from all of you here.

08/05/2010 23:42:00
Luqman Michel

Hallo Everyone,

My name is Joe, Currently base in Malay, i like sharing and looking for education information, i looking forward to share.... Thanks

07/05/2010 18:15:15
Joe Education (Member)

Hi Im Libby Hill. I have an independent speech & language therapy practise which covers Staffordshire. We're a team of therapists and assistants with a great deal of experience of ASD, complex communication problems, dyspraxia and those language difficulties that are often hard to categorise.

We accept referrals from parents and can work alongside NHS Therapists to complement the service if necessary.

03/05/2010 13:30:10
Libby Hil

PS - my eldest son Mike (24) also has ADHD and has just graduated with an MSc in Ecology. I am very proud of him :D

Mags

...

02/05/2010 13:44:43
Mags S (Member)

Hello all,

I have ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalcula and have been a Primary School teacher for 32 years. I am now studying for the PCert, PDip and MA in SpLD - and loving every minute :D

I have signed up for the newsletter as I'm rather good at joining forums then forgetting all about them - the newsletters will jog my memory!

Looking forward to chatting,

Mags

...

02/05/2010 13:41:56
Mags S (Member)

Hi - I'm Angie a new member.

Mum to 14 year old boy with Dyspraxia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Have constantly struggled with school to get help for my son. Agree entirely that the condition is invisible and help is minimal.

I am now committing myself to be totally pro-active in trying to get the best for my son as he approaches GCSE years.

Looking forward to picking up any advice and tips to do this!! I am not qualified in this - just a Mum who will now, after being far too complacent, fight tooth and nail to get equality!

21/04/2010 12:49:58
Angie (Member)

Hello Everyone,

I am a Learning Difficulties Therapist based in West London. I specialise in using a motor sensory therapy called The Raviv Method that helps cognitive development.

The programme is around 20/24 weeks and is suited to both children and adults with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and Time management problems.

If you are a parent reading this you may like to jump to this article in the Scotsman on Sunday it gives an honest account of what parents say about this simple therapy and its effectiveness.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/A--programme-t...

Kind regards

Usha

www.ravivpracticelondon.co.uk

21/02/2010 21:31:13
usha

Thanks for the reply Jan goodluck in your meeting on Monday if you want there is my scenario a little bit more info on my son in the section about using a laptop at school unfortunately for me the scottish education system is very different to london but i originally came from Abbeywood

27/01/2010 17:37:33
Rebecca Hutson

Thank you Rebecca - it is a scandal isn't it - my poor young grandson goes through torments at school - he is sociable and pleasant so it's not with the other pupils it is certain teachers who seem bent on their ignorance of this disability.

Today i have photocopied his Dyslexia report to all his teachers - ready for a meeting they are having on Monday pm. The school Ofsted report was very critical of the school's approach to special needs - so maybe maybe maybe something positive will come of it.

27/01/2010 17:24:11
Jan

Hi Im Becky and am new to this site i to have a child that is dyslexic,dyspraxic and has ADHD like you GranJan nobody seems to take this disability seriously i have fought for 6years and have the label of being a difficult mum if only they walked in our shoes everyday to see the heartache we suffer and how theses children suffer

maybe they would be a little more forthcoming in there approach

Becky

27/01/2010 13:53:24
Rebecca Hutson

Iam grandma to a dyslexic/dyspraxic grandson now nearly 13 who lives with us with his mother.

We are all struck by the resistance and often arrogant stance taken by Local Education Authorities (and we have been in 3 of them - so no difference) to actually take this child's disability seriously. He has seen a 'specialist' in dyslexia, etc who wrote an extensive and insightful (and expensive) Report which was sent to the school last year. With little response -Boy is intelligent and bright and can read to a reasonable and practical extent but only if it is non-fiction practical or cartoon like. He finds great difficulty in copying work but if given enough time can cope. In times of stress he regresses to a 7-year old response when he just cannot concentrate. Because of the attitude of many of the teachers who berate him (sometimes he needs it!) for not being able to copy quickly enough or able to pronounce some words 'correctly' he is losing interest in all his studies.

I have taught for 25 years at a college of fe when many poor kids from such schools came to us to help what had gone wrong and with patience and understanding we were often able to help up their self-esteem and often their skills - so that they were happy kids who enjoyed being with us. What on earth is going on in our secondary schools so blinded and bound by academic targets that they have forgotten or ignore these children.

We have been asking, without response ever since he started school at 5 years of age for help.

I am VERY pleased to have found this site and would welcome all comments.

Thanks

Jan

25/01/2010 11:43:06
GranJan (Member)

Hey people,i was doing some research on dyslexia for a friend of mine who is a slow learner and i came across this site which is a dyslexia center in dubai, and i thought i should share it with you all

Here is the link:

http://www.lexiconreadingcenter.org

14/01/2010 10:23:26
pigtailpundits (Member)

Hello, my name is Nelly, I am a 36 years old dyspraxic woman. I am going through the process of diagnosis at the momen. I saw a neurologist last December and will see a neuropsychologist at the end of February. I have joined this forum in the hope to fid any kind of information which could help me to cope with this condtion.

13/01/2010 19:07:36
Nelly Sabdes

Hi

My name is Juliet and my 10 year old son who is dyspraxic. Like the rest of the children mentioned on this site, he is very intelligent and is a lovely, happy boy most of the time. He gets very frustrated though and as much as his teachers try to understand him and his problems - it's a real challenge to get them to understand (and I struggle to understand things myself!. I can't believe that I've only just found this site after years of trying to find some support - it is excellent and I now feel that we're not alone in our struggle!! Thank you

13/01/2010 18:58:53
Juliet Morris

Hello everyone.

My name is Jonathan, currently based in belgium, I am both English and French native language, just wanted to say hello and Looking forward to sharing information with all of you:-)

08/01/2010 16:52:06
Jonathan_white

ma name.s emmanuel from nigeria, was drawn to this site cos of the symptoms i feel relates to dyslexia. im glad 2 be a member of the group.

05/01/2010 15:44:07
emmir (Member)

Hi, newbie here - so bear with me! Our son was diagnosed dyspraxic just after turning 6, mainly due to poor motor skills and failing to sit still/sit up in class etc.

We are told he is a classic case, despite being academically sound, with an excellent reading age etc. Strangely (well, we find it strange!) he can perform some tasks that seemingly require decent motor skills (such as skipping - he can skip 60-70 times on the trot) very well, but with other things, such as riding a bike, tying shoelaces etc, he struggles badly.

We do our best to get him involved in physical activity, as it is clear he has poor muscle tone, and he particularly enjoys football, playing for a little league team every Saturday, and is a good swimmer.

I guess what I wanted to ask was two things:

1: how other parents manage to motivate kids with dyspraxia to tackle the things that cause them difficulties. We try time and time again to get our son to practice things like tying laces, going on his bike, drawing/cutting etc, but have precious little success.

2: how do other parents help their kids deal with comments from other children re dyspraxia. As mentioned, my son plays football (soccer) but obviously finds it a particular challenge, and one or two of the other boys have begun making nasty comments to him about his ability. Should we keep encouraging him to play? At the moment, we've decided to just keep giving him encouragement and wait to see if he wants to continue playing or not.

Sorry for the rambling post - just so many worries and questions! Just to finally say that I couldn't be prouder of my boy, who is just the most loving, funny and good-hearted kid I could ever wish for.

31/12/2009 09:34:08
fazza1970 (Member)

Hello everyone,

I am the mum of two intelligent, bright and beautiful children. My teenage daughter has dyslexia and my 12-year-old son has cognitive dyspraxia and dyscalculia.

My daughter is doing GCSE's and thanks to early diagnosis and intervention is doing well in school -even at English, although she's never going to be able to spell very well. Thank goodness for spellcheck.

However although we've always been aware that there was something different about our son his intelligence got him through junior school ok and it wasn't until senior school that his problems have become apparent. Despite having a high IQ he now struggles in class and his self confidence has plummeted. He's an excellent musician and from somewhere an artistic ability is starting to show itself.

What I'm appalled about is that even all those years ago when my daughter was diagnosed there was a wealth of help available - and along with it lots of positive re-enforcement to show that people with dyslexia can achieve and don't let their problems get in the way of their life.

Dyspraxia however is like some sort of poor relation. It seems, for reasons that I understand because dyspraxia has such a varied range of symptoms, to be very much a poor relation. Little help seems to be available though and people with the problem seem to have a gloomy outlook - with the prospect of mental illness as a real possibility as they grow up. And, if not a life where they will struggle and underachieve despite often being highly intelligent, hard working and creative.

There has to be a way that these very positive traits can be encouraged and exploited.

30/12/2009 12:05:14
anne gould

Hello

I trained as a teacher at C.F. Mott College of Education and began my teaching career at a primary school in Abbey Wood, London in 1969. I taught here for 8 years before leaving to have children. I returned to teaching part time in 1989 after a long gap. In 1995 I gained an RSA Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties. I was teaching children either individually or in small groups who had reading and spelling difficulties until I retired in 2005.

Although I found many useful published resources to help the children, very few provided the very small steps and variety of games and learning aids that the children with severe difficulties needed. I started compiling my own resources on the computer after making them by hand for some time. There were then a greater variety of aids and games for children who needed a lot of input for each sound group.

I am a member of Bexley PATOSS [Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties]

My husband bought me a website for my birthday! He knew that I wanted to share my resources with others now that I have retired.

The resources would also be helpful for any pupil experiencing difficulty with reading and writing who would benefit from the small progressive steps. [e.g. Children with general learning difficulties]

Teachers in mainstream primary schools would also find most of the resources very useful for phonic work and the teaching of sight words in the classroom. Many could be used during group reading activities and some for classroom display.

There are example pages from the CD on my website & I can email others.

Secondary/Young Adult Resources

I have just finished adapting the resources to be more suitable for older pupils after requests from teachers at secondary schools, young offender groups & special needs colleges. I have also sent CDs to trainee teachers. I can send examples of these adapted resources if you email me.

www.helpingdyslexia.co.uk

29/12/2009 21:25:14
Mags (Member)

Hi everybody,

My name is Jeff Tillett, I run a dsylexia assessment outreach service covering Suffolk, Essex and NE London. I also teach the OCR Level 5 and 7 Teaching and Assessing Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) in Stratford (London). Having just come across the site this weekend I am very excited about its potential as a forum for sharing information. My URL is www.dyslexia-assessment.yolasite.com.

22/11/2009 14:59:09
JEFF (Member)

Hi, I am the mother of a lovely 9 year old boy who has dyslexia. I am also an Occupational Therapist, I have worked with dyspraxic children, many of whom were also dyslexic.

Great to find this website while researching specialist schooling for my son.

18/11/2009 22:43:01
Justine

Hallo

I run a Dyslexia Support Service in a small local authority in Scotland.

I am ken to be aprt of a wider conversation about additional support needs,dyslexia in particular.

I blog here: http://hileryjane.wordpress.com/ and (with colleagues)here: http://edubuzz.org/blogs/supportforall/

27/10/2009 13:53:23
Hilery Williams

Hi my name is Rebecca, I'm 35 and can't believe I've finally found a site that deals with Dyscalculia. I have Dyscalculia and wasn't diagnosed until I was at University, I struggle on a day to day basis with many tasks and have low self esteem and confidence problems because of this. I've noticed that adult Dyscalculics aren't mentioned on this site Has anybody got any help/advice they could offer me? as there's very little information on this subject anywhere it seems. I'm looking forward to speaking to and hearing from others on this site - Glad the word is finally getting out :)

23/10/2009 23:44:25
Bex (Member)

Hey been looking at this site for ages now and decided i would sign up and spread the word!

I'm clive :)

(please move this if its in the wrong place and bare with me, I'm new!)

23/10/2009 09:38:08
pocketking

Hi I'm Joanne, I just found out my friend who is 35 possibly has dyslexia (he's never been tested) and can't read or write so I'm here to find out as much as I can to try and help him.

25/08/2009 13:23:27
Joe (Member)

Hello I am Trisha, and my youngest boy who is 10 has just been diagnosed as moderately dyslexic.

We were advised to find a tutor for him to help with his spellings and writing however I am struggling to know where to look for one. Is there some kind of register to help me track one down?

Also we were advised to find a touch typing programme for him and wondered if there was anyone programme that stands out as ''the one'' to buy

I am still trying to get my head around the fact that he has spent 6 years in a Primary school that has managed to miss the signs or at least not mention them to me until the Summer term of Year 5.

23/08/2009 13:17:35
Trisha

I am a retired professor of Psychology who developed a research program on the neuropsychological bases of learning disabilities.

The main conclusion of this research was that children who have problems in reading (I tend to use the term dyslexia with care.) have difficulty in phonological decoding. This is consistent with the prevailing theory, but I take a different approach to treatment.

We typically use the indirect phonologica route to meaning when we teach reading. Look at the word, convert the printed word to its sound, and from that sound derive its meaning. It is a procedure that worked for me and most children, but we label as dyslexic or reading disabled those children for whom it does not work.

The solution is simple, do not use that approach. This is not another anti-phonics approach because a look-say approach still uses the word to sound to meaning technique.

The purpose of reading to get meaning from the printed word. So if I child can match a printed word with a picture, the child can read that word. If a child can look at text and paraphrase that text in his or her own words, the child can read. Oral reading is a skill that is valued, but it is not the only indication that a child can get meaning from the printed word.

I expect to post more on my ideas and will end this post now. I welcome discussion and can point you to published research that will back up my ideas.

04/07/2009 19:16:29
DigitalDRZ (Member)

Hello,

I am new to here. I have Asperger's Syndrome, Minor ASD, LD and Dyslexia. Hope exchange many information in here talking with others. I am 51 in this Sept. 2009, male and am from Tokyo, Japan.

Retired but some job that i can do. Goody

01/07/2009 14:18:34
Goody (Member)

Allison, you are very welcome!

29/06/2009 08:51:06
Will

Hello all...

I am a new here and hope I can learn with all of you and discuss about anything.

Please welcome me.

Thanks.

19/06/2009 09:47:37
allisonasson

Hello Everybody,

I'm Ed Petrosky (www.toolsforstudents.info) and I'm a psychologist who specializes in dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disability testing.

My interest in assessment is helping students and their parents answer questions that have gone unanswered for a long time, ranging from the dramatic (e.g. ''Why can't my child read?'') to the more subtle (e.g. ''Something is not quite right and nobody has been able to put their finger on it - what is getting in the way of my child learning?'').

I put a lot of emphasis on translating jargon and test scores into everyday language and practical suggestions, something I often find lacking in the field.

I just discovered this site this morning and I look forward to future discussion.

- Ed Petrosky

16/04/2009 14:34:15
Edward M. Petrosky, Psy.D.

Hi Will,

I have just joined as I am desperate to pass on the success I have had in a main stream school I work in. I started supporting my own son who was statemented over 20 years ago for dyslexia (he couldn't write)As he left for high school where he admitted later he had hated more than primary school I started working as a TA for special needs. For many years experienced,gained an apprenticeship/expertise in ADHD( before and after Ritalin) Autism/aspergers, dyslexia, learning/behaviour difficulties of which I supported for years at a time. Following a course for Dyspraxia I relised my son had suffered with this. For 7 years and 120 children later I have produced a programme of exercises to develop under-developed motor skills on children at an early age(reception age). I allow for imaturity in motors but combine this with processing difficulties. I realised that when children were given a label at 7 + by Occupational therapists it was when every resourse had been exausted and childrens difficulties were imbedded. In 7 years we no longer have labels. We have ''late developers'' who's motor skills are corrected and learning can progress at the same time and they dont get behind and they deffinately don't end up using behaviour strategies to avoid doing work they cant do. I have contacted many of your experts you have talking about Dyspraxia and Dyslexia. Proffessionals/experts are not interested as I am not qualified. I know that my qualification is seeing over 120 children (and more every year) never having to stuggle. I no longer use strategies to cope with the all these special needs difficulties I use a simple,free and preventative method. I talk al over to school and I am passing the message on and more and more children are now on a programme. They are no longer a statistic for failure but for achievement.Google Hazel Carr, Dyspraxia

You are welcome to visit me any time.

12/04/2009 12:25:55
Hazel

Dear dysTalkers,

We wanted to give everyone a chance to introduce themselves to one another on the site. So please use this thread to tell everyone a little about yourself.

To get it started, I'm Will - a London based teacher; the co-founder of dysTalk and a general education enthusiast.

Will.

22/03/2009 14:25:23
Will (dysTalk Co-Founder) (Member)