Helen - Dyslexia Tutor - Bee Brilliant Tutoring

Helen - Dyslexia Tutor - Bee Brilliant Tutoring Hi, I'm Helen and I'm a specialist dyslexia tutor/teacher and assessor.

I have 13 years experience teaching in the classroom and have been offering 1:1 and small group sessions for the previous three years, focusing on English, Maths and Coding.

It might look like the same task.But it might not take the same amount of mental energy.For a dyslexic employee, writing...
05/10/2026

It might look like the same task.

But it might not take the same amount of mental energy.

For a dyslexic employee, writing a report can involve much more than simply getting the information onto the page. There may be extra effort involved in organising thoughts, finding the right words, holding information in mind while typing, checking spellings, proofreading and repeatedly editing what has been written.

And then checking it all again.

That extra cognitive effort can be exhausting — particularly when it is happening across multiple tasks throughout the working day.

The finished piece of work might look no different from anyone else’s. The effort behind it can be very different.

This Dyslexia Awareness Week, it’s worth remembering that some of the biggest challenges dyslexic adults experience at work are the ones colleagues never see.

On my dog walk this morning, I heard someone using a clicker to call their dog back.I chuckled to myself when I realised...
12/09/2026

On my dog walk this morning, I heard someone using a clicker to call their dog back.

I chuckled to myself when I realised I use a verbal cue AND a visual cue to get Roxy to come back. 🐕👋

Which is, of course, exactly what I’m always recommending when giving instructions to children who can find it difficult to process or remember spoken information 😂

Pairing spoken information with something visual like a picture or written word means they don’t have to rely on holding onto the spoken instruction alone.

Quite pleased to discover that my advice survives beyond the classroom… even if the learner is highly motivated by snacks 😄

“But I do it THIS way!” 🧠Many neurodivergent children are brilliant at finding a strategy that works for them. Once they...
10/09/2026

“But I do it THIS way!” 🧠

Many neurodivergent children are brilliant at finding a strategy that works for them. Once they’ve found it, though, considering a different approach can sometimes feel much harder.

We see this across learning.

✏️ In spelling, a child might rely on sounding out every word — even when thinking about a spelling pattern, word family or meaningful word part would be more helpful.

➗ In maths, they might automatically use the same familiar method for every calculation — even when the numbers lend themselves to a much quicker or easier strategy.

The strategy they’re using isn’t necessarily wrong. In fact, it might work perfectly well!

The skill we want to develop alongside it is flexibility: being able to pause, consider the task in front of us and choose the strategy that fits it best.

We don’t need to take away the strategies children already trust. We can keep adding to their toolbox and help them become confident enough to think:

“I could do it my usual way… but is there a better way for THIS one?” 🧰 🧠

Maths was never my favourite subject at school… 😬I could do maths, but I didn’t always understand what was really happen...
05/09/2026

Maths was never my favourite subject at school… 😬

I could do maths, but I didn’t always understand what was really happening with the numbers.

I learned the methods and followed the steps, but because I didn’t fully understand the why behind them, I had to work really hard to remember what to do. If a question looked different or required me to apply what I’d learned in a new way, I often found that really tricky (and still do!)

But when I became a teacher, something changed. The more I taught maths — particularly to children who found it difficult — the more I enjoyed it.

I understood why some children got stuck. I recognised the mistakes they made because I’d made many of them myself, and I loved finding different ways to explain something until it finally made sense.

Over time, supporting children with maths difficulties became one of my favourite parts of teaching.

And that’s why I’m now working hard to become a specialist teacher and assessor for maths difficulties and dyscalculia too. ➕➗🧠

There has been a LOT of studying, training and practice happening behind the scenes at Decoding Dyslexia recently, and I’m getting very excited about being able to offer specialist maths support and assessment alongside my existing dyslexia services.

It turns out that finding maths difficult myself has given me a real curiosity about why children find maths tricky and, most importantly, what we can do to help it make sense. 🧠🌟

Although this does leave me with one small problem…

Decoding Dyslexia and Dyscalculia doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue 😂

Back to school can take a lot more energy for some children than we realise. 🪫⚡They may appear to cope well throughout t...
04/09/2026

Back to school can take a lot more energy for some children than we realise. 🪫⚡

They may appear to cope well throughout the school day, but the effort of concentrating, keeping up, remembering instructions and hiding difficulties can show itself once they’re safely back at home.

This September, look beyond 'Are they coping?' and ask 'How much effort is it taking?' 🧠

If the answer is A LOT, and you’re noticing ongoing difficulties with reading, spelling or writing, it could be worth considering an assessment to explore what might be making learning harder than it needs to be. 💛

One simple Windows setting can make a big difference. 💻👀If bright screens leave your eyes feeling sore, tired or give yo...
29/07/2026

One simple Windows setting can make a big difference. 💻👀

If bright screens leave your eyes feeling sore, tired or give you headaches, try turning on Night Light. It softens the harsh white glow and many people, especially sensory sensitive and neurodivergent technology users, find it much more comfortable.
You might not even realise how much the bright screen is affecting you until the soreness eases, so it's well worth giving it a try. ✨

It's also worth knowing that visual stress isn't caused by dyslexia and isn't a sign of dyslexia. However, it often co-occurs with dyslexia, just as it frequently co-occurs with ADHD and autism, so it's something many neurodivergent people may experience.

As teachers, we know that one spelling list won't meet the needs of every child.The problem isn't a lack of ideas—it's a...
20/07/2026

As teachers, we know that one spelling list won't meet the needs of every child.

The problem isn't a lack of ideas—it's a lack of time.

AI can help you personalise learning without spending your evenings creating six different sets of resources.

Try prompts like these:

📝 Create a list of the 10 most frequently used words containing the spelling pattern -tion, such as station.

📖Write a 100 word passage with a reading age of 8 that includes words containing the spelling pattern -tion, such as station. We'll be using the reading strategy of 'looking for hidden words' too so include words in which the student can use this.

AI isn't replacing your professional judgement.

It's helping you spend more time doing what only a teacher can do: teaching, supporting and responding to the children in front of you.

Does home reading sometimes feel like ANOTHER job to tick off the list?Many parents feel under pressure to read every da...
29/06/2026

Does home reading sometimes feel like ANOTHER job to tick off the list?

Many parents feel under pressure to read every day and write a comment in the school reading diary. When life is busy, it's completely understandable that the focus can become getting through the pages.

But if we slow down just a little, reading can become much more purposeful.

Instead of only concentrating on saying the words correctly, encourage your child to pause every so often and ask themselves, 'Who? What? When? Where? How? or Why?' This encourages them to slow down and teaches them that reading is not just a job that needs to be ticked off, but a skill that will open up their world. 🌍

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, stepdads, grandads and father figures who work tirelessly behind the scenes to suppo...
21/06/2026

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, stepdads, grandads and father figures who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support their children.

To the dads who attend meetings, read reports, ask questions, pester for support and spend countless hours trying to understand how their child learns best.

Your child may not always see the effort you put in, but every conversation, every bit of encouragement and every attempt to understand their needs helps them feel valued and accepted for who they are.

Thank you for showing your children that they don't need to change who they are to succeed.

They simply need people who understand them.

Happy Father's Day 💙

"My daughter came away from the assessment feeling calm, happy and proud of herself."This is exactly what I aim for ever...
16/06/2026

"My daughter came away from the assessment feeling calm, happy and proud of herself."

This is exactly what I aim for every child to experience during a dyslexia assessment.

For many children, assessments can feel daunting. That's why I feel it is important to take that extra time to get to know each learner, build rapport, follow their pace, include movement breaks and create a relaxed, supportive environment where they can show what they know. And the pets definitely help me along the way too 😻

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