Lisa Kirkwood Dyslexia Assessments

Does your child say that the words move on the page when they read? Have you asked them? Do they know it’s not the same for everyone?

Research suggests that magnocellular neurones in the brain which direct visual attention can develop differently in dyslexic brains.
Ask me about reading filters and glasses! They really can help.

This made me chuckle! When teaching the -ck spelling pattern I used an interactive whiteboard and my student was able to select and drag the phoneme.
The next week we went old school using dry wipe pens- but they remembered the lesson and so did this! Brilliant! 🤩

Took a major risk this morning….

My student asked the time and I joked :

“ Why are you bored? You want to escape?”
Risky…..⚠️⚠️‼️
Student “ No I like my lessons with you……. They’re all about ME!”
🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🏼👍🏼

Indeed they are! 😄

So interesting! The plasticity of young children’s brains and how they can be developed is so fascinating.

When parents read to young children their neural patterns begins to align, an experience no screen can match.⁠ ⁠ Professor Sam Wass, a neuroscientist and director of the Institute for the Science of Early Years and Youth at the University of East London, explains what this means. “Their brains are literally falling into sync,” he says.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Tap the link in the comments to read the full story

Do you have a good auditory/ phonological memory or a good visual memory- or both? 👂👀

I am ALL auditory and can remember that the plant I bought 7 months ago is a pileostegia viburnoides….. but ask me what colour Paddingtons hat is and I will struggle! This game is a nightmare for me and I will struggle to remember your face….

Dyslexics have poor phonological memory and so struggle with language, memory and often holding a tune! 🎶 They often compensate by having a good visual memory!

This made me smile! Imagine feeling you’re failing and less than….. then BOOM! ⭐️⭐️⭐️MENSA 😃.
Dyslexia assessments can be quite the revelation.
This young lady wasn’t one of my students - but I have had this exact scenario play out…..

Targets always need to be SMART when teaching- especially when progress is hard to see. E.G.
* Learn high frequency words for my key stage
* aim to know first twenty
* start with five at a time
* so that my free writing is legible
* achieve by half term

Showing one of my students how far they’ve come ….
Record keeping is so important and tracking progress and showing that progression provides the BEST motivation .

More thoughts from Tera Sumpter ( find her on Insta) about how a poor working memory can impact students. It’s not all just about remembering a series of instructions…..

I follow Tera Sumpter on Instagram as she is wonderful at breaking things down.
I often have to report that a child has poor working memory. But what does that MEAN? How does it impact them?
Tera explains a couple of areas of difficulty here…..

This review came on a day when I was feeling a bit fed up and bogged down by the endless CPD, paperwork and admin involved in what I do….
Happy tears followed! 🥰