Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2021 i Dystinct Magazine

EDITOR’S NOTE We’ve had an overwhelming response from parents, educators, and organisations to our first issue. I’m incredibly thankful to all the lovely people who got in touch with me with their feedback and the support you’ve shown us. This issue is special to me as we managed to realise one of our dreams of having children involved in the production of the magazine. We have had some amazingly talented young artists with learning difficulties help illustrate the articles contributed by experts. Their creative drawings add charm to this issue. I hope to have more children involved in many other capacities in the coming issues. The wheels are in motion for what we started as a desire to make a small difference. I personally enjoyed chatting with all the fabulous…

App Store Reviews of the DYSTINCT MAGAZINE 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…

April: month of the military child CHALLENGES FACED BY MILITARY CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA HILARY LAXSON Imagine being a military child with dyslexia and facing daily obstacles because of your disability and highly mobile lifestyle. You face family obstacles, including stress, financial hardship, lack of appropriate intervention, lack of parent involvement, and a poorly written IEP plan. These kids did not choose to serve. As a school-aged child, you have challenges like personal and family stress from employment, constantly changing friendships, frequent moves, gaps in your medical care, changing or stopping interventions, and lack of access to financial resources. For children whose parents serve in one of the five armed services, these challenges are only a few of the many realities of everyday life as a dyslexic military child. The military…

SPOTLIGHT ON DVS Interviewed by Zahra Nawaz Editor | Dystinct Magazine I advocate for myself at school. Sometimes it’s hard to understand how my brain works but everyone learns at their own pace, with support.You are not alone!Phoebe McAllan We were looking for a way to help other parents based on our own experiences. It is evident that Phoebe has acquired the social justice gene from her mum Heidi Gregory. Heidi set up the Dyslexia Melbourne Support Group, now known as the Dyslexia Victoria Support – DVS on Facebook, about 7 years ago when she was still struggling to make sense of the learning difficulties and lack of support faced by both her children. Heidi got together with a few other mums who were driven to the edge by the inadequacy…

DOES REMEDIATION CURB CREATIVITY/SPECIAL ABILITY? DR. KERRY HEMPENSTALL Illustration by Chloe Lithgow When delivering literacy intervention systematically using synthetic phonics or teaching math using manipulatives, I’m convinced that it helps the child because years of research inform me that these methods work. However, a little voice at the back of my head pops up now and then, asking me, ‘are you sure this is really helping the child?’ The background behind my voice is my doubt if all these endless hours of intervention will somehow limit the creative abilities that children with learning difficulties are often blessed with. The voices ask me, ‘does this remediation come at a cost?’. I reached out to the legend Dr. Kerry Hempenstall to ask him if remediation curbs creativity in any way. He kindly…

DYSTINCT JOURNEY with Peggy Stern Interviewed by Zahra Nawaz Editor | Dystinct Magazine Peggy has a remarkable story to share about her struggles growing up with dyslexia and how she found her calling. Peggy describes her early life as a dyslexic child in the sixties going to school where no one talked about dyslexia. "I went to school all day, and people sort of shrugged their shoulders at why I could do certain things, like be creative and think and tell a story, but I couldn't write and spell anything correctly. I couldn't do sequences or the months of the year. I was slow at learning the alphabet." she recollects. Peggy then talked of her incredible grandmother, who picked up Peggy’s struggles when she was just five years old all those…

Dystinct Journey of Serena Interviewed by Zahra Nawaz Editor | Dystinct Magazine 14-year-old Serena from Texas is a girl driven by ambition. She wants to go to law school someday so she can be a politician and then the President of the United States. Her reason: she wants to be able to stop World War IV from happening if World war III has not happened already while she was growing up. Serena has dyslexia, ADD, ADHD and is also twice exceptional. Her struggles at school are around staying focused, reading comprehension, and foreign languages. Her mum Lynda is her champion. Lynda tries hard to make sure that Serena’s needs are met. Serena attends a local public school and feels well supported at school. She shares that her best friend also has…

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Chloe Lithgow Age 12 Dyslexia, Dyscalculia & Dysgraphia Brisbane, Australia Chloe is in high school and loves art. She says "Last year I was diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. But that doesn't stop me from doing anything and it should not stop you!" Fletcher Lee Age 8 Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia & Anxiety Brisbane, Australia Fletcher loves anything and everything to do with art and being creative. Art is his go to when feeling anxious or finding it hard to focus. He is learning that this is his superpower. Joseph Meszaros Age 12 Dyslexia NSW, Australia Joseph is 12 and was diagnosed with dyslexia at 8. He is home schooled along with his three siblings. He loves art, dinosaurs, and exploring nature. Tyler Walsh Age 7 Dyslexia &…

DYSLEXIA TRAINING INSTITUTE I SUSPECT MY CHILD HAS DYSLEXIA DYSLEXIA AND ADVOCACY DR. KELLI SANDMAN-HURLEY I always viewed myself as the stupid slow kid who just couldn’t read or spell. I had minimal self-worth from an academic perspective, which quickly spilled over into the personal areas of my life, which in turn affected many of the choices I made, many resulting in negative behaviors” ~ Stacey. “Recently I was casually talking with a special education teacher at an event that both of our kids were attending. It was a social event, so we weren’t there to talk about work, but it came up anyway. We were talking about IEP meetings. She told me a story about one of her students from years back, who had difficulty remembering what she learned, so…

Reading by hand the handwriting link to developing the reading brain. Susan E. Miller Research has been conducted on the importance of explicitly teaching letter formation, establishing accuracy and fluency of letter formation, and reinforcing its application in all grades that I consider it as 'settled science'. Illustration by Fletcher Lee “The only time I hold a pencil is when I’m working with you.” Words spoken by not one but numerous students of varying ages and with varying degrees of dyslexia over the past several months of COVID-related school closures. Despite their ages, I shared with my clients in 'kidfriendly' language what brain research has discovered about the importance of letter formation and writing. In fact, so much research has been conducted on the importance of explicitly teaching letter formation,…

Supporting Students with Dyslexia for School Success Throughout the Pandemic Michele L. Haiken The global pandemic has shifted the educational landscape tremendously. Over the past year, students, schools, and learning have gone from inperson to remote, to hybrid, and for some, back to inperson. Over the past year, this shift across the learning landscape has brought challenges for students, parents, and educators. More class time is spent online and requires students to use technology in strategic ways for academic success. Illustration by Tyler Walsh Whereas the learning landscape looks different, children and young adults continue that same process of learning content-area knowledge while striving for guidance and direction throughout the pandemic. Young people continue to need support and direction to meet learning expectations in the classroom and at home. Executive…

My Education-It Should Not Be This Hard! "My parents have advocated for me to get the proper needs and education and will never take 'no' for an answer. What about the people who don't have a supportive family? What about the people who don't have the money to get tested?" JACQUELYN TAYLOR Photography Sheryl Palese Many school systems, along with the education system itself, fail kids with learning disabilities. I am a living example of this. I'm just a fourteen-year-old girl, but I want to make a change. I want to spread awareness about the importance of how learning disabilities are not handled properly in schools. I'm just a fourteen-year-old girl, but I want to make a change. In second grade, I was in RTI reading, which stands for "Response…

DYSTINCT JOURNEY PHOEBE MCALLAN 14-year-old Phoebe McAllan is a very vocal advocate of learning difficulties. She had to travel a rough road before she was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia and could receive appropriate intervention. Supporting her on her journey is her warrior mum Heidi Gregory who established the Dyslexia Victoria Support group (DVS). Interviewed by Zahra Nawaz Editor | Dystinct Magazine Phoebe was initially assessed by a psychologist but wasn't given a diagnosis of dyslexia when clearly Heidi knew that she had some form of learning difficulty just like her older brother. Meanwhile, Phoebe was still struggling at school and being bullied, which was affecting her self-esteem. She would often visit the sickbay to get away from her bullies. "I have asthma. So, I would use that as an excuse…

A DYSTINCT JOURNEY Diana Correa-Cintron on her journey of raising two boys with learning difficulties Interviewed by Zahra Nawaz Editor | Dystinct Magazine Diana calls herself a recovering lawyer; she is an attorney by trade but hasn't practiced in a long time. Perhaps that’s because she’s been advocating passionately for both her sons Andres, 18, and Diego, 15, all these years. Diego has ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia, and Andres has dyslexia. Interestingly, Andres and Diego aren't biological siblings. Dyslexia doesn't run in their family either. Diana tells us that she and her husband, Dr. Cintron, the medical director at Riker’s Island, one of the biggest city jails in the entire country, were fortunate to be able to adopt Andres. "My older one Andres is adopted, my younger one, Diego, isn't, but…

HELPING ADULTS WITH DYSLEXIA Antonia Canaris discusses about adult’s unmet needs and ways to make remediation adult-friendly. The very first thing I want to add is a word of encouragement. It is never too late to learn to read. It is never too late to learn to read. We are becoming aware of the many children and teenagers with dyslexia. Programs and interventions for dyslexia are multiplying. Even schools are finally waking up slowly and tentatively to the needs and rights of students affected by dyslexia. Unfortunately, adults are forgotten. No one spoke about dyslexia when they were growing up. There is no financial assistance for adults who are often unemployed or on very low incomes and unable to afford private remediation. HEALING FROM TRAUMA I have worked with adults…

USING GAMES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN MATHEMATICS Michael Minas Love Maths Consulting When I am working with educators or families of students, one of the messages that I consistently preach is the need to make mathematics engaging. And perhaps the best way to create engaged maths students is by using games as a central part of their learning. Asking students to spend time playing games has several benefits-some more obvious than others. "The more enjoyable the activity or task assigned, the more likely students will spend longer periods of time engaged with it. Firstly, games are perhaps the most engaging way for students to develop fluency with basic facts. To become fluent, they need to devote substantial time to practice whatever skill they are working on. For example, suppose a student…

WORDS A dystinct journey of film maker Max Strebel MAX STREBEL Pic Credit Max Strebel Award winning filmmaker and animator Max has been working in film his entire life. He entered into the world of filmmaking when he was in the fifth grade and has done a variety of animation, motion graphics, and post-production since then. He tells us that dyslexia has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. He has trouble with anything to do with words; his reading is laboured, and he finds spelling difficult. He admits his learning difference didn't get in the way of his career path as he chose a profession where he didn't have to do lots of heavy lifting reading. Even as a kid, Max didn't let dyslexia…