Just another label!

Since starting nearly 5 years ago, I have been amazed at the number of labels we invent for the same thing, particularly when it comes to dyslexia. I have got used to Specific Learning Disability, non-Specific Learning Difficulty, Auditory Processing Disorder, Central Processing Disorder, but the other day I was totally blown away. A parent was talking to me about an assessment of her 8 year old son who was having difficulties with reading and writing at school. The conclusion of the assessment was “He was at risk of literacy failure”. There were no recommendations other than to read for 20 minutes a day. Apparently, as he was only “at risk” and not “failing” he did not qualify for any reading intervention programmes. It would have been funny, if it wasn’t so sad. Can you imagine a child being diagnosed as “at risk of drowning” and only giving swimming lessons if they were actually drowning!

Unfortunately, with the economic recession, budget cuts and government woes, money for intervention programmes and support teachers is quickly dwindling, parents are becoming increasingly responsibility for seeking out solutions for their beautiful picture thinkers who are struggling at school.

When a student struggles to acquire literacy skills at the same rate as their peers despite adequate exposure to literacy education, the chances are dyslexia is acting as a barrier to learning. The Davis programmes gives tools and strategies to enable a person to use their natural abilities – their picture thinking – to learn.