Clippings
Unique Program Helps Dyslexics Fulfill Potential - Fiona Hughes, Vancouver Courier Published: Friday, August 07, 2009
Teaching method adopted from American author of The Gift of Dyslexia
"All the other methods out there come from the sound-based world, even if they have multi-sensory facets, they are still based in sound [phonics]," she says.
He'll be working with Sue Hall, a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator who uses the Davis method, based on the experience and work of Ronald Davis,...
Click here to read the full article
Sue's Personal Hero - Jamie Oliver Puts America's Diet On Diet
On his first day in Huntington, W. Va., Jamie Oliver spent the afternoon at Hillbilly Hot Dogs, pitching in to cook its signature 15-pound burger. That's 10 pounds of meat, 5 pounds of custom-made bun, American cheese, tomatoes, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayo. Then he learned how to perfect the Home Wrecker, the eatery's famous 15-inch, one-pound hot dog (boil first, then grill in butter). For the Home Wrecker Challenge, the dog gets 11 toppings, including chili sauce, jalapeños, liquid nacho cheese and coleslaw. Finish it in 12 minutes or less and you get a T-shirt.
So much for local color. Earlier that day, Oliver met with a pediatrician, James Bailes, and a pastor, Steve Willis. Bailes told him about an 8-year-old patient who was 80 pounds overweight and had developed Type 2 diabetes. If the child's diet didn't change, the doctor said, he wouldn't live to see 30. Willis told Oliver that he visits patients in local hospitals several days a week and sees the effects of long-term obesity firsthand. Since he can't write a prescription for their resulting illnesses, he said, all he can do is pray with them.
Last year, an Associated Press article designated the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area as the unhealthiest in America, based on its analysis of data collected in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half the adults in these five counties (two in West Virginia, two in Kentucky and one in Ohio) were obese, and the area led the nation in the incidence of heart disease and diabetes. The poverty rate was 19 percent, much higher than the national average. It also had the highest percentage of people 65 and older who had lost their teeth — nearly 50 percent.
This Is My Gift
Jonathan Notley, founder of the award-winning Australian hip-hop band "Bliss 'N Eso", (You can read up about Bliss 'N Eso on Wikipedia or listen to them perform on their website) attributes the band's success to his dyslexia. Here's an excerpt from an MTV News interview published yesterday:
"To tell you the truth, dyslexia's almost a gift," says Notley, who has a mild form of the learning disability that affects written and spoken language. "The way a dyslexic generally thinks is a lot more in a visual environment, which is why you get the reversal in the letters and that kind of stuff.
"It allows you to envisage what you're thinking very clearly and all of it transcends into the lyrics because before you write anything you have to imagine it and paint a picture for the listener. I guess that's why I’ve always been passionate about the art side and the visual landscape of the group, and being involved in the video clips and the way we're represented visually."
You can read the full article at www.mtv.com.au/news/7c545a5c-interview-bliss-n-eso/
This Is My Gift
This Is My Gift - written and performed by Don McLeod www.myspace.com/donmcleodmusic.
Dyslexics At Risk Early
9 steps for turning a dyslexic student (at worst into a criminal) at best into a defeated, negatively (and incorrectly) labelled student with low-self esteem.
Overseas, a pathway to eventual offending, originating from undiagnosed and unaddressed dyslexia, is well known," Judge Becroft said.
The Closer You Get, The Bigger I Look
Some of New Zealand’s most respected music industry figures have come together on a unique and exciting project to raise awareness and understanding of dyslexia, with a brand new single released to celebrate Dyslexia Action Week 2009 (15-21 June). Written by Don McGlashan, produced by Sean Donnelly and performed by dDub, the single 'The Closer You Get, The Bigger I Look'
Know Your Rights
Know Your Rights, Student Edition and Guardian Edition Produced by the Learning Disabilities Association of BC, funded by The Law Foundation and found at www.knowyourrights.ca.
We do not believe that students are learning disabled, we feel that the system is disabled by its lack of understanding and awareness. With that in mind, as long as you can disregard the "disability" word, we feel these booklets are extremely useful and empowering.
West Coast Families - November Issue
There is a great article in West Coast Families - November Issue. Click here to download the pdf.
Shift - In the North Shore News
Seeing dyslexia as a 'gift,' rather than disability - Karen Gram, Vancouver Sun Published: Saturday, November 03, 2007
Vancouver business wunderkind Glenn Bailey heads a diverse group of businesses, each one enjoying double-digit growth. The 45-year-old founder of Canadian Springs and owner of Wa-2, Liberty, Bailey Development and others, Bailey sees a niche where others see a barrier.
"I walk through the house before it's built," he explains.
He has the gift, man. The gift of dyslexia.
Click here to read the entire article.
Shift In Perception - Justin Beddall - North Shore Outlook - November 01, 2007
Sue Hall always knew her son, George, was a bright kid.
She began reading to him as a baby. He was creative and had a good vocabulary.
But when he went off to primary school in southern England he was suddenly miserable. He got along OK in math but reading was difficult. Very difficult.
By Grade 2, Hall came to the stark realization that her son wasn't keeping up with the rest of the class.
She asked the teacher: "Do you think he might be dyslexic?"
Click here to read the entire article.
A Peacock In the Land of Penguins
A story about courage in creating a land of opportunites.
It's not always as easy as 1-2-3 - By Tralee Pearce - Published in Globe and Mail – September 2008
Kids with dyscalculia have trouble deciphering numbers, in the same way dyslexics have trouble with letters, researchers say.
It may look like arts and crafts, but when Nicolas Lafreniere plays with balls of clay, he's actually learning the basics of math.
As the Vancouver child moves a clay rope up and down a grid of balls under the watchful eye of his tutor, he's adding sets of the same number in order to understand multiplication tables. It's a remedial method that is working for a number of children like Nicolas, 9, who have trouble reading numbers.
Click here to read the entire article.
Unraveling 'math dyslexia' - Published in Globe and Mail – September 2008
Although school has been back for less than a month, it is likely that many children are already experiencing frustration and confusion in math class. Research at The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada could change the way we view math difficulties and how we assist children who face those problems.
Daniel Ansari is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Western. He is using brain imaging to understand how children develop math skills, and what kind of brain development is associated with those skills.
Click here to read the entire article.