1002042 NASUWT Advert:Layout 1 17/02/2010 10:18 Page 1
SEN
NASUWT
The Teachers’ Union
Deciphering dyslexia
Qualifying in 2010?
The NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, offers
unrivalled support to new teachers, from finding their first post
to preparing to enter the classroom on the first day of school.
Finding Your First Teaching Post Publication
is an invaluable FREE guide crammed with practical advice to
assist you in locating, applying for and attending interviews for
your first teaching post.
Preparing for Your First Teaching Post Seminar
is a popular one-day seminar that is offered FREE to all NASUWT
newly qualified teacher (NQT) members prior to them taking
up their first teaching post.
Maintaining pupil discipline in the classroom environment is the
focus of the seminar but it also covers other topics, including:
• your rights as a NQT;
• contractual issues and pay;
• your first day in the classroom;
• recent developments in education.
“Very engaging, lots of practical advice and anecdotes. Will
definitely use in first post.”
“Positive behaviour management. Practical, helpful,
insightful, inspiring.”
children see the words correctly, but reverse them peripheral retinas. This suppression may be learnt
within the memory system. Turning the letters or words through exercises or it may be possible to suppress
upside down should be considered visual, in virtually immediately by the use of colour. Occasionally, the
The seminar takes place during August at locations
all cases. The most common form of visual reversals brain may choose to suppress the central image in one
are “d/b”, “p/q”, and “was/saw”. An “Optimeyes” lamp eye, depending on the task. Suppressional problems will
throughout the UK.
will, by adjustment of the colour of the illumination, result in double vision, closing one eye while reading,
often allow the child to see the letters or words flip back tracking problems, abnormal reading positions.
Previous attendees have rated the seminar highly.
and forward, while viewing.
9, Spatial problems
Early booking is recommended as places are allocated on
4, Blurring
Spatial awareness problems are common and may be
Blurring of text may be noticed. This may be due to a due to a number of causes. Areas in the eyes that should
a first-come, first-served basis.
visual problem (e.g. refractive errors, spasm, fatigue or be coincident may be displaced or distorted. This
over-stimulus). Alternatively, a visual processing difficulty inevitably leads to problems with development and
may be implicated. Professional advice is necessary to may result in common symptoms such as dyspraxia, To receive your copy of the FREE NASUWT guide Finding
determine both the cause and most appropriate treatment. inability to catch a ball, turning the book or page to an
Blurring is often accompanied by double vision and may, angle when reading, closing one eye when reading, or
Your First Teaching Post or to reserve your place on the
in some cases, be mistaken for double vision, in which headaches. SecEd
FREE NQT seminar, contact the NASUWT Conferences
the separation of the images is small.
• Andree Woodcock is from Coventry University’s
5, Double vision
and Events Team on Tel: 0121 453 6150 or e-mail
Design and Ergonomics Research Centre. More
Double vision is extremely common in visual processing on Demystifying Visual Dyslexia can be found at
conferencesandevents@mail.nasuwt.org.uk.
problems. It may be present in a number of forms but www.coventry.ac.uk/researchnet/d/449/a/4812
the most common is suppression of the double image,
created during convergence. This effect may lead to a
reduction in the ability of the eyes to converge and can
Questions to ask yourself
be treated by the use of exercises, colour or prisms.
Here is a list of questions based on the
The best NQT offer in the UK
Colour is usually the best method of treatment, if
in-depth information provided in the
fusional/suppressional problems are indicated. Double
vision may only be present at one side of eye movement
resource. The questions are intended to
FREE until 2012*
(i.e. at one side of the page), but use of colour will
be sufficient to screen most cases of visual
alleviate symptoms. dyslexia. If a child answers yes to two or
...If you see a better offer, we’ll beat it**
6, Letter or word displacement
more there is thought to be some sort of
visual or visual processing difficulty.
Letter displacement may involve the letter sequence
being changed within a word (e.g. was/saw) or the
• Does the child significantly
letters appearing to be in an adjacent word or line.
underachieve at school relative to their
Letters may superimpose or disappear. Words may general ability?
Join the NASUWT today.
appear in different places, within the text, and, in the
• Do they suffer from headaches in the
most extreme cases, whole lines appear to be in the
eye or temple area?
wrong position.
Quick and easy, no hassle.
In rare cases the orientation may be changed
• Do they reverse or invert words or
(e.g. the words may appear at an angle or upside
letters?
Tel: 0121 457 6211 or online:
down). Displacement of words or letters is often seen • Do they see the words “jumble” or
by dyslexic children and is usually misdiagnosed as a
look “funny” after a while?
www.nasuwt.org.uk.
memory problem. If a child sees words or letters in the
• Do the words or letters move or
wrong place, it is always a visual problem and is very
treatable.
vibrate?
• Do the words or letters move to a
*All NQT members who agree to pay their future subscriptions by direct debit will receive
7, Words or letter vibration
different part of the page?
FREE NASUWT membership until
A common symptom in visual dyslexia is letter or
31 December 2011, followed by a 50% reduction in 2012.
• Does the child ever get double vision?
word vibration. The most common type is whole
• Is it hard to copy from the whiteboard?
** The NASUWT will better any other teacher trade union NQT subscription offer by
Supporting
word vibration, although single letters may show this
matching it and will include an extra month’s membership free of charge. New Teachers
anomaly. The vibration speed, direction and amplitude
• Do words, bits of words or letters
vary.
disappear or change their appearance?
• Is tracking along a line a problem?
8, Suppression of background
• Does the child have difficulty in The largest teachers’ union in the UK
As the eyes converge, it is necessary to ignore the
looking at a word or text?
double vision caused by the misalignment of the
SecEd • February 25 2010 9
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20