SPOTLIGHT ON SEND
Dyslexia Awareness Week to focus on Invisible
Dyslexia In her regular column for Education Today this month, independent Specialist Teacher and Assessor JOANNE GLADDERS looks at Invisible Dyslexia and asks how we can identify and support students who might see themselves as invisible.
This month hosts Dyslexia Awareness Week which this year is focussing on Invisible Dyslexia. Many people, especially young people, feel that their difficulties are not recognised and, as a result of this, continue to struggle by themselves. A diagnosis of a Specific Learning Difficulty is not visible to others and therefore is not even considered for some learners. Experience also shows that, for many, their difficulties have not even been recognised or diagnosed. Many people question why difficulties are not recognised or why
diagnostic assessments are not carried out, especially if a person is struggling as much as many people do. A key reason that I see for the above is that not everyone is aware of the signs to help determine if a person could potentially have a Specific learning Difficulty. In addition, many education authorities will not assess to diagnose but instead look for Dyslexia type difficulties and put in recommendations to support those specific areas. For many this is not enough. I have recently assessed a number of
young people who were presented by their parents. This was a direct result from them not receiving adequate support from the school. In their eyes recommendations to support some difficulties does not enable them or the young person to fully understand the ‘Big Picture’ of how they learn and interpret their learning. One parent said to me that since their child received his diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulty – Dyslexia everything now makes sense to them; they can piece together the evidence that presented itself over the years and, at last, they understand and can see ways to move forward. Their child now approaches learning with confidence and adaptations and strategies are in place for their child to achieve and strive. For many, these difficulties are coupled with difficulties in other areas.
A key area at the moment is the Mental Health of the young people we work with. This can also be an ‘invisible’ issue and, coupled with other difficulties, they encounter could be a real trigger point for them. The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) have superb resources on their
website to support Dyslexia Awareness week and I encourage you to utilise them. They have designated days which focus on a different theme and resources to support them will be uploaded. The key days I would like to highlight are the co-occurring difficulties day, the children’s day and visibility day. In addition, they have uploaded different people’s experiences of how they feel invisible. On their website the BDA explain why they have chosen Invisible Dyslexia as their theme for this year’s awareness week:
“That’s why this dyslexia week we are focusing on Invisible Dyslexia, to explore the entire theme of visibility within our community. We’ll highlight the importance of mental health, increase visibility of underrepresented groups, and raise serious issues of dyslexia being overlooked within education and the workplace.”
I challenge you to think about which young people in your school could perceive themselves to be invisible. What can you do to support them and raise awareness that they are valued and supported?
The importance of
emotional literacy This month, regular contributor HANNAH RIX, SEND English teacher and co-founder of Readingmate Ltd, discusses emotional literacy and its importance in helping every student achieve their full potential.
For many children (and adults), it’s hard to identify their own emotions, so articulating them is quite another skill. The ways in which SEN students experience day-to-day events and disruptions are entirely different. In some classes I’ve taught, there may be students particularly sensitive to music and others who need it as an emotional regulator. MIND (2014) reported that anyone can suffer from emotional disruption and ‘statistically 1 in 3 of us will’. Therefore, it’s essential for teachers to ensure they’ve got a toolkit at the ready to support students when they need to communicate how or what they’re feeling. Each child and adult has their own method of displaying emotion –
the ways in which we communicate are entirely our own. Children with SEN may not follow conventional patterns, but they will have typical patterns of behaviour, it’s just down to teachers to find and nurture it. SEND specialist, Sarah Helton, writes: ‘Regardless of a child’s level of understanding, they all have a means of communication. [To unlock this] we must find their preferred and most effective mode of communication, whether that is through technology, a PODD book, sign language, intensive interaction etc.’ My primary goal as a teacher is to ensure that every student is able to
reach their full potential. It’s my belief that the teaching of emotional literacy has a significant impact not only on a student’s physical health, but also on their self-confidence, cognitive development and independence. It can also encourage self-regulation as well as help them build positive social interactions with other people. One of the hardest elements of emotional literacy for children with
SEN to grasp is interpreting the emotions of others. Julia Sharman, SEND specialist advisor, states ‘[the teaching of emotional literacy] enables them to develop the ability to listen to others, to develop empathy, helps to improve their quality of life and relationships.’ How can we implement this in the classroom? Your students may
see a multitude of people throughout their day, so it’s imperative that all teachers have a sound understanding of methods to support their emotional well-being. There’s formal professional development for staff who wish to
further their understanding but here are some methods that can be easily applied without it: model positive interactions and relationships with other staff and peers and highlight these to students, role-play scenarios with students to open up ‘what would you do?’ discussions, use stories as a conversation piece to develop empathy, incorporate puppets or figures that are familiar to students to initiate conversations, create visual aids or emotion cards for students to use as a signifier of their current emotional state, use restorative talks and reflection on both positive and negative experiences with emotions, and ensure the learning environment is calm and inducive of a healthy learning experience. Effective teaching of emotional literacy is simply effective teaching.
It’s centred around being in tune with your student’s preferred communication method as well as what their emotional disruptors could be. Once a child is able to communicate in a clear and coherent way, this will have an immense impact on their overall development and future social and emotional opportunities.
Quotes taken from:
https://media.churchillfellowship.org/documents/Helton_S_Report_2018 _Final.pdf Kate Sarginson is on maternity leave.
October 2021
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