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Professional Development Sessions A Hit!

“That was really engaging – the best PD session we have had all year!”

Naomi Mori-Hanazono – Assistant Principal – Huntingdale Primary School

“For the first time, I understood how challenging learning can be for some of my students – and how easy it can be to help them.”

Sharon Jones – Primary Teacher – Waverley Christian College

The mail is in – Dyslexia Centre’s Professional Development sessions are a hit.

Most education professionals are drawn to the field because they love to help people learn. Unfortunately, the standard educator training processes miss many of the challenges that can stop people from learning.

As a result, educators often see symptoms in their students that something is not right in their learning journey, but lack the understanding to draw those signals together into a cohesive set of learning adjustments.

Dyslexia Centre’s Professional Development Sessions give educators a direct personal experience of the symptoms of one of the most common (but unaddressed) learning challenges today, and advice about how to create learning adjustments to mitigate them.

Many a “light bulb” moment has been had when the dots have been joined on things that teachers have noticed over time – but could never quite put their fingers on.

To equip your team on how to identify, address and mitigate one of the most common (but unaddressed) learning challenges, book your school’s Professional Development session today by calling (03) 8812 7616.

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“Why Is She Lying On Her HEAD to Read?”

…Page’s father asked when he brought her to us.

He had been the main one responsible for listening to her read her readers after school, and he was at a complete loss to understand why she couldn’t sit still and often needed to read lying upside down, and how she could trip over the same easy word 3 times on the same page.

When we looked at the page in question, we realised that the word was in 3 different places in the sentences in which it appeared. The first time was at the start of the sentence, the second time in the middle of the sentence, while the last one was at the end of the sentence. When we asked Page about this, she replied that she thought that they looked like different words – and that she sometimes needed to move around so she could see it properly.

Page’s experience of Visual Processing Disorder made the same word look different depending on whatever else was around it. After she was assessed and got her glasses, she found that the same word looked the same – no matter where it was.

Now she didn’t need to fidget and move around all the time just to read. But reading lying upside down was still kind of fun anyway…

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“The letters stop moving…”

When Jack looked at a normal page of type-written text, he just assumed that everyone else saw the letters moving and jiggling like he did. One particular book was so bad, he used to call it his “disco book”.

But everyone else seemed to read so much faster and better than he did, so Jack began to think he wasn’t really that smart.

Then one day, he came to us, and discovered that like so many others suffering in silence, he had Visual Processing Disorder. He wasn’t strange – or alone.

But the best part of meeting us was that he also discovered that with the right treatment, the disco dancing letters could stand still – and reading could actually become enjoyable.

If you know someone like Jack, give us a call on (03) 8812 7616 or leave your details at our contact page to have a confidential discussion with one of our Consultants.

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“It makes my brain wake up…”

Obviously intelligent, detailed and social, James used to struggle to concentrate for prolonged periods in school. His teachers did not understand why he could be right on point sometimes, then inexplicably fall in a heap at other times. Sometimes, he would even go to sleep during class, and sleep so deeply that once, the teacher called the school nurse because he would not wake up.

At a loss to understand why this was happening, his parents brought him to us, and discovered that he suffered from Visual Processing Disorder. When the right tint combination was discovered during the lens assessment process, he said “it makes my brain wake up”.

James was introduced to his new normal. In the process, he articulated what we have known for a long time: Visual Processing Disorder causes a sufferer’s brain to work overtime doing tasks that the rest of us find simple and easy. Brains suffering from Visual Processing Disorder can only do this for a short time before they get exhausted – and check out, disengage, or like James – literally go to sleep.

If James sounds like someone you know, give us a call on  (03) 8812 7616 because we would love to help them discover their new normal.

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Open For Business

Something new has arrived.

We are open for business and taking bookings from Tuesday 3/4/2018.

If it’s been a few years since you were assessed for Visual Processing Disorder, or it’s your first time, call us now on (03) 8812 7616 or leave your details at our contact page to book your appointment.

For those of us that see the world a little bit differently, the chance to experience a new kind of normal is finally here.

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Coming Soon…

Something new is on the way.

We’re really excited and we are only just keeping a lid on it.

If you’d like to know more about us – who we are, where we are, and how we can help you, your family and friends, please leave your details on our contact page, and we’ll add you to our mailing lists.

When it is time to blow the lid off, you’ll be the first to know.