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Worldwide statistics indicate that one child in eleven has a learning disability (LD). Teachers recognise that any learning disability needs to be corrected as soon as possible, before it is entrenched and a child's self-esteem diminished. Often the student is bright and has the ability to learn, but they need a different type of teaching. Yet, by the end of the school year the child is pushed up to the next level, compounding the issue. The Jenny Lamond Method (JLM), with its many years of success behind it, has proven to be a good resource for LD's.

LD's derive from numerous directions. They could be emotionally inspired, dyslexic, ADHD, Irlen syndrome, Autism, and Asperger’s. Even gifted children can have a LD, and so need help with spelling and reading. There are those who have difficulties because of socio-economic and emotional trauma issues, and, of course Dyslexia, which has its own host of issues, such as Dysgraphia (a writing disorder where spelling and the putting of thoughts on paper are difficult) and Dyspraxia (now known as Development Coordination Disorder), and poor handwriting (motor coordination).

 

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The following are excerpts from an interview with Pat Grayson, a dyslexic author, for Success magazine. It begins: Damn it, once again I bank 103 instead of 301 dollars. I’m dyslexic and as you read this, you’ll see that being dyslexic has governed my entire life…

Dyslexia is derived from two Greek words, Dys – meaning poor or inadequate and Lexis – words or language. According to research the cortex has six basic layers, with layer one having essentially no cells, but dyslexics typically have bunches of cells in that layer.

Interviewer question; “How does your dyslexic brain function?”
“It works,” he said, “as if it were correct and the rest of the world wrong. It has a method of its own, like some strange animal species that evolved in an unknown pocket of wilderness. I have no problem with math and can add as quickly as any. But when I’m trying to spell a word, it’s as though the connections come adrift. I get stuck in a sort of limbo – can’t go forward or backwards – the brain stutters. This is probably the reason why I spell the same word in a document many different ways, and each looks correct to me – my mind won’t be boxed in and limit the word to one spelling.”

In my first years of school, I could not form the letters of the alphabet, like prissy Mary could. Even with concentration the result was still a mess – the pencil simply had a will of its own, and all these years later, it’s just the same. This was the start of my being labeled ‘different’. I was held back at the end of that first year, to ‘try again’ with another bunch of kids.

In time I discovered that there were more things that I could not cope with. The label ‘different’ was later amended to ‘dunce’. Yet, I didn’t feel stupid. But as time went on, I told myself, "Maybe this is what being stupid is like!”

The school system, and the ability to form neat r’s or j’s, was the measure. School is still the standard by which our intellectual capacity or lack of is gauged. It didn’t take long before I lost faith in school, thought of myself as hopeless and blocked learning even more (a common occurrence). I developed a brittle self-esteem and became an unfulfilled and angry person. 

A new school year was always interesting as the incoming teacher, either unconsciously or consciously classified each child. It was never long before I was relegated to the back of the class and considered a waste of time. Provided I behaved I was generally ignored. That was forty odd years ago. School may be different today.

Of course, I wasn’t quiet and well behaved and through expressing my frustration I disrupted the class. So not only did the teacher consider me ‘slow’, but a nuisance as well.
Year after sorry year passed with me sliding further back into academic oblivion. I became angrier and more rebellious. Halfway through year three of high school they told me to leave. This was fine by me, and as ironic as it may seem, I left school to get an education… The reality was that they dumped the problem!

… Continuing with the answer to Interviewer:

My mind has difficulty deciphering gothic script, and most cursive writing is gobbledygook and must be read to me. But being dyslexic forced me to achieve in different ways, such as always working for myself. I could not have managed in mainstream commerce because my handwriting and spelling would not have been of an acceptable standard – the corporates would have disposed of me, like a pack of wild dogs abandoning an injured or aged member.

… Now, if I am in front of a group of executives, I don’t care about my scrawl. I have learned to establish my own worth, and not to allow society to provide the rules by which my value is measured…

 

     All LD's can improve their reading and spelling.
     However, there must be intervention and 
     determination. 

   
There is no doubt that the schooling system let Pat Grayson down. That was many years ago and it should be different these days, but often it is not the case. The following is a brief exert from the Sydney Morning Herald Feb 9th 2014: Teaching children how to read; The author of Diary of a Wombat, and Australian Children's Laureate, Jackie French, who is severely dyslexic, accused schools of not ensuring each child could read at the same level as their classmates and of failing their students… … “They are not given the qualified help they need to find out why they are having problems with reading. All this does is teach the kids that they are dumb.''

While she praised the commitment of teachers, she said they were no substitute for trained professionals who were in short supply. ''The teacher might only be able to give them one or two hours a week, which is not enough. They need at least an hour a day. I don't know of any state-funded school where there are enough trained teachers who specialise in this area.”

Although things are not as bad as it was in Pat Grayson’s day, our experience of working with schools has seen a pattern; that most schools cater for the mainstream 80% of children. But those at the top and the bottom (which often includes those children described above and on the Jenny Lamond page) are less catered for as there is inadequate training or resources. Most schools do not have methods to teach children with LD’s. Teachers today work over fifty hours a week. Even if they had the skill, when would they have time to take the LD students aside and teach them separately? They don’t. And like Pat Grayson, they usually leave school early, illiterate, to fend for themselves.

Learning Disabilities are just that – a disability. Again, from Pat’s article, “People do not realise how disabled dyslexic people are. They are as dis-abled as the visually/hearing impaired. They are as hamstrung as someone with mobility issues. LDs are not life threatening, but they are life-diminishing. When your self-esteem is trashed, when you are limited in the vocation you can choose. When you are too embarrassed to hand-write someone a thank-you note, or birthday card, these are disabilities. Because of LD’s, these people live on the edge of society… I did…”

                            

                             The saddest thing about
              LD's is failure to believe
              in your own ability to learn.

                                             

It is believed by many that a large portion of jail inmates end up in jail because of that lack of self-worth. One of our JLM tutors, Pamela, spent many years working in prisons teaching the JL method. Although she gave them reading and writing skills, she also gave them something even more valuable – a belief in themselves that they are not stupid. She gave them hope.

We here at E-S do not diagnose LDs. Nor are we interested in the form of LD you may have. We are only interested in helping anyone who has been left behind. The JLM has helped many people with LD’s. One recent case in point is Roselea, who was so happy with her improvement she was determined to give us the testimonial on the home page. Rosalea left school many years earlier, completely illiterate. Over the years she had been on numerous government sponsored courses, most of them at TAFE’s. Although she gave it her best shot, Rosalea emerged no more literate than when she started. However, after only one session with a Jenny Lamond tutor, she knew it had changed for her. In her own words, “These lessons are different… they reached me”. After her rapid and positive results her spelling growth improved quickly. Rosalea is now literate, and often contacts us to thank us for making her life-long wish come true – the ability to read, write, and spell.

We have seen these results repeated time and time again with Jenny’s methods. However, our help is governed by the severity of the cause and determination of the student.

We know that most people with LDs are not stupid, they just learn in a different way. There is a great deal of research that indicates that dyslexics often have higher than average IQ’s. In fact, Ronald Davis in his popular book on dyslexia calls it The Gift of Dyslexia.

According to the International Dyslexia Association they suggest that dyslexics have difficulty pronouncing sounds within words (Roselea had such problems). As many of Jenny’s methods use the 'Sounding Out' and the recognition and familiarising of sounds, this makes sense to many students with LD's.

We cannot guarantee that Jenny’s methods will work with all LD people, but we can happily say we have had great success with LD's. Applying multi-sensory tools (listening, hearing, seeing, and feeling {kinaesthetic}) seem to be particularly helpful to LD students, especially if supervised by a teacher, assistant teacher, or parent. Using E-S, the student can take all the time they need, unlike in a classroom. Also, there is no embarrassment to be had here.

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How Easy-spelling can help all learners, LD or otherwise.

 

  • The erosion of self-confidence that usually afflicts the LD student is likely to be reversed as the student works at her own pace and way.
  • Most slow learners do well with a ‘back to basics’ regime, especially for spelling and reading. The grounding of phonics, the methods as taught by Jenny Lamond, our spell-check methodology, and reading application start from the very beginning.
     
  • If a child is a slow learner and has ‘missed’ the basics, then within the schooling environment, by the fourth year, they are never likely to catch up. The class, and the education system, like a runaway train waits not for slow passengers. The child is hurtled along at a speed that they cannot cope with. Easy-Spelling with its opportunity of being able to keep going over a lesson, at the student’s pace overcomes this.
  • For those students who have difficulty making sense of written symbols, such as cursive writing, different fonts, gothic script, etc, are able to increase, or in some cases even change the font to one that is more user-friendly to their vision.
     
  • Verbal instruction as given by a teacher to a class can often be too fast for a learner to grasp. Because Easy-Spelling has both written and video/audio instruction the student can listen to or read the instruction as many times as required without the pressure of getting behind in a classroom situation.
     
  • Many LD’s have short term memory retention difficulties. When instructions are given, (say more than ten words) they can’t remember and get muddled. Multiple instructions are even harder. Easy-Spelling will not push the student to remember instructions as the student can keep going over the instruction as often are they require.
     
  • LD’s often feel like misfits within the class environment. Easy-Spelling will allow the child to develop at his own pace, thereby fostering confidence and ability.
  • Handwriting is often a problem for the LD student. Keyboard typing into Easy-Spelling is likely to be easier to manipulate than a pencil or pen.
    It also assures that when the LD (or parent) reads it later it will be understood.
  • Classroom pressure, and peer pressure are eliminated with Easy-Spelling. Often, the child will develop when given a well-developed and motivating program that they can do at their own time and ability.
  • Competition is good for some people but it is seldom good for the LD. Competition with classmates is likely to be unfair. The usual result is embarrassment and failing confidence. With Easy-Spelling there is no competition, just self-motivation to improve.
  • Often children with ADHD are criticised for not paying attention. But the fact is they pay attention to everything, not just what a teacher is saying. There are no other kids who are talking, waving or throwing things. Nor are there other distractions in the room. It is just the child and Easy-Spelling.
    Sure, the ADHD will still scan for other things of interest. But they will return to the screen.
     
  • Courage is required by an LD student in the face of constant failure. Especially in relation to their peers. That courage can be a positive focus when they have quick results without pressure. They will be encouraged by those quick results.
     
  • Practice and more practice. For the LD to steadily move forward they often need to rework a lesson two or more times before they ‘get it’. As Easy-Spelling is always there, always patient, and always supportive, the student can redo the lesson, recheck the word in our spell-check or reread the sentence as many times as required until they are happy to move on.
     
  • Easy-Spelling is made up of text, images, videos, audios, interactive questions, our specifically designed word list spell-check, and our unique reading application. These, coupled with the Jenny Lamond method and current research deliver a unique and successful literacy method that is well suited to most LD’s.
     
  • It is likely that the teacher is keen to help an LD. However, the teacher or the schooling system is unable to adjust to an individual’s requirements. Easy-Spelling is a good fit for many with LD’s.
     
  • The hyperactive child is given the freedom to work on Easy-Spelling, have a break, and then recommence as many times as required. Three sessions a day of fifteen minutes a session will achieve wonders.
     
  • Slower learners are overly conscious of the fact that their reading stumbles and is clumsy compared to that of their peers. With our reading app confidence is gained as ability is improved. There is no hovering teacher, or students embarrassing the reader.
     
  • LD’s come in all scales of intellectual ability. Invariably, the schooling system is unable to cater for all levels. Easy-Spelling being a web based literacy program allows for the student of lower ability to work equally as well as efficiently as a student with higher ability. For the child who is slower, the loving and caring help by a parent to work through the early Easy-Spelling lessons is a wonderful way to support the child.
     
  • Students with visual perception disabilities are often hampered in a classroom situation. Easy-Spelling, operating on a large screen can overcome that problem.
     
  • Children with poor motor coordination are often laughed at when writing or their columns do not line up. This is eliminated with computer learning.
     
  • Students are embarrassed to be shown or told that a word has been misspelt, or a sentence badly read. Easy-Spelling will never embarrass for mistakes.
     
  • Students with poor language processing abilities are pleased with the phonic teaching method, coupled with the audios and videos. They will be happy to repeat the sound of a vowel, consonant, digraph/blend as often as required. They will be able to follow and sound out the word until they get it right. This will also help them ‘groove’ that sound within their mind.
     
  • Becoming an independent learner is probably the most important skill that the Easy-Spelling method offers a student. By being able to work on their own, with our well structured content, gaining quick results, will engender confidence. The student therefore could go on to learn other subject they may be interested in.
     
  • It is seldom that LD’s grow out of a learning disability. Invariably, by the time the child is sixteen they have long given up hope and can’t wait to leave school to join a life-demeaning  job. But all children can improve with intervention and a will to learn.
    Nor do LD issues disappear when the child leaves school. Easy-Spelling is equally effective for young children, teenagers, or adults of all ages.

 


                 Be not afraid of growing slowly
                 Be afraid only of standing sill 
   

 

In short, this online spelling course and online reading course and online grammar course is likely to make a big difference for all with a learning disability.

 

Why not pop over to the FAQ's page (see the bottom of the page) to find out more.

For further information visit: https://dyslexiaida.org/  for the International Dyslexia Association.

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