We have a new guest article from Stevie Williams from BeeCreative. Stevie is dyslexic himself and with his colleague Carley Dawson aim to help children through the use of creativity and drama.
Stevie writes...
In our opinion studying with dyslexia can be difficult; each
written task, words read aloud in a classroom or even reading, can be a
challenge and can diminish confidence.
We feel that using creative tasks that
employ dramaturgical practise can aid in helping cope with these negative
experiences.
Dyslexia is a force in the mind that can be overcome and worked
around and everyone deserves confidence. Aiming to create a space where people feel
they can gain it (a performative space where confidence is built gradually and
with sensitivity) can have an impact on dyslexic lives, and being dyslexic
myself I know first-hand the benefits of creative expression and creative
thinking.
Allowing each child a chance
to document their feelings about how they feel during a class at the beginning
of the session and then at the end, can allow us as teachers and adults to see
the immediate improvement during classes with a creative focus and, overtime,
see the overarching improvement.
Whether it be a child who struggled with
reading in front of class due to fear of messing up and moving too slowly with
their words or getting to a new place on time, using drama and creative
thinking these issues can become sparks for innate creativity that allows a
gradual building of an individual’s confidence, which during our classes we have
seen.
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With one child we worked with, we saw such an improvement that at the end
of several sessions they were standing up in front of everyone using costumes
and props, speaking with projection, and the knowledge that it’s okay to go at
your own pace. Finding a helping hand can be, for some people, the way to achieve
confidence in yourself and we’ve helped raise awareness and tried to be a
supporting voice for dyslexics talking about the issues of co-occurrence and
the lesser known facts like processing ability and coordination.
We, at BeeCreative, aim to help Children through the use of
creativity and drama and have found the impact of our work astounding. Our MindMatters workshops focus on mental health and have been intrinsic in spreading
awareness for those with Dyslexia and those who teach. A key member of our team
suffers from severe diagnosed dyslexia, giving us plenty of experience and
insightful help when creating these workshops. Help is out there.
Stevie Williams