The British Dyslexia Association has been running a roadshow across the UK for parents who want to know more about dyslexia with support from St David’s College, Llandudno.
What’s the purpose of the Parent Roadshow?
The purpose of the Parent Roadshow is to provide information for parents of dyslexic children. The speakers on the roadshows have travelled across the UK to share with parents information and support on dyslexia, the legal rights of parents in getting support for, family dynamics and technology that helps with studying.
CEO of the BDA addressing parents of dyslexic children at the BDA Parent Roadshow, Pudsey, UK
At the Leeds event, I spoke about how dyslexia affects us as parents and across the family. It was great to see so many parents (approx 100) arrive to find out more about the different aspects of dyslexia and the lives of the people it affects.
Chair of the Yorkshire Rose Dyslexia Association with John Hicks, Helen Boden, Jon Friel, Melinda Nettleton and Arran Smith at the Leeds Parent Roadshow. Photo courtesy of the British Dyslexia Association.
Contributors speaking at the event were:
Helen Bowden - CEO The British Dyslexia Association
Melinda Nettleton and John Friel - SEN Legal Ltd
Arran Smith - SEND Group and Microsoft
John Hicks - Parenting Dyslexia
I have spoken at a number of these events now and for me the take home messages from these talks boil down to three significant points.
For our children to be the best that they can be and ultimately realise their potential, we as parents need to understand what dyslexia is and spend more time educating ourselves about it. With that information we can more effectively advocate and know what the right interventions should be for our children who are living with dyslexia. A very practical part of this is finding the most appropriate technology that will assist your child to study in a way that works for them.
You have a legal right to request support for your child from your Local Authority. Don’t assume that because the Local Authority has pushed back that you are not allowed to continue to be persistent. The clock is ticking, don’t let anyone waste your time in getting that support.
Be assertive and be persistent and always focus on the goal of getting that support. It is possible that either yourself or partner may have dyslexia (it is thought to run in the family) and if that is the case, you may have strong feelings about education that are related to your own educational experiences. If you feel that sometimes your relationship with members of staff at school are failing, then try to step back and look at why that might be the case. Do you have a good working relationship with the staff member or are you clashing and if so how much of that clash is related to your own emotional turmoil not only about your child’s dyslexia but also your own emotional baggage? If your emotional state is getting in the way of working with the school, then have you considered getting some emotional development support for yourself in the form of coaching or counselling?
The next parent roadshow event will be on the 12th October in Chester.
Click here to find out more.
St David’s College in Llandudno sponsors these events as whilst they are an independent school, they share good practise for dyslexia provision across the UK looking to collaborate with many different organisations.
