Protecting their confidence

December 16, 2023

Dyslexia means the way that a student’s brain processes information is different. They may experience difficulties with reading, vocabulary and comprehension tasks. This is a processing difficulty, (the same as some people need glasses) not a lack of intelligence. Lesser known is that because their beautiful brains think differently, they often also have very distinctive talents.

As a tutor, I recently experienced how my student with Dyslexia got lost in the system. As a teacher, I am able to appreciate that some class assessments set are not by the teacher or the school, but by the curriculum. Whilst a timed task is designed to challenge students, I believe that the same task also puts some of our students at risk.

I am not talking about the risk of failing one assessment, or even the subject. I am speaking about the fact that we need to protect and preserve their confidence. A student who doesn’t believe in themselves grows into an adult who doesn’t believe in themselves. With an unnecessary lack of confidence, they will avoid the risks in life that are important for them to take if they are to become happy, self-individuated, successful adults.

I am not the first to think this, and that is why schools have IEPs (Individual Education Plans) sometimes known as ILP’s (Individual Learning Plans). These plans are about access and equity in education. I had wrongly assumed that my student had an IEP in place because I knew that he got extra time to complete his in-class tasks. He, however, had a CAP (Curriculum adjusted Program) in place, which I believe was not the right environment for him to flourish.

If you have a child with a beautiful brain, please join me in championing them and ensuring that they have the environments in which they can thrive.

Written by Jodi Sutherland (B.Ed.)

For further information on Individual Learning plans see http://allmeansall.org.au/iep-guide/

Do you recognise the distinctive talents of these people with Dyslexia?

John Irving (Bestselling author)

Walt Disney (Animator, voice actor and Film producer)

Steven Spielberg (Screen writer and Director)

Jack Horner (Palaeontologist)

Albert Einstein (Physicist)

Pablo Picasso (Artist & sculptor)

Keira Knightley (English actress)

Jim Carey (American actor)