Dyslexia Awareness Week Assembly

What is dyslexia? What do you know about dyslexia? What words do you think of when you think about dyslexia? Ask children to put their hands up and say what words they think about when you think about dyslexia

See Dyslexia Differently This animation seeks to pre-empt misconceptions among young audiences by shedding light on the real challenges dyslexic children face whilst also acknowledging their strengths and potential. Watch video

This slide shows many of the potential challenges of dyslexia. Ask children to think about how this might affect an individual in school, how hard might they find school as a result, how these difficulties might make an individual feel.

Positive Dyslexia Traits Research has identified many positive traits associated with dyslexia. Here are a few: Determination to keep on going Skilled in creative problem solving Exceptional in the right niche Good social skills, empathetic and good with people Develop great coping strategies Creative Its not all about the difficulties! The different way that connections are made in the brain leads to potential strengths being associated with dyslexia: Determination – Often individuals have experiences challenges in school and over come these. This leads them to being determined to succeed and in some cases highly driven – a large number of successful innovators and entrepreneurs are dyslexic – Richard Branson, Thomas Edison, Einstein, to name but a few were all dyslexic and highly determined to find success. The different connections in the brain lead to different ways of analysing problems that can lead to the creation of innovative solutions. Dyslexic individuals can be exceptional in the right niche where they are able to use their talents effectively. Dyslexic individuals tend to have good social skills and are often empathetic. This sometimes is due to having to work with others to find support solutions and also an understanding of the challenges faced by others. Dyslexic individuals often have to develop their own way of doing things, sometimes this is just generally a better way of doing things! There are a lot of dyslexic individuals working in the creative fields such as the arts, but also in areas such as architecture, design, advertising, marketing, PR, computer programming, sales, care, the blue light services, etc. to name but a few.

Do you know anyone with dyslexia? Remember that while they may struggle with some areas, people with dyslexia can find other aspects of learning easier. Why not offer to help them if you know they are struggling? People with dyslexia can be very clever and do amazing things. They are often very creative.

What are these people known for? 7 7

Did you guess? Yes, they were all in Pirates of the Caribbean…. But they are also…. dyslexic! 8 8

Can you think of anymore famous people with dyslexia? 9 9

What about these people?

Yes all these people are dyslexic. There are lots of people who are dyslexic, 10% of the population are dyslexic. So if you have 30 people in your class can you work out how many dyslexic people are in your class? Yes that’s right at least 3! That’s a lot of people in our schools and a huge amount of people in the world!

Where to go if you want help? Firstly you should talk to your parents or teachers and don’t be afraid to say you are having trouble with something at school If they aren’t sure what to do, you can ask them to call the British Dyslexia Association helpline on 0333 405 4567 as they can give friendly advice

Go Green for Dyslexia Generously sponsored by Nessy Show your support for dyslexia on Monday 1st October The BDA and Nessy are encouraging businesses, schools and homes to show a green light in support of dyslexia and for people to wear something green! Join us in raising dyslexia awareness, light up your building or wear something green, take a photo and send it to us so we can share your support with our followers. During Dyslexia Awareness Week, we want to encourage people to go out and take action! Go and get information Go and get tested Go and get help

Go Green for Dyslexia sponsored by Nessy For more information, please click here!

by Touch-type Read and Spell No Pens Day by Touch-type Read and Spell Wednesday, 3rd October

by Touch-type Read and Spell No Pens Day by Touch-type Read and Spell The purpose of No Pens Day is to enable all children and adults to engage in activities that do not require writing and to explore other ways of showing knowledge and learning. This year the BDA has linked with Touch-type Read and Spell and The Communications Trust, and the challenge for Dyslexia Awareness week is to find new and creative ways of capturing learning that don’t rely on writing! All resources can be found on the BDA website via the link below…

Twinkl Resources KS1 Resource Pack KS2 Resource Pack KS1 Animation Discussion and Thinking Cards KS2 Resource Pack KS2 Animation Discussion and Thinking Cards

Resources Want to find out more? There is a lot of information for educators on the BDA website here. There is also a lot of information for dyslexic individuals and parents here and here! The BDA is the voice of dyslexic people. We aim to influence government and other institutions to promote a dyslexia-friendly society, that enables dyslexic people of all ages to reach their full potential. We provide a dedicated FREE Helpline. We receive no government funding and rely entirely on fundraising activities and donations. Please help us to continue with our work by texting: ‘VSOA24 £5’ to 70070 to donate to BDA - thank you!

For further information… BDA website: www.bdadyslexia.org.uk Helpline number: 0333 405 4567 Helpline email: helpline@bdadyslexia.org.uk Training number: 0333 405 4565 Training email: training@bdadyslexia.org.uk Assessments: assessments@bdadyslexia.org.uk

Any further questions?