Swimming with Words

Dive in to dyslexia with Mike Gordon as he swims through a language lagoon.

What I learned at DyslexiFest

Last Saturday, I escaped a drizzly afternoon by visiting Scotland’s first-ever dyslexia festival. The one-day event took place in The Lighthouse in Glasgow. Tucked down a wee lane, The Lighthouse is not the easiest building to find, but it is one of Glasgow’s architectural gems. It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and it is

Dyslexia, Reading and Visual Stress

This year as I am approaching 40, I finally have tinted specs for visual stress (sometimes people use the terms visual difficulties or Meares-Irlen). I had been tested at least twice before. Once as a kid, just after I had been identified as having dyslexia and again around 5 years ago. Before going for a

Discover your own way to revise with dyslexia

With so much pressure on students to achieve high grades these days, it’s not surprising that 60% of Scottish students are ‘very stressed’ about exams. If you are also dyslexic and have difficulty reading or concentrating, this can add to your anxiety while revising for final assessments.  Before you start your revision, ask for support and

The Power of Words

I seem to be coming across lots of article about the importance of language recently.   Whether it be people expressing annoyance at the word selfie (which was voted the most annoying word of the year according to Lake Superior State University, but there are numerous similar articles that claim whatever is the most galling word),

What Gaps Exist?

Following the recent news that Michael Morpurgo has written the first book in a series that is being published with the intention of making it easier for dyslexic parents to read to their children, I was surprised that, as the volunteer Resource Centre Manager for Dyslexia Scotland, I hadn’t realised that such a big gap

Reading Snobbery

A friend of mine was having a rant on Facebook last night because someone who was a complete stranger to her had taken it upon themselves to berate her for reading a gossip magazine (you know, something like Hello! or Closer).  It wasn’t as simple as decrying her choice of reading either; the individual made

A story by any other structure would teach the same….

Having highlighted the importance of reading in my previous blog entry, I feel that I can safely argue the other side of the coin without being hounded. Because the sad fact is, it is more than just dyslexia that can hinder someone’s reading ability and their fondness of books.  What they are forced to read,

Dyslexia and parenthood

A wonderful Insight in to dyslexia and parenthood from Julie McNeil, wife of Paul McNeil  one of our fantastic ambassadors Books, reading, developing your child’s imagination and sense of creativity were about as fundamental to my approach in parenting as things come. Paul, my husband who is Dyslexic, embraced this and we both read to

All the books I wish I’d read

I love to read, I do it for pleasure and there is nothing better than immersing yourself in a fictional world where you can create something really unique to your reading experiences. However, I have a tedious love, hate relationship with this pastime. I recently moved house and had to pack up all my worldly