February 2024

Spring is springing... with the occasional chilly day… but the snowdrops are a sign!

We have been very busy writing the final report for the Early Childhood Educators Professional Development Pilot.

It was a rush… although we got accepted last August, once contracts started to go back and forth, and all the requirements complied with… we didn’t get started till October!  The 12 participants have been fantastic… assignments and their final evaluation have been gathered… and some of their observations are priceless.  The final report goes out February 9. 

We encouraged all the ECEs to use the 3 tools, Release, Dial and Focus, themselves before they shared them with the 3-5 year olds…

“this exercise is an awesome self-reflection and self-awareness tool for me to assess how I am feeling and where my emotions/energies are throughout the day.” 

Some ECEs use all 3 tools at home, and it does seem that they have the best results in their classrooms.  Children know when you’re faking it… so they know when you are truly using the tools too.

“two of our children having conflict on all activities, so .. we did our Release and I said, if we need help or want a toy we are using 5 or 4 to our voice/body. They both calmed down and next day I can see they are both trying to regulate their emotions to one another.”

The Koosh ball toss proved very popular. Some ECEs found that the children were more willing to use their tools if they knew Koosh ball toss was going to happen. ECEs wait to see who has their dial on 5 before they toss the ball… guaranteed motivation!

For the Focus exercise the children needed to understand what it is to imagine. You would think this was not an issue, but they are ‘Covid’ children who haven’t been allowed to play with other children outside their bubble, and maybe had more screen time than is typical.  Several games introduced them to the concept of imagining and it even helped some children who “have been unsure how to play with peers.”

One little boy was frustrated because he couldn’t ride his bicycle.. his ECE suggested using all three tools together.. and off he went!

Some of the ECEs would like to continue to the end of their school year, to complete Letter Mastery, Picturing to Remember (what is being read to them) and start Word Mastery.  We are hopeful that the Ministry of Education will decide to offer it to all ECEs in BC. 

At the moment we are just incredibly grateful to Julie Brewer, who knew it would work because she’d been using/adapting the skills ever since she took a DLS for K-3 teachers. She had so many wonderful suggestions, games, tips, materials to share; to Stacey Smith who embraced the idea of presenting the adapted 2 day Workshop; to DDAI for allowing us to create Davis Learning Strategies for Early Years as part of the pilot; to Laura O’Neill who created the Thinkific learning account for all of the attendees and kept the administration running smoothly. I had fun…creating the scripts and live/recorded Modules, assignments and evaluations. It was all so worthwhile!

TELUS STORYHIVE: Having delivered the ‘practice’ film last December, we are now involved in creating the ‘Main Edition’.  I met with our National Screen Institute Mentor, Maureen Levitt, who is wonderful and really good at guiding the project.  She is very experienced, and was able to illuminate the path forward which involved us having a Director and creating a ‘treatment’?!?!? At this point, I am in totally uncharted waters, way beyond my pay grade… my picture for ‘treatment’ had medical vibes. 

It is turning out to be an incredible lesson… I was given a sheet telling me what a treatment should be… I thought I followed it.  Obviously I didn’t.  I asked for an example to follow… thought I followed it… no I didn’t. I googled how to write a treatment and found www.docfilmacademy.com which was brilliant, not too many words, slides and examples...the jury is still out on that one. All this time, Maureen had been reading my book, she phoned to say she loved it, it was well written, she liked the sections, she liked the humour…so realising that I can write…led to her ‘aha’ moment. She said that I should write the treatment as I felt it should be written… because that was the whole point of the film… I learn differently!

COME TO THE DYSLEXIC TABLE - Episode #10 - ‘What is Different About a Davis Program?’

Our February 1st Live Chat was on procrastination… I think we should have put it off. 😊

As usual Sharon had written a great article and the Podcast will be published shortly HERE.

JOIN US for our 10th Live Chat on March 1st at 4.30pm Pacific. We’ll be discussing ‘What is different about a Davis Program?’.

You can read Sharon’s article HERE, please RSVP for your zoom link.

What is different about a Davis program?

Davis programs are different. You don’t just enlist, you have to qualify. We do not tutor. We do not use phonics or endless repetition or drill. Instead, we facilitate clients to use their inner strengths/skills/abilities to unfold the cause of their struggles and hence make improvements in a matter of days. Not everyone qualifies to partake in a program and here are the reasons why.

Firstly, programs are conducted by rigorously trained facilitators.  Facilitators by definition are  people that make things easier. They plan and guide a person to meet their goals whereas teachers use their subject matter expertise to design curricula, presentations, and learning materials. One Google definition states “Facilitators get things done.”

In order to define goals, there is a degree of self awareness involved.  Children go to school without clearly defined goals and get taught general things based upon a curriculum designed by adults who deem that at a certain age a child should know certain things. Whereas a person who visits a Davis program, has something in mind they want to fix or improve, a goal. This requires some ability of self awareness and that is why the suggested age to enroll in a program is 8 and up.  At that age, children enter a developmental phase known as the age of reason which refers to the developmental cognitive, emotional, and moral stage in which children become more capable of rational thought, have internalized a conscience, and have better capacity to control impulses. Being the right age doesn’t always qualify you for a program. It’s just the first step. 

The second qualification in goal setting requires a feeling of meaning and purpose. Without it, you can lose focus. The goals need to be specific and not general e.g. “I want to pass school”. A child needs to break that down into something more concrete such as to be better at spelling , reading, doing division problems or making friends. 

This requires the child to use their self-awareness to be aware of how they feel about their abilities. The stronger they feel about their inabilities, the better it determines the motivation of the client. The more emotional they are about their negative experiences, the stronger the motivation is to act in order to experience positive emotions and minimize the probability of feeling negative emotions.  

Continuous positive change keeps the program going and we often ask if their goals are being met. That’s why we orchestrate a program to client’s goals because they are the ones “doing it”. So if they are aware that they are having a problem in some aspect of their life and want to fix it there is a good chance they qualify for a program. Intertwined with this goal setting is a desire for change.

The third qualification is finding a good support system to follow up with the program’s inroads. With a child, it is often the parent who assists. The reading and orientation exercises take about 15 minutes a day until child is reading at grade level. The clay work on the sight/trigger words is another matter as it depends upon the client’s goals. Depending upon what was accomplished in the program and client’s goals and schedule, the clay work can take around a year to complete. The more words that get done, the greater results. If the parent has a history of “not being able to work with the child,” they should hire someone who can, and support training is provided for them. Facilitators are there to help following a program but it’s the helper’s responsibility to ask.

In my office, there are three rules that clients follow.

• The first is to go slow. This is so they can identify the confusion.

• The second is to make mistakes and not to let it bother you. This can be a deal breaker for some as it is embarrassing to make mistakes and feel stupid. However, it is the mistakes that tell us what is going on and once a client knows how to correct them, they often feel relieved In order to relieve anxiety around this, I jokingly say, “You have to make at least five per day”.

• The third rule is to have fun! 

If all these things are in place, success is on its way!

Sharon Roberts, Davis Facilitator, Ontario https://dyslexia.ca/

Teaching Without Words – Matthew Peterson

Axel Gudmundsson, a Davis Facilitator in the UK sent Sue some material for the STORYHIVE documentary and we thought you might like it, especially the first minute:  Watch HERE.

BURSARY FUND

We are receiving a steady stream of requests for financial assistance for Davis Dyslexia Correction Method Programs. In addition, we are expanding our Bursary Program to include Davis® Autism Approach, Davis® Concepts for Life, & Davis® Concepts for Life - Early Years. The Davis Method programs are life changing. They provide the individual struggling with Dyslexia, AD(H)D, and Autism the tools to enable them to learn in a sustainable, successful and empowering way. We accept applications for children, youth & adults. We’ve seen remarkable changes in these individual’s lives where they are thriving and achieving their goals and dreams. Please help us continue providing financial support to these gifted individuals. Be a part of enabling their full potential. Consider donating to our Bursary Fund. We accept cash donations by e-Transfer (info@thewds.org), Canada Helps and PayPal Giving Fund. We have many other options if you’d like to check out our Giving Guide HERE. To read or view some of our testimonials check out our Bursary Program page HERE.

Much love from all of us….Sue, Laura, Julie, Nadine, Sharon, Paddy, Gisa, Tristan and Del…

CALENDAR

• Feb 16: Sue and Julie present 2 Pro Day Sessions: Cathedral School, Victoria and Brookes Westshore (return visit!)

• Feb 29:  Telus StoryHive Treatment due.

• March 1: Come to the Dyslexic Table Live Chat TITLE SHARON

• March 2:  The WDS AGM .. 10am PST

• April 13:  Making Tomorrow Count – Sue and Julie are presenting

• April 19: Decoda Conference, Richmond – Sue and Julie are presenting

WE’VE GONE INTERNATIONAL !  The Kakamega Project.

The WDS & The Kakamega Project team are on a mission ! To provide effective dyslexia education training to developing remedial tutors and supporting parents in Kakamega County, Kenya. We are very excited and honoured to be part of this initiative and look forward to telling you how it is unfolding. Visit our Campaign page HERE.

Nadine Schumont from Picture Perfect Learning Solutions in Stratford, Ontario is happy to announce the release of her “Neurodiversity" T-shirts and merchandise.

With every t-shirt sold, $5 will be donated to the Whole Dyslexic Society to use towards the many services offered. Click this LINK to see, and buy her exciting products.

Our Giving Guide: 

NEW!! We have created some information pages on our website for Legacy Giving and Donor Advised Funds. These are ways in which you can support your favourite charity. You can read all about them on our Giving Page HERE.

Picture Perfect Learning Solutions Neurodiversity Shirts & Merchandise. Nadine Schumont has created a line of shirts and merchandise celebrating neurodiversity. You can view the range of styles and images through her store. For every shirt sold Nadine is donating $5.00 to The Whole Dyslexic Society. Check out her shop page HERE.

Purchase our Gifted with Dyslexia Pins.  Purchase our Pins Here

TruEarth Eco-Friendly Laundry Soap and Products.  20% of all sales go to our Society.  Please follow the link to our Tru-Earth product page to purchase.  Tru-Earth Eco-Friendly Products Here

Donate a Car Canada. Looking for simple and free car removal? Donate a Car Canada accepts Vehicle Donations for The Whole Dyslexic Society. When you donate your car, truck, RV, boat, or motorcycle to The Whole Dyslexic Society through Donate A Car Canada, it will either be recycled or sold at auction (depending on its condition, age and location). Read more about Donate a Car Canada…….

See how donations can result in tax credits by reading the article below. Read More…Tax Benefits of Charitable Donations

Partial proceeds go to The WDS from sales and rentals of Ed Roman’s highly acclaimed “Red Omen” video. For more information on renting or buying Red Omen click here 

We gratefully accept donations through our Canada helps charity page. We have a variety of donor options. Thank you !

Canada Helps - General Fund 

Canada Helps - Bursary Fund 

Canada Helps Tribute - Donate in honour of or in memory of a loved one.  

Canada Helps Securities - A donation of securities or mutual funds is the most efficient way to give charitably. Since capital gains taxes don't apply, our charity receives the full fair market value when the security is sold, and you get a tax receipt which reflects your larger contribution. This allows you to give more and get more. TO READ MORE ABOUT DONATING SECURITIES OR MUTUAL FUNDS CLICK HERE

We are a registered charity with the PayPal Giving Fund. You can donate to our organization using your PayPal account with no fees. Thank you ! PayPal Giving Fund