The WDS Newsletter - October 2018

Dear Everyone,

Last week was Dyslexia Week – apparently, created by the ‘regular’ dyslexia community. SO, I thought it would be appropriate to send this Newsletter bringing hope to our ‘irregular’ community, even though I am a bit late !

The WDS Newsletter - July 2018

Dear Everyone,

I have just finished a Davis program and am privileged to see a student, who thought she couldn’t do something, go home feeling proud of her achievements. I was also privileged to have a visit with one of our Board, because sometimes I need a bit of a reminder that what we do is so important.

The WDS Newsletter - March 2018

Report from the Chair ? from our AGM on February 26, 2018

Dear Members

It hardly seems possible that a whole year (and a bit ) has gone past since the new Board came into being. I have to begin with sincere thanks to the outgoing Board, headed by Sue Jutson, and my thanks and admiration to the incoming Board,

Vegas Night in West Vancouver

Representatives of the Whole Dyslexic Society hosted Shift 2010 -- A Vegas Night in West Vancouver, Nov. 6, at the West Vancouver Community Centre. The more than 130 guests enjoyed casino games, fine food and dancing, bidding on auction items, as well as live entertainment, all the while raising funds for the society, which addresses the needs of dyslexic individuals, their families and the community while ensuring a safe place for learning, healing, social interaction, and growth and development.

Dyslexia: Learning disorder or gift?

Imagine you're struggling to read the words on this page, and the letters get flipped backwards, spun upside down and turned into an incomprehensible mess. That's a bit what it's like to have dyslexia. But is it a learning disorder or a special gift?

For eight-year-old Freya Enright, dyslexia used to mean struggle. She would get so frustrated from school, she would come and throw screaming fits, and up until a few weeks ago, she couldn't spell her last name.

Making it fun: Eight-year-old Freya Enright and mom Hayley work on Freya's reading skills. The Grade 3 student received tutoring in a unique method designed to tackle the challenges of dyslexia, and had great results.

Larry Wright/BURNABY NOW

"It was very difficult in school. I was having a lot of trouble, it was very stressful and (I couldn't) really spell and I couldn't get my math right," said the Grade 3 St. Michael's student.
Freya took a course with Sue Hall, a North Vancouver woman trained in a special technique, developed by author Ron Davis, to help people with dyslexia.

Dyslexia Can Be A Gift

Unique Program Helps Dyslexics Fulfill Potential

"All the other methods out there come from the sound-based world, even if they have multi-sensory facets, they are still based in sound [phonics]," she says.

He'll be working with Sue Hall, a Davis Dyslexia Correction Facilitator who uses the Davis method, based on the experience and work of Ronald Davis,...

It's not always as easy as 1-2-3

Kids with dyscalculia have trouble deciphering numbers, in the same way dyslexics have trouble with letters, researchers say.

It may look like arts and crafts, but when Nicolas Lafreniere plays with balls of clay, he's actually learning the basics of math.

As the Vancouver child moves a clay rope up and down a grid of balls under the watchful eye of his tutor, he's adding sets of the same number in order to understand multiplication tables. It's a remedial method that is working for a number of children like Nicolas, 9, who have trouble reading numbers.

Unraveling 'math dyslexia'

Although school has been back for less than a month, it is likely that many children are already experiencing frustration and confusion in math class. Research at The University of Western Ontario in London, Canada could change the way we view math difficulties and how we assist children who face those problems.

Daniel Ansari is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Western. He is using brain imaging to understand how children develop math skills, and what kind of brain development is associated with those skills.

The Whole Dyslexic Society's Shift Event

North Shore News (Sunday Oct. 28, 2007) article about The Whole Dyslexic Society's Shift Event

Seeing dyslexia as a 'gift,' rather than disability

Vancouver business wunderkind Glenn Bailey heads a diverse group of businesses, each one enjoying double-digit growth. The 45-year-old founder of Canadian Springs and owner of Wa-2, Liberty, Bailey Development and others, Bailey sees a niche where others see a barrier.

"I walk through the house before it's built," he explains.

He has the gift, man. The gift of dyslexia.