Often, the first time parents hear the term Working Memory (WM) is when their child undergoes assessment for learning difficulties. Teachers generally understand that a student’s WM dictates the relative ease or difficulty with which they ‘hold’ information for short periods of time, say to follow classroom instructions, write and spell accurately or complete a mathematical calculation. But there’s more to working memory. Continue reading
In the UK developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is also known as dyspraxia.
This year’s theme for Dyspraxia Awareness Week is Mental Health Matters. The focus for 2018 is on teenagers; for 2019, it will be adults. Continue reading
I asked recently what sorts of blogposts people would like to see, and one of the responses related to question words. This is a great topic, and I’ve decided to deal with it in three separate articles. The first relates to spelling and the second to using questions to develop reading and listening comprehension skills. Today, we’re looking at
Updated for Autism Awareness Week 2018. Continue reading
A few thought on targets Continue reading
For a more in-depth explanation of orthography, read this. Continue reading
A few simple ideas to support children’s development of letter-sound correspondence. Continue reading
Have you ever considered the proportion of nursery rhymes that include counting and numbers? Continue reading
Much can be learnt organically through play and in the informal routines of school and family life, but sometimes we have to work at it. Here are a few ideas to make the process easier. Continue reading
I’d previously attended the National Autism Show in Birmingham, at the NEC, so wasn’t sure what this nearby variant would bring to the table. I’m always keen to support local initiatives, and I had managed to keep the day free, so it made sense to make the effort and the 45 minute drive to see what was on offer for myself. Continue reading
In previous years I had attended the show with my school-based teacher’s hat on. For four or five years I had chosen seminars to develop my understanding to support existing pupils and fill the gaps between experience and INSET. This year I was returning without a school, and with a very different perspective. Continue reading
Dyslexia awareness week 2017 runs from Monday 2nd October to Sunday 8th October, with the theme Positive about Dyslexia. Continue reading
For certain students, traditional teaching methods are not always sufficient, and sometimes not appropriate, no matter how sensitively planned and delivered. Continue reading
A few ideas to make the most of visual prompts – can be adapted for home, too. Continue reading
Typical reading development might look something like this: Continue reading
Continuing the theme of recent blogs on literacy acquisition, here we focus on symbol-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondence and early reading. Continue reading
Many children find certain things tricky, and many behaviours are part of typical development. Teachers and parents can spot the occasions when things are too tricky or happen too often. Often a little well-timed support will be all that’s needed, but when that is not enough, it may be time to plan further adjustments or seek advice. Continue reading
So far, we’ve looked at physical, fine motor coordination skills, phonic knowledge and orthography, which includes spelling conventions. All of these play an important part in learning to write and spell in English. Another aspect that is particularly useful in English is morphology. Continue reading
