Northwich Dyslexia Centre
Original date 19/9/11
Today we have Yvonne Lawrence with us from the Northwich Dyslexia Centre. Yvonne, hello, can you possibly tell us a little bit about what you do, and what you can offer people?
Certainly, the programme that we run is a multi-sensory programme which is quite different teaching to that which is supplied in schools. It is necessary for dyslexic people because they have a different pattern in their neurological pathways and don’t really pick up things, make connections in the brain, with the written word in the normal way. It is estimated that 10% of the population is affected by dyslexia but of course it is often missed and seen as somebody being not very bright or not being able to catch on very quickly, and it is quite demoralizing for children in schools who are often actually brighter than their peers but have this different way of working with their brain and not making connections. So we have to teach them differently and in fact we don’t call it teaching, we call it a learning programme because dyslexic people have a different way of learning. So it is a very successful multi-sensory programme, it is run on the computer which people like because writing is tricky for dyslexic people but it transfers into the writing once their skills have been brought up to speed. We have children, young children up to adults and they all benefit hugely from it. I won’t say particularly but adults often have spent their whole lives wondering why they know they are ok, they know they are as bright as everybody else but they spend their whole lives wondering why they can’t get this down on paper and can’t read properly and it is a massive relief to people when they find that actually they are dyslexic, actually it can be helped. So that’s all we do.
That sounds so useful, I must admit it is very nice to know that there is a facility such as yours available in the Northwich area. Can I ask, is it a privately run facility?
Yes it is. It is run after school, pupils come usually for 2 separate hours a week after school. Yes, it is privately run.
Do you find that the confidence in these people just goes sky high after them getting the help?
It is the very first thing we notice, the very first thing. After 3-4 lessons, these children who have come in with their chin on their chest initially suddenly stand tall and say, do you know what, I can do this and I am not thick. It is a fab job to do I can tell you. It is great. As I say the adults are the same, suddenly they realize there is a reason for this and it can be helped. It is a wonderful job to do.
10% of the population, I really wasn’t aware of that. That is a substantial number of people that have this condition.
I will tell you a worse statistic which is it is estimated that 60% of the prison population is dyslexic which is quite a statistic, and it would appear that the reason for that is that because dyslexic people tend to be very bright, they tend to get more frustrated when they can’t do it and they use their brightness in other directions and it is very sad that there is no help, or these people haven’t been helped, and they have been allowed to let their self esteem drop to such an extent. Really there should be a lot more work done in prisons actually and you know young offenders institutions, but there we are. I am not going to suggest that all children who are dyslexic are going to turn into young offenders but it is a worrying statistic isn’t it?
Definitely. Can I ask do you have a website for your centre? Can you tell us what it is please?
Yes, it is www.northwichidl.co.uk.
So obviously you have told us that you have a centre in Northwich. Are you aware of any centres around the rest of the country?
There are about 20 of these centres dotted around the country yes. It is available nationwide.
Thank you. Anyway, it has been so useful to speak to you today and raise awareness of this issue that there is so much help available out there, so thank you so much for talking to us.
My pleasure, thanks Debbie.