The Dyslexia Guild Summer Conference, 30th June 2011, Oxford.

Dyslexia Guild Summer Conference 2011 Session Abstracts

Morning Programme Keynote at 10.15 – 11.00 Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre

Reading development and difficulties: What skills do you need to be a good comprehender? Keynote Speaker Dr Kate Cain Reading comprehension is essential for education and learning. Reading comprehension could not take place without adequate word reading skills. However the identification of children with specific reading comprehension difficulties demonstrates that successful word reading is not sufficient for good reading comprehension. In this presentation, I will draw on recent research that identifies the discourse-level skills that support reading (and listening) comprehension development and sources of comprehension difficulties. I will also consider the wider implications of poor comprehension for language development and learning.

Keynote Speaker Kate Cain (DPhil, Sussex) has worked in the field of reading development and difficulties since 1992 and is currently a Reader in the Department of Psychology at Lancaster University. A particular focus of her work is the identification of knowledge and skill weaknesses that result in poor reading comprehension. She is the author of a recent book Reading Development and Difficulties (published by Wiley, 2010) and is an associate editor for the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders.

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Seminar session 1 at 11.15-12.00

Using Shape Coding to Teach Grammar by Dr Susan Ebbels The session describes an approach to teaching grammar which has been designed for school-aged children with specific language impairment (SLI). The approach uses shapes, colours and arrows to make the grammatical rules of English explicit. This session will introduce participants to the basics of the Shape Coding system and the variety of ways it can be used.

Dr Susan Ebbels research interests are in Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and in particular the difficulties children with SLI have with argument structure. She is investigating the extent and possible source of these difficulties and how they can be remediated. She is also interested in investigating the difficuties children with SLI have with a range of different areas of language, how these are related to each other and implications for theories of SLI. A particular interest is in developing and evaluating methods of intervention for children with SLI. A past research interest is in psycholinguistic profiling for children with SLI and hearing impairments.

Susan also works part-time at Moor House School, a residential school for children with severe SLI, as a specialist Speech and Language Therapist. She works primarily with secondary aged children both in the classroom and in individual and group therapy sessions. She co-ordinates intervention within the school for children with speech production difficulties using instrumental analyses, including oral-nasal anemometry and electropalatography.

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Seminar session 1 at 11.15-12.00

Assessment: Meaning and Interpretation by Dr Barry Johnson This session is aimed at experienced diagnostic assessors of clients of any age. The mounting criticisms of the traditional ability- attainment discrepancy model will be briefly summarised. Two contemporary models that are gaining popularity will be summarised –aptitude-achievement consistency analysis and response to intervention. Implications for contemporary frameworks of field work practices will be discussed against the backcloth of trends in test design, professional standards, and quality assurance.

Dr Barry Johnson is the Principal Educational Psychologist and Head of Assessment Services for Dyslexia Action. He is a member of SASC. Barry manages Dyslexia Action’s Quality Assurance Team and liaises with Dyslexia Action’s 90 or so consulting psychologists on all matters concerning assessment of clients.

Seminar session 1 at 11.15-12.00

Units of Sound and the Adult Learner by Simon Kilner Are you a teacher, support worker or manager supporting distance learning, family learning, group teaching, work based coaching, study skills or pronunciation? Units of Sound is a structured, multi sensory, phonological programme developing word, sentence and text level skills. Learner managed, and suitable for home and classroom, the software can be supported by trained, supervised non specialists or be part of a specialist teachers toolkit. Independent reading and spelling assessment places students appropriately across learning levels from basic literacy to university and beyond.

Simon Kilner is Principal of Dyslexia Action, Leeds and works nationally for the Department of Research and Innovation. Supporting experiential and multi sensory learning is a thread that runs throughout his professional career. Primary school teaching led to a master’s degree in the psychology of learning. After

09/05/2011 Page 3 of 10 The Dyslexia Guild Summer Conference, 30th June 2011, Oxford. working on the national evaluation of the government “Flexible Learning” project, and writing primary science materials for Heinemann, Simon re-trained in Ericksonian and Focusing- oriented approaches to emotional change. He built a successful client and international training practice before dyslexia support provided an opportunity to combine and grow his skill sets.

Seminar session 2 at 12.00-12.45

Self esteem and dyslexia: how to help dyslexic learners develop a positive self image by Lesley Burnett We all have seen the effect that poor self esteem can have on people who have dyslexia. This can range from a lack of engagement in learning to disruptive behaviour in the classroom. This seminar explores how dyslexia can affect self esteem and learning and suggests some strategies that teachers can use to help break the cycle of negativity.

Lesley Burnett has been the Dyslexia Action Postgraduate Academic Director since 2009 and oversees the delivery and development of the PG Certificate and Diploma courses. She has worked in education for over 30 years as a class teacher, deputy head, SENCo and Local Authority specialist advisory teacher. Lesley has a special interest in the beneficial effects that giving learners a 'voice' can have on self esteem and has spoken on the subject both nationally and internationally. She has also co- produced resources to support teachers in active listening and has written articles and course materials on the subject of self esteem and learning.

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Seminar session 2 at 12.00-12.45

Putting Specialist Teaching Skills into Practice by Glenys Heap This session is primarily a discussion session aimed at teachers with specialist qualifications in dyslexia. It will allow participants to discuss and share practice around the following questions:  How do you use your specialist skills o In the classroom o To support colleagues  What is your experience of intervention programmes  What resources, websites etc. would you recommend

Glenys Heap is CPD Programme Director for accredited and non- accredited short courses delivered within the training department of Dyslexia Action.

Glenys was the lead writer for the dyslexia materials produced within the Inclusion Development Programme, working in partnership with ICAN and the National Strategies. She is currently leading on a project: Building on Inclusion Development (BID), to produce a range of CPD courses for classroom teachers and teaching assistants who wish to build on the work begun in the IDP.

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Seminar session 2 at 12.00-12.45

Change your life as a literacy teacher with a simple tool: Use an online corpus by Dominik Lukes Online corpus (a large searchable database of representative samples of English) is the primary source of our knowledge about language. But it has many practical applications for the teacher. You can create worksheets, word exercises or even set learners little research tasks. No more thinking about 10 words ending in – ies for the next lesson. A corpus will give you dozens in seconds sorted by their frequencies. No more trying to find exceptions to spelling rules. A quick corpus search has the answer. Learners can also benefit from a corpus directly by searching for how words and phrases are used in real life. Don’t miss out on learning about how to simplify your file.

Dominik Lukes is Dyslexia Action's Learning Technologist and Co-Convener of the Structure of Language Module on the Postgraduate Course in Dyslexia and Technology. He has worked with online corpora and language teaching since 1994. An author of a textbook of Czech as Foreign Language he has taught Czech language and culture at the University of London and the University of Glasgow. Prior to that he worked as an academic director at a TEFL teacher training school and as a Regional Language Specialist for United States Peace Corps in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

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Afternoon Programme Keynote at 1.45-2.30pm Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre

Specific Language Impairment and Dyslexia Keynote Speaker Dr Chloe Marshall In this talk I will introduce Specific Language Impairment (SLI), a developmental disorder that is much less well known than Dyslexia. SLI is parallel to Dyslexia in many ways, but affects spoken language development rather than literacy. However, many children have both SLI and Dyslexia. I will explore the characteristics of children who have SLI, why SLI is so frequently comorbid with Dyslexia, and how SLI impacts on the acquisition of literacy skills.

Keynote Speaker Dr Chloe Marshall is a senior lecturer in developmental psychology and language acquisition at City University London, where she teaches trainee speech and language therapists and supervises research students in a range of topics related to language development. Her own research focuses on language impairments in hearing children and in deaf children who are learning British Sign Language. She is particularly interested in the overlap between different developmental disorders such as Dyslexia, Specific Language Impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorder, and is currently editing a book entitled “Current Issues in Developmental Disorders”, due to be published by the Psychology Press in 2013.

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Seminar session 3 at 2.30-3.15

Practical tips for Study Skills for Specialist Teachers. Dineke Austin This session is a hybrid: part presentation - part discussion session aimed at teachers with specialist qualifications in dyslexia. It will encourage participants to discuss and share practice around the following questions:  Which study skills are most useful for our learners (of all ages)?  What study skills do you regularly teach and develop?  What resources, websites etc. would you recommend?  What study skills would you like to develop your practice in further?

Dineke Austin is a Senior Tutor for the Training Department of Dyslexia Action. Her main roles are as PG Diploma Course Manager and Lead Tutor on the Examinations Access Arrangements course, but she also contributes to course and module development.

Dineke co-wrote the module ‘Study Skills in the Classroom’ for the ‘BID’ project to deliver new on-line CPD courses for classroom teachers and teaching assistants, and is delivering webinar INSET on this subject to Dyslexia Action’s specialist teachers later this term.

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Seminar session 3 at 2.30-3.15

Partnership for Literacy: A Whole School Solution by Simon Kilner Would you like specialist mentors to work hands on with your teachers and support workers to develop customised approaches to structured, multi sensory, phonological literacy support? Partnership for Literacy (P4L) Packages offer an affordable way to improve word, sentence and text level skills in reading, spelling and writing. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education are appropriately supported by mixing and matching components (Active Literacy Kit, Dyslexia Action Writing Course and Units of Sound software) with proven track records in individual and group support across the three levels of education.

Simon Kilner is Principal of Dyslexia Action, Leeds and works nationally for the Department of Research and Innovation. Supporting experiential and multi sensory learning is a thread that runs throughout his professional career. Primary school teaching led to a master’s degree in the psychology of learning. After working on the national evaluation of the government “Flexible Learning” project, and writing primary science materials for Heinemann, Simon re-trained in Ericksonian and Focusing- oriented approaches to emotional change. He built a successful client and international training practice before dyslexia support provided an opportunity to combine and grow his skill sets.

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Seminar session 3 at 2.30-3.15

Putting Specialist Teaching Skills into Practice [*repeat from a.m.] by Glenys Heap. This session is primarily a discussion session aimed at teachers with specialist qualifications in dyslexia. It will allow participants to discuss and share practice around the following questions:  How do you use your specialist skills o In the classroom o To support colleagues  What is your experience of intervention programmes  What resources, websites etc. would you recommend

Glenys Heap is CPD Programme Director for accredited and non- accredited short courses delivered within the training department of Dyslexia Action.

Glenys was the lead writer for the dyslexia materials produced within the Inclusion Development Programme, working in partnership with ICAN and the National Strategies. She is currently leading on a project: Building on Inclusion Development (BID), to produce a range of CPD courses for classroom teachers and teaching assistants who wish to build on the work begun in the IDP.

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