Disability Resource Service
Steve Russell
Trained teacher
Disability
Adult literacy
Dyslexia assessor and teacher
Associate member of the BDA
Team leader Disability Resource Service
Level 1 James Hight
Your vision of Me
In constructing your vision of me
You judge me by your standards
Standards by which you know you can succeed
In my attempts to find the right words
You label me stupid, lazy, thick
Your words not mine
Your vision of Me
Within my mind, words are clear
It is your desire to have them recorded in ink
That fails me
Today I may hold optimism
But tomorrow it may again slip my grasp
I will find a way to escape your world
Of the written word
Patricia Wardle
Your vision of Me
 The thing that hurt me so much about school was one of
the teachers had the nerve to say to my face that I was
so thick that I would amount to nothing! And I believed
him.
 Reading makes me completely exhausted, my eyes
become tired and I get a headache.
 My hands won’t do what my brain tells them
Your vision of Me
 I misread a lot of examination questions but worst of all I
did not know why.
 If I have work to do at home I get good grades, but it
takes me hours and hours with a dictionary to check
every word. When it comes to timed work and exams I
rarely get a pass.
Your vision of Me
 Conventional methods of teaching had failed us, but they
were still embodied in these classes; spelling tests,
reading aloud, writing out spelling rules. Different people
need different strategies to learn – it is just a matter of
finding which one.
 I feel frustrated because in my head are all the right
words and ideas, but if I have to write them down I have
to find words I can spell and this often doesn’t show what
I am thinking.
Specific Learning Disability
 Dyslexia – Reading and/or writing – Educational
Psychologist
 Dysgraphia – Handwriting – Educational Psychologist
 Dyscalculia – Mathematics – Educational Psychologist
 Dyspraxia – Poor motor coordination – Occupational
Therapist
 ADHD – Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder –
Psychiatrist
 Clinical overlap is high
Specific Learning Disability
 Despite separate diagnostic labels clinical overlap is high
and pure cases are the exception
 Half the Dyslexic population is Dyspraxic and vice versa
 Overlap between Dyspraxia and ADHD is 50%
 Overlap between Dyslexia and ADHD is 30% with a
stronger link to inattention than hyperactivity
 Overlap with Autistic Spectrum Disorders but when
diagnosed autism takes precedence
Specific Learning Disability
 Originally dyslexia was identified in the 1870’s and the
Greek word dyslexia was used ‘dys’ meaning a difficulty
and ‘lexis’ meaning the written word.
 This is a simplistic and misleading definition, more recent
research has led to complex and scientific definitions of
dyslexia.
Specific Learning Disability
“Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial disorder
which interferes with the acquisition of language. Varying
the degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in
receptive and expressive language, including phonological
processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting and
sometimes arithmetic.”
Specific Learning Disability
“Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation,
sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or
environmental opportunities, but may occur together with
these conditions. Although dyslexia is life-long,
individuals with dyslexia frequently respond
successfully to timely and appropriate
intervention.”
International Dyslexia Association 1994
Right-Hemisphere Functions
 Alerts us to novelty; tells us when someone is lying or
making a joke
 Specializes in understanding the whole picture
 Specializes in music, art, visual-spatial and/or visualmotor activities
 Helps us form mental images when we read and/or
converse
 Responsible for intuitive and emotional responses
 Helps us to form and maintain relationships
Left-Hemisphere Functions
 Constantly monitors our sequential, ongoing behavior
 Responsible for awareness of time, sequence, details, and
order
 Responsible for auditory receptive and verbal expressive
strengths
 Specializes in words, logic, analytical thinking, reading,
and writing
 Responsible for boundaries and knowing right from wrong
 Knows and respects rules and deadlines
Specific Learning Disability
 Have you read your report?
 Do you understand what your specific area of
weakness is?
 Do you know what your strengths are?
 Do you understand how that effects your
learning?
 What strategies do you have to compensate for
your spiky profile?
What is the Disability Resource
Service?
 The Disability Resource Service provides study
support and specialist resources to students
with disabilities.
 We aim to ensure that students with any type
of disability have equal opportunity and access
to academic life at UC by making reasonable
accommodations.
 We promote self-directed, independent
learning.
What can DRS do for students?
DRS can provide a range of support services
including:
 Note-takers and exam reader/writers
 Library assistance
 Specialist computer hardware and software
 Materials in alternative formats
 Loan of digital voice recorders
Alternative Format Centre
 Printed material converted into screen readable text
 Audio recordings transcribed into digital text
 Photocopying, Scanning & Word-processing
 Assistive technologies
Disability Resource Service
 Contact at enrolment
 364 2987 x6350
 Fill out a learning support questionnaire and provide
supporting evidence
 Appointment for a comprehensive needs assessment
 Learning support plan is developed and sent to
departments as necessary
Learning Support Plans
LSP’s
 Summary of supports and resources as a result of needs
assessment
 Sent to departmental administrators for distribution and
implementation
 Recommend test/exam special arrangements
 Recommend various accommodations