At Ease with Dyslexia

Our son is dyslexic and it was when he first moved to first class I began to notice a slow reading pace, relying on phonic sound to say a word and spelling was a disaster, we struggled along, he got resource help at school and over time he seemed to be coping, my second son now in first class is showing the same difficulties. It was at this point I decided to look into dyslexia further and see what available help is out there. Don't get me wrong the boys have wonderful teachers and get great support at school but why should they not be able to overcome these difficulties. Then I found Breda in October and is was like an angel had sent me to her. We had our first visit on Nov 16th and I left her office buzzing and for the first time could see light at the end of the tunnel. After speaking to Liam’s teacher it was agreed she would take him back into the spelling test for three to four words, and I said let him do all of them as he does know them. He impressed her no end as he got all ten right and I know the same will happen again today. I have a bit more work to do with Liam and in the New Year start all over again with my second son. This gives me great pleasure as I know this will help him also. Thank you Breda

My son aged 9 had been struggling with his English and spellings for some time and was not up to the standard of his class. He had been assessed by the school but not diagnosed with any condition, no dyslexia or learning difficulty, but to me he was finding both these subjects hard going and therefore lacking in confidence in the classroom. He worked hard every week and put a lot of time into learning his 20 English spellings for the week. But I noticed that the following week he got them wrong and was not retaining them. I heard about Breda’s program from another mother who son was diagnosed with Dyslexia and decided to look into it. We completed the program for spellings and reading and the difference to my son is really great. The program provided us with a method of learning so that what he learns is retained in his long term memory. He is spending much less time learning spellings now but is doing much better and this has made him more confident in himself and at school. We also did the reading program which was helpful in getting him to visualise the story he is reading and not just reading words. He is happier to read by himself now and is reading more books than ever. For us it was a very useful program just to give us a method of learning spellings big or small and it has given my son a boost in his English and spellings and overall he is much happier with both subjects now.

The study hub is a fantastic place for students to go and study. Breda does everything she can to help students. It changed my daughters studying routine from doing nothing to going to the hub each week to study and couldn’t wait to go. My daughter finds it hard to concentrate especially with her Dyselxia. Breda did everything she could to make this hard task easy and more enjoyable. The lovely atmosphere helped her to sit down and focus. I just can't recommend it enough especially if your child finds it hard to study at home, the study hub really helps.

Just letting you know how we found the Dyslexia techniques you showed Emilie this August. When we finished we had a week off before school restarted. Two months on her spellings have improved so much. She can spell backwards faster now than forwards. She may get 1 out of 12 wrong occasionally. But most of the time she gets 9 – 12 letter words right. Her reading has come on leaps and bounds. It's not a quick magical fix. It's a work in progress. Most of all her confidence has grown. We are on a much better path. Homework is not the nightmare it once was.  

My son David, who is eight years old, has been struggling in school, from the first day really. Earlier this year, after many an assessment and a muddle of visits with various experts in their field, it was decided that David has Dyspraxia. While school have been largely supportive throughout and the advice from professionals such as his Occupational therapist, were invaluable, we still were at a point where we finished with first class with David struggling to one degree or another in lots of areas. Homework was the stuff that nightmares were made of and we coped by using alternative therapies to deal with the knock on stuff for David like anxiety and frustration. We completed the month long program with Breda over the summer. It was hard work, it took commitment and lots of patience. Lots of the work had a fun aspect, so we just maximized that side of things when the going got tough, it was all worthwhile! He is back in school two weeks and the improvements are immense. Spelling and reading have improved hugely, he is also much improved when it comes to listening to instructions and task completion and i just find we both have the coping skills to deal with the problems better as they crop up. Most importantly, he is walking tall, going in the school gate and that means everything. This program is great, it works and i wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to anybody. Breda is an exceptional person, she has the personal experience and i found she had a great way with motivating David and explaining things, to both of us. As he said himself, i wish my teachers could be more like Breda! Many thanks Breda,  

Just a note to thank you for all your help. Since completing the programme Gavin has gained so much confidence in everything that he does. I no longer have to sit beside him when he is doing his English. He has been in two plays and learned all his lines in a few days. He has also sang in church and is learning the tin whistle. He reads in bed at night and is always writing stories. I would never have envisaged any of the above ever taking place before we did the press play programme. Thanks very much.