Shore Road, Newtownabbey, BT37
Welcome to 'My Dyslexia Teacher'
I'm Elizabeth McGilton
- a Specialist Dyslexia Teacher -
working with children in Northern Ireland.
Overview of My Services
I offer tailored, 1:1 teaching to children for whom the acquisition of literacy is very challenging.
Lessons are for 1 hour per week, are aligned to school terms and take place in my garden room. All the materials your child will need are provided.
My Teaching Qualifications & Experience
Education
- Master of Education (MEd) - Addressing Difficulties in Literacy Development
- Accredited Teacher Status (ATS) with the British Dyslexia Association
- Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE)
- BA (Hons) European Humanities
Experience
- 20 years teaching experience across all primary aged groups
- Peripatetic teacher of Y8 pupils with dyslexia in Belfast secondary schools
- 3 years (and continuing) with the Northern Ireland Dyslexia Centre
Other
- Professional Membership of the British Dyslexia Association
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Enhanced Access NI Certificate
The Main Indicators of Dyslexia
Psychological and Emotional
- Children may appear withdrawn, confused, embarrassed, frustrated or angry
- Children may be distractible, try to avoid work or conceal their difficulties
- Children may compare themselves negatively to their peers and wonder why good reading, spelling and writing seem to come so effortlessly to other children
- Children may approach their learning with a heightened sense of anxiety
Phonological Awareness
- Slow development of speech as an infant
- Difficulty in remembering the alphabet, rhymes and songs
- Difficulty in being able to hear and discriminate amongst phonemes (smallest parts of speech) in words, i.e. may not hear the /i/ sound in 'kit' or the /e/ sound in 'red'
- Difficulty with pronunciation of sounds and words
- Struggling to hear how certain words rhyme with each other
- Poor perception of syllables
- Difficulty in linking sounds to their letter correspondences
Reading
- Poor phonological awareness leading to difficulty in decoding words
- Confusion with letters and words that look similar such as 'b' and 'd', 'was' and 'saw'
- Slow and laboured reading that often lacks expression
- Guessing at words because they may fit with the grammar or context of the text
- Difficulty acquiring a reliable and secure sight word vocabulary
- Poor comprehension skills due to the effort of decoding
- Weak reading stamina, fatigue and loss of concentration
Spelling & Writing
- Over-reliance on phonetic strategies
- Difficulty in selecting the correct letter combinations leading to idiosyncratic spelling
- Reversals of letters and words which look similar (as above)
- Great difficulty with retention of learned spellings
- Work that is discrepant with child's oral ability, i.e. choosing less ambitious vocabulary with which to express themselves
- Weak writing stamina and poor motor skills impacting the standard of presentation
Organisational Ability
- Difficulty with organisation such as following instructions or with being in the right place at the right time
- Difficulty with self-organisation and daily routines
- Difficulties with concepts such as awareness of time or of left and right
- Difficulty with any manner of sequences
How 'My Dyslexia Teacher' Can Help
Personalised Learning
Personalised Learning
Personalised Learning
A meeting with parents about their child's educational circumstances is my starting point, as well as reading any information that parents can supply from school or from an Educational Psychologist.
An assessment of the child's level of understanding, knowledge and skills then follows during the first one to two lessons.
After that, lessons are meticulously planned and resourced for that child. Homework to reinforce the learning is provided at the end of every lesson. Verbal feedback to parents is ongoing and written reports can be supplied upon request.
Systematic Teaching
Personalised Learning
Personalised Learning
My lessons directly teach the concepts and construction of English at the level that is appropriate to each child.
I teach phonics, gradually developing children's sensitivity to sound and the sound to letter system. We develop a bank of sight word vocabulary as well as children's comprehension of what they are reading. Spelling and writing are integral to each lesson, building awareness of how spelling patterns can be grouped into families together with looking at the exceptions to the rules. Punctuation, word classes, homophones, prefixes and suffixes, compound words and silent letters and so on, are all covered too. Of course, there are detours along the way as I respond to areas of need as they arise.
My lessons are cumulative, building carefully and sequentially on each child's understanding, knowledge and application.
Phonics
Personalised Learning
Multi-Sensory
My lessons follow a structured, phonics based programme. Children learn the alphabetic code and how to connect speech sounds to their written equivalents to support both reading and spelling.
We look at the shape the mouth makes as sounds are made and link this to spelling patterns first and then word families. This becomes gradually more demanding and sophisticated, as lessons continue, reflecting the complexity of the English language.
Multi-Sensory
Multi-Sensory
Multi-Sensory
The best way of teaching children with dyslexia is by engaging their senses.
I use colourful and engaging resources that allow children to approach their learning through seeing, hearing, touch and movement.
Using multiple means of presentation optimises children's opportunity to engage with real and lasting learning.
Assessment
Multi-Sensory
Assessment
An important aspect of my lessons is guiding the child to understand what it is that helps them to engage, to learn and to remember.
This is called meta-cognition.
Meta-cognition also supports children to apply and transfer what they have learned about their learning styles and preferences to other areas of learning.
Games
Multi-Sensory
Assessment
Children love to learn through playing games and there are many that I use during lessons to develop a child's understanding, including the use of assistive technology.
Children enjoy the competitive element that games provide and if there is an opportunity to reinforce learning with some entertainment, then why not?
My Personal & Professional Interest in Dyslexia
My guiding principle in my teaching career has always been ‘in loco parentis’ – believing that it is through strong, trusting and affectionate relationships with children that their mental well-being is protected and nurtured, in turn allowing them to reach their academic potential.
This could not be more apt when teaching children with dyslexia or dyslexic type difficulties.
My own research looked at the deep and lasting wound that dyslexia can inflict on children's self-image and self-esteem. It also looked at how this can be offset with robust, systematic and compassionate teaching. I very much enjoy encouraging children to reflect on their learning preferences, celebrate their successes and subscribe to a spirit of kindness for themselves and others.
On a personal level, my husband and son both have dyslexia. My husband's experience of education in 1970s and 1980s Northern Ireland was often bruising and humiliating and he learned to rely on his strengths to compensate. Our son grew up in England and was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was seven years old. His experience of primary school had echoes of his father's until we discovered a specialist school for dyslexic children which turned around his fortunes. His academic potential began to emerge, but of more importance to us as his parents, his self-confidence and self-esteem began to return.
As a full-time primary school teacher myself, there were many children in my classes showing dyslexic type difficulties who needed expertise and understanding to properly support them. However, there were certain impediments that contrived against being able to provide the depth and complexity of support that was required.
Therefore, it has been the fulfilment of long held personal and professional goals that my work is now solely with children who have dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies.
My only regret is not getting started earlier in my career!