Presentation 12
Dyslexia and Depression
Presented by Mark Le Messurier
A gift for participants from 'Generation Next' Conferences
'Generation Next Conferences'(2012 and 2013) feature a national seminar series, and supporting resources, aimed at protecting and enhancing the wellbeing of our children and teenagers.
Synopsis
This presentation is in admiration of the kids who set off to school intending to learn to read and write, but falter because of an unexpected collection of invisible learning difficulties. Soon after starting school they realise their learning is not the same as the others. The others scoot through the glorified reading boxes, while they struggle to retain word patterns and sounds. They burn with humiliation. This wasn’t their dream. A dreadful shame replaces the dream to read and write.
A few turn their shame inwards and stop trying. As the emotional pain grows some give up, become sad, lose friendships and refuse to go to school. Others become depressed and contemplate the incomprehensible seeing this as a better option than dealing with their shame in front of peers every day. For those who prefer to act out their shame, the script plays out with surprising speed, volatile emotion and errant behaviour. Not being able to crack the code still hurts, but at least they gain recognition for something.
How brave are our dyslexic students? How can they remain emotionally intact when they cannot access the everyday currency so readily available to others? Let's explore what we can do, on a very practical level, to support dyslexic learners and their parents.
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