All Things Dyslexia

In episode Series 7 Episode 6 we are joined by Mauro Galluzzo, a Dyslexia Advocate and Senior Journalist at BBC News

Proud to be dyslexic and champion for neurodiversity.

He is an advocate of a diverse and inclusive workforce and is part of the Neurodiversity Network at the BBC.

He has a passion for storytelling and digital journalism.

This podcast has been funded by Awards for All

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode Series 7 Episode 2 we are joined by Gavin-Mensah Coker, a lecturer in English Language at the University of Sussex, Deputy Race Equality Director, and a Student Wellbeing Advocate, to speak on the topic of ‘Dyslexia & Confidence and Self-Esteem.

Gavin Mensah-Coker MA (Sussex) MSc (LSE) is a Lecturer in English Language in the School of Media, Arts & Humanities, University of Sussex. He is also Deputy Race Equality Director and a Student Wellbeing Advocate in his school. Gavin convenes Academic Development for Business & Economics for UK Foundation Year students and the Pre-sessional English course for International Studies. He is an English language examiner for Trinity College London, conducting International ESOL exams abroad and Secure English Language Tests on behalf of the UK Home Office. He has over 9 years’ experience as a teacher and before that he worked in the fields of public policy and latterly in the advertising industry. He has written on of a variety of topics such as disability, volunteering, consumer trends, racism, and educational exclusion. His current research interests include English as a Lingua Franca in language testing; fostering a greater sense of inclusion for international students; reducing the awarding gap for BAME students; and supporting students with Specific Learning Differences (SpLDs). He is hoping to engage in a small-scale research project investigating whether there is a ‘hidden’ awarding gap for BAME students with (and without) diagnoses of SpLDs.

Connect with Gavin Mensah-Coker on social media:

https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p86027-gavin-mensah-coker (Profile Page)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-mensah-coker-1bab4a165/ (LinkedIn page)

This podcast is funded by the Awards 4 All (London Community Fund)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode Series 7 Episode 5 we are joined by Andrea Wright, Founder & Director of Black Swan Wellness to Work Initiative at Black Swan to speak on the topic of ‘Dyslexia: Social Isolation and Low Self-Esteem’. 

Black Swan Wellness to work initiative is an employability initiative which addresses health inequalities for local Black residents and carers in Lambeth who experience multiple challenges including mental health and chronic pain.

Andrea has over 25 years’ experience in the health and wellness industry across, private, NHS, corporate, charity and voluntary sectors.

Andrea has built resilience and enables individuals, groups, and communities to establish health agency, delivering justice-centred and trauma-formed care through collaborative relationships.

She wants to see people thrive and is committed to challenging the status quo to achieve this.

You can connect with Andrea Wright on:

Andrea Wright (she/her/hers) | LinkedIn (LinkedIn page)

integratherapy.co.uk/   (Website)

[email protected] (Email)

This podcast is funded by the Award 4 All (London Community Fund)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode Series 7 Episode 4 we are joined by Grace Owolade-Coombes, BME Dyslexia specialist and an expert practitioner, to speak on the topic of Dyslexia & Aspirations. 

Grace Owolade-Coombes has been working within the Further Education sector for over 16 years. She is a BME Dyslexia specialist and an expert practitioner. She champions diversity and inclusion, especially for young people entering the Tech Sector and Entrepreneurship. She is currently developing a framework around supported pathways into the Tech Industry for under-represented groups. She is founder of Transform Educational Support Ltd and co-founder of  Hackerfemo.com, Young Coders Meetup and newly formed 

 Tech London Advocates: Young Entrepreneurs to be launched at London Tech Week in September, 2021.

Contact Grace Owolade-Coombes on social media:

Linkedin Page: linkedin.com/in/grace-owolade-coombes

Website:  hackerfemo – Young coding ambassador

Website: Home | Young Coders MeetUp (wixsite.com)

Twitter: Grace Owolade (@gowolade) / Twitter

Young Coders MeetUp (@YCM_UK) / Twitter

This podcast is funded by the Award 4 All (London Community Fund)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode Series 7 Episode 3 we are joined by Lee Chambers, Psychologist and Wellbeing Consultant, Founder of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing, to speak on the topic of ‘Dyslexia & Mental Health’.

Lee Chambers is a British psychologist, coach, and founder of Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing. Trusted by multinational companies, elite sports teams, and global publications, he specialises in creating working environments and cultures that are regenerative to wellbeing and boost performance. In addition, he coaches ambitious athletes, entrepreneurs, and leaders to utilise psychology and wellbeing to excel in their field. He speaks often on issues around inclusion, mental health, and organisational culture, and has been interviewed by Vogue, the Guardian and Newsweek. Lee is the host of the Self-Aware Entrepreneur Show and was featured in the Top 50 BAME Entrepreneurs Under 50 in 2020, and as the Organisational Psychologist of the Year in 2021.

Connect with Lee Chambers on social media:

https://www.leechambers.org- (Website)

https://www.essentialise.co.uk – (Website)

linkedin.com/in/leechambers-1 (LinkedIn Page)

crunchbase.com/person/lee-chambers- (Personal Website)

This podcast is funded by the Award 4 All (London Community Fund)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Neil Alexander-Passe is dyslexic himself, and is the Head of SEND unit at a large co-education mainstream secondary school in North London, rated by OFSTED to be 'outstanding'. He is also an inclusion expert for the UK's Department of Education. He gained his Doctorate/PhD in 2018.

In 1990 he gained a BA Hons in Graphic Design (University of South Wales) leading to a 20-year successful career as a graphic designer in the travel industry. In 2005 gained an MPhil researching how dyslexic teenagers cope using measures of self-esteem, coping and depression (The Open University), and in 2010 he published his first book ‘Dyslexia and Depression: The Hidden Sorrow’.

His passion is to understand the trauma that many dyslexics experience at school, and any emotional ramifications that follow impacting on mental health. In 2010 he retrained as a teacher and has worked in special needs in both primary and secondary education. He is an advocate of early assessment in schools (gaining his CPT3A in 2014, so is a qualified assessor), and this has led him to present to MPs and peers in parliament on educational policy.

His current focus is with a ‘bi-ability’ theoretical model for dyslexia (compared to the ‘social’ model of disability) and the use of a ‘post-traumatic growth’ concept to understand how many dyslexic individuals can be successful ‘despite or because’ they experienced traumatic schooling as children.

His academic books include two edited volumes investigating ‘Dyslexia and Creativity’ (2010) and ‘Dyslexia and Mental Health’ (2012) and a book investigating ‘Dyslexia, Dating, Marriage and Parenthood’ (2012).

He has also written books on ‘Dyslexia and Mental Health: Helping people identify destructive behaviours and find positive ways to cope’ (2015), ‘The Successful Dyslexic-Identify the keys to unlock your potential’ (2017) and 'Surviving School as a Dyslexic Teenager: A Guide for Parents and their Teenager Children (Critical Youth Studies)' (2020).

Connect with Dr Neil Alexander-Passe online:

Twitter: @DyslexicSuccess

Website: www.dyslexia-research.com

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In this episode, we are joined by social entrepreneur, Miss Newlove, who has a lived experience of dyspraxia and dyslexia.

Miss Newlove is a woman of many talents. With a professional background in Project Management, Miss Newlove is first and foremost a Social Entrepreneur, passionate about supporting the wellbeing of men and women in every area of their lives through her motivational networking society The Newlove Xperience. As a Plus Size Advocate & Model, Miss Newlove spends a lot of time in Ghana West Africa developing the importance of body positivity and confidence, she is signed to the Plus Size Model Agency Ghana.

Early next year Miss Newlove will embark on a tour PROJECT NEWLOVE visiting schools in Ghana to on speak on the Power of Self-love. Known as a media personality Miss Newlove is also an acclaimed TV host and has worked with Omega Live TV where she had a show for two years called "GoalDiggers" which is now shown on Channel 7 on Sky digital.

Connect with Miss Newlove online:

Facebook: Eva Newlove 

Instagram: @missnewlove

Twitter: @_missnewlove 

This podcast is funded by Black Thrive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CEO and founder of Ladders4Action, Dr Adelaine is an international social worker and expert on action research and inclusive accountability. Working in the UK and internationally, her specialist areas of work include: inclusive organisational development; action research; gender, race and youth equality; humanitarian practice; collaborative knowledge creation and in ethical social research practices in challenging environments.

Dr Adelaine has worked across Africa and Asia in the capacity of researcher, consultant and practitioner. In addition to her 15 years of experience and doctorate in International social work Addy has attained a MRes in social research methods, PgDip in youth and community work and a BSc in disaster management and engineering.

Dr Adelaine is a methodological expert in action research and facilitating dialogue on complex and sensitive subjects. Some examples of her work include youth-led action research with slum dwelling young women in Uganda; practice-based action research and first-person reflexive action research with senior leaders in the NHS around the subject of race and inclusive leadership.

Connect with Dr Addy online:

https://ladders4action.org 

Twitter: @addyadelaine and @ladders4action

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In this episode, we are joined by Jacky Moran, to speak on the topic of PRUs (Pupil Referral Units) & Hidden Disabilities.

Jacky has over 20 years’ experience in career guidance and employability in a wide variety of public sector organisations, including registered charities and the Third Sector.

She has developed a particular forte in working with disadvantaged groups including NEETs, clients with learning differences, women returners and BAME clients.

She completed her MA in Career Guidance from Canterbury Christ Church University. Her other qualifications include an MSc in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and QGC Level 7 in Career Guidance Practice.

Jacky is a Registered Career Development Professional member of the Career Development Institute (CDI), the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), and she founded LifeWork, her Career Management Consultants business, in 2014.

Connect with Jacky online:

LinkedIn: Jacky Moran

Website: https://mylifework.org/

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In this episode, we are joined by Bhavin Shah (BSc Optom (Hons), MCOptom, MBCLA), a multi-award-winning behavioural optometrist with over 24 years of experience. His passion for linking vision with learning and his unique approach to solving complex problems using innovation led to him specialising in behavioural optometry.

He has helped hundreds of dyslexics to learn, study and work more effectively through a deeper understanding of their visual system. He has helped to develop pioneering eye-tracking technology and a range of detailed assessments to better assess the individual needs of his dyslexic patients. His tailored vision therapy and exercises have resulted in a range of benefits for his patients, from improved academic results in children to increased capability leading to better career prospects in his adult patients.

Bhavin Shah graduated from UMIST (University of Manchester) in 1996. Since he qualified as an Optometrist in 1997, he has been dedicated to delivering exceptional eye care to his patient community. With a passion to understand and explain the unexplained, he delved deeper into understanding complex vision conditions and challenges to help people better use their eyes to achieve their full visual potential. By studying behaviour optometry further, he was able to explore the link between vision, learning and information processing.

His passion for technology and innovation as well as improving children’s vision have resulted in his national recognition as Contact lens practitioner of the year (2019 and 2020), and for his own practice, Central Vision Opticians to be recognised as Children’s contact lens practice of the year (2018), Technology practice of the Year (2020).

Connect with Bhavin online:

Instagram: @centralvisionopticians

Facebook: @centralvisionop

Twitter: @bhavinvisionary

This podcast is funded by Equip, Education Skills Funding Agency & European Social Fund.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.