Dyslexia champions recognised at Business Excellence Awards

31 October 2011

Dyslexia champions recognised at Business Excellence Awards

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SPELD Mana’s success in helping dyslexic children and their families was recognised on Friday night (28 October) at this year’s Westpac Porirua City Business Excellence Awards.

President Bev Boys says it was an absolute honour to receive the Education Award at this prestigious annual event held by Porirua Chamber of Commerce. The award was sponsored by Sand Dunes Early Learning Centre.

“As a not-for-profit organisation in the education sector it was really amazing to be singled out and presented with a Business Excellence Award in front of the crème de la crème of Porirua business.”

SPELD Mana currently supports 80 children in the Mana area which stretches from Otaki in the north to Tawa in the south. SPELD Mana has 18 teachers and two dedicated assessors working for it.

Often when children are bright but really struggling at school parents don’t know where to turn for help. Mrs Boys says SPELD offers full assessments and specialist teachers to work one-on-one with children diagnosed as dyslexic.

“Unfortunately there is no government funding for supporting dyslexic children so the parents end up picking up the bill for SPELD lessons and assessments. A large part of what we do is actively seek grants to help subsidise the families that really can’t afford to pay for the support their children need,” says Mrs Boys.

SPELD also works closely with schools to support its students in the general classroom situation – this means encouraging the use of larger text and allowing more time for certain activities. It can also mean adopting different teaching methods for the children’s individual needs.

“The really cool thing about working with dyslexic children is that they are often very creative, have great perseverance and a desire to succeed and a way of looking at the world differently. I often feel like I am learning as much from my students as they are from me,” says Mrs Boys.

Anyone wanting to know more about SPELD or to find out if their child is dyslexic can call SPELD Mana on 04 237 5770.

ENDS

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