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The first TTRS Master Licence is established in Ireland at Maynooth Computer Training to represent TTRS in Dublin Ireland. By December 2006 - 28 students have registered for the course in Maynooth and the TTRS course is also successfully established at the government sponsored Adult Centre for Literacy on the outskirts of Dublin.

Article titled "New programme benefits dyselxics" page 1 & page 2, both as PDF's, from TODAY plus (Singapore) •Tuesday • November 8, 2005

Holiday Courses in Bexley

In the summer of 2005 the London Borough of Bexley Local Education Authority will again be sponsoring Touch-type Read and Spell Computer Courses for Bexley children. Courses run from the 8th to 12th of August and 30th August to 1st September, and over one hundred children are scheduled to attend each course.

When asked for an evaluation of a previous opportunity to attend TTRS, one parent commented: “I think this is a really excellent course. I have seen my daughter grow in confidence. The course has shown her what she can do and this has now changed her attitude to the way she sees herself.”

Another parent added: “The course is excellent. It has been really motivating, confidence building by showing the results achieved after each module. It has also given my son a great deal of independence as it has shown him how to concentrate and do things on his own.”

For more information contact Philip Alexandre, National Course Director on 020 8460 8051 or at info@ttrs.co.uk or Christine Freeman on 020 8361 3013 or christinefreeman@btconnect.com.

Contact: Vivienne Cooling communications@bexley.gov.uk  020 8303 7777 ext. 2056

2005

Dr Beve Hornsby presenting certificates at the TTRS Holiday Course held on behalf of the London Borough of Bexley Summer 2004

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This obituary is from The Hornsby International Centre

The Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre is a registered charity that aims to educate, advise and support teachers, parents and anyone living with dyslexia

Bevé Hornsby  It is with very great sadness that we report the death of the founder of the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre, Bevé Hornsby, on December 14 2004. Only the previous day, Bevé had attended a lunch given by TouchType Read and Spell. Despite reaching an age when such an event would have been expected, Bevé was such a vital force  that the news of her passing still came as a tremendous surprise. As Iona Mackay, her long-time assistant commented, Bevé started a whole new career at the age of 69, a time when most of us are ready to take things easy. David Alban, in his foreword to Beve's last published book Dyslexics I have known, calls her  "a bottomer", ie "someone driven by a need to get to the bottom of things, whether practical or intellectual, an indispensable quality in pioneering research. All Beve's early work aimed at two things, to get to the bottom of dyslexia through an empirical approach, analyzing it by how it affected people, and to find out how far and by what methods dyslexics could be helped." David Alban continues by describing Bevé as someone who "shapes up" - a person possessing initiative, "who recognizes what needs to be done, feels it's up to her either to do it or get it done, finds out the best way to do it, organizes her energies, sets to work with zest and feels restless until the job is done. The job in this case was nothing less than to enlighten public opinion worldwide so that children suffering from dyslexia could be recognized, to train remedial teachers and, most difficult of all, to convert all existing teachers to her point of view."  Bevé spent most of her time working to get dyslexia known and accepted. The Hornsby Dyslexia Centre, which she established after retiring from Barts, and its Hornsby Diploma and Distance Learning Course are widely accepted as leaders in SpLD training. She was awarded an MBE for her work in the field in 1997.  In a presentation ceremony at the University of London Institute of Education, Bevé was awarded a Fellowship of the College of Preceptors, honoris causa,  awarded to persons eminent in education. In presenting her at the ceremony, the public orator, Prof Donald Moyle, said "There can be no question of the excellence of her work for children and teachers, just as one is always impressed by her as a person". I worked with Bevé for a decade. She was, at times, infuriating, but she was also charming, glamorous, indomitable and, perhaps above all else, inspiring. Dyslexics I Have Known carries the sub-title Reaching for the Stars;  Children and adults she assessed, teachers that she trained, the Hornsby Dyslexia Centre and the Hornsby House School which she also founded, those helped by her many publications - notably Alpha to Omega (through its five editions) and her practical guide Overcoming Dyslexia, the local dyslexia associations she helped all have cause to give thanks for her life and mourn her leaving.

Teacher training at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore in November 2004

Ken Conie and his son Adam receiving their Reading Champions award for Kens work with TTRS with the Bexley Down's Group.  Presented by BBC news journalist Huw Edwards at the London Science Museum Summer 2004.

2004

Pecan Limited

Pecan ESOL

Pecan works in an area of South London where there are large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. Many of these people lack basic English language skills, often resulting in isolation, unnecessary poverty and an exacerbation of their social exclusion. Due to the high demand for ESOL classes in this area many refugees in Southwark, Lambeth and the surrounding areas are unable to secure college support.

Between April 2003 and March 2004 we will deliver ESOL training to unemployed refugees in Southwark, Lambeth and the surrounding areas many of whom will fit the description above and will not be able to access the training they need to integrate them into British society anywhere else. This project will be a development from our standard ESOL provision.

In addition to being taught English, in order to assist the integration process into British society, we will provide them with: opportunities to be placed with voluntary organisations, up to date IT skills training, regular times allocated for job search and visits to places of interest, culture and education.

The project aims are:

• Improve Basic Skills levels with particular emphasis on development of English language.
• To assist social integration through greater awareness of British culture and its diversity.
• To give refugees a sense of being a contributor to the local community and work force for the period of their stay in UK. To improve their ability to communicate in day-to-day activities within the wider community.
• To see participants progress to either further education, volunteering work or full time employment and the
• To enhance the quality of life, health and capacity of refugees, to contribute to regeneration and promote equality of opportunity.

The projects innovations are:

• Work experience through placements with voluntary organisations.
• Increasing the clients cultural integration through regular visits to places of interest and education which will act as an extension to the teaching they receive.
• Allocating regular sessions in the student's timetable for assisted job search.
• Use of volunteers to provide one-to-one support for clients. (All volunteers will be trained to achieve the City & Guilds 9281 initial certificate (Teaching ESOL). This speeds up the language learning process for the individuals as focused tuition can be provided for the student.
• The availability of Touch Type Read and Spell (TTRS) software which develops basic literacy skills - particularly helpful for students who are illiterate in their own language.
• The provision of IT training for students who are qualified/skilled in their own language, creating the opportunity for them to gain the elementary IT skills demanded across the UK labour market.

Beneficiaries

• Refugees who have been unable to enrol on local ESOL courses due to over subscription.
• Refugees who cannot keep up with the pace of the standard TEFL classes.
• Refugees who cannot afford to pay for the classes.
• Refugees becoming better equipped to secure paid employment through voluntary placements.
• Refugees who need additional support to study and be integrated into the community.
• Refugees will benefit from 6 months follow up.

linda.jones@pecan.org.uk 

2003

West Everton Community Council - Dyslexia Awareness Workshops

2002

HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS FOR SCOTLAND
REPORT ON HM PRISON PERTH 2002

Curriculum and Assessment 7.33 The curriculum provided at the Learning Centre allows for 60% of the time being allocated to core elements such as communication, numeracy, computing skills and social skills. There are also courses of an optional nature such as languages, art, guitar, history (and interesting initiatives such as the ‘Dear Dad’ group which records stories for their children). A very imaginative course, ‘Touch, Type Read and Spell’, has been introduced to adult basic education with encouraging results for students with severe learning difficulties. However, attempts to re-introduce evening classes have been delayed by the shortage of discipline staff.

2000

British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta)
Milburn Hill Road, Science Park, Coventry CV4 7JJ Tel: 024 7641 6994 Fax: 024 7641 1418
E-mail: Becta@becta.org.uk
URL: http://www.becta.org.uk/

Full Information Sheet (PDF) on Visual Impairment and ICT
JULY 2000
About this information sheet
This sheet aims to provide:

•  an introduction to the growing emphasis on the place of information and communicationstechnology (ICT) for pupils with visual impairment (VI)
• a list of organisations, both voluntary and commercial, which provide information, advice, training, hardware or software relevant to students who have VI
• details of some of the published sources of information and advice on ICT and VI.

1999

Wednesday, July 7 1999

University of Greenwich Public Relations Unit

A MULTI-SENSORY COMPUTER COURSE IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES:

• Enabling prisoners and Romany adults to overcome illiteracy
• Helping pupils with dyslexia in 100 schools and colleges and improving skills of visually impaired and autistic children
• Improving literacy of Aboriginals via the Internet

A multi-sensory computer course developed by former University of Greenwich student Philip Alexandre is changing the lives of children and adults with literacy difficulties such as dyslexia in Britain and abroad. The Touch-type Read & Spell course was developed as a result of Philip’s open MA studies in the School of Education in the early nineties. As a special needs teacher with an interest in IT, Philip chose to study "Children learning with computers". Local school children were invited into the university to study how their learning progressed using computers. He says: "The study showed great potential for a multi-sensory programme to help overcome literacy difficulties using touch-typing, which teaches learners to ‘talk with their fingers’."

Mike Draper was head of the Masters Programme and provided valuable encouragement. "It’s amazing to think that the rudimentary software programme Philip developed as a result of his Masters degree has become such a valuable tool helping people of all ages to overcome their literacy difficulties," says Mike, who is still a consultant on the programme.

The programme can be tailored to individual needs, making it suitable for both children and adults. Its various functions give students endless options to suit their own learning style, strengths, weaknesses and speed of learning. The key to its success lies in the multi-sensory format; to feel with fingers on the keyboards, see the screen and hear the letters and words read out helps students transfer what they are learning from short to long-term memory. The content of the course is based on the textbook Alpha to Omega written for teachers of children with dyslexia by Bevé Hornsby and Frula Shear.

"A positive approach in a relaxed environment is very important for people who have only experienced failure with reading and writing," says Philip. The small modules, starting with three letter words, guarantee success. An on-screen graph shows students how they are improving and tutors see people’s body language change immediately as they begin to succeed. The sense of achievement raises self-esteem, which is why the programme is proving very effective in prisons.

The Chief Education Officer of HM Prison service, Penny Robson, describes the programme as "an excellent teaching and learning tool for use in prisons". Whilst just four per cent of the general population has severe dyslexia, it affects almost a third of prisoners. All too often these are people who have gone undiagnosed through school, instead being labelled lazy or disruptive.

At Pentonville, where the course was introduced in December, prisoners who have never read before are already coping with books. Jane Broadfoot, Education Co-ordinator at Pentonville, says: "It’s all about giving prisoners self confidence, a better hope of employment and a way out of crime. They can see that it’s possible to be dyslexic and still get on in the world." The programme also helped one of the prison officers, Ken Thomas, who had always been held back by his literacy difficulties. He says: "In just a couple of months it's taken the weight off my shoulders that's been there for the last 20 years." In May this year, the programme was introduced in HM Prison Rochester, where it is succeeding with inmates on remand.

Bexley London Borough Advisory Unit gave initial guidance and advice on developing the system and the Borough now contracts the course for 120 children and their parents during the school holidays. Plans are being discussed to allow greater access via libraries and the Borough’s own Intranet in the future.

"When I want to spell a word at school, I just think where my fingers would go," says 11 year-old Elliott Cross, one of the children who benefited from the Bexley scheme. "I couldn't understand words before. I knew what I wanted to write but the words would come out wrong. Now I can write five-page stories." Having contacted the Dyslexia Association, Elliott's mother Karen found out about the Touch-type Read & Spell course being run at the University of Greenwich. She says: "Going on the course gave me the reassurance that there was someone out there who could and would help my child." Elliott now hopes to go to university and become "a vet or a chef".

The system is running in around 100 schools and colleges across the country. Local Education Authorities are catching on to the benefits, including a project by Kent County Council to teach Romany adults with funding from the European Social Fund. Programme co-ordinator, Terry Waite, says: "We’ve found that learning to ‘use computers’ to improve literacy has a much better image and increases self-esteem." A pilot scheme with autistic children at the Helen Ellison School in Meopham, Kent, is proving very successful. Greenwich Visual Impairment Service has found the system very beneficial for children with poor vision, helping to improve their social skills as well as literacy.

News of the success of Touch-type Read & Spell is also spreading overseas. After seeing the programme in action at the University of Greenwich, Dr Paul Whiting of the University of Sydney and President of SPELD, the Australian equivalent of the British Dyslexia Association, carried out a successful pilot study in Sydney. At the request of parents, the programme will continue.

Philip and his team are also developing a project for Aboriginals to use Touch-type Read & Spell by Distance Learning on the Internet. In Singapore, both the Tanglin British School and the Australian School use the programme and Changhi Jail is interested in the course.

Further information about Touch-type Read & Spell is available from Philip Alexandre MA DPSE Cert Ed on 0181 464 1330.

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For further information: Caron Jones Public Relations Unit University of Greenwich

020 8331 8092(phone) 020 8331 8093 (fax)

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University of Greenwich Public Relations Unit

Maritime Greenwich Campus, 30 Park Row, London SE10 9LS

TELEPHONE: 020 8331 8092 FAX: 020 8331 8093

Pentonville Prison Dyslexia Project

The main aim of the Pentonville Prison Dyslexia Project was to offer dyslexic prisoners with poor literacy skills the opportunity to improve their skills through participation in a computer course. The Touch-type Read and Spell course is structured and delivers its content through small incremental steps delivered in a multi-sensory way with the opportunity to repeat modules.

Run by: A Joint Initiative of The British Dyslexia Association and Pentonville Prison

Timescale: Launched in 1998

Funding: The National Year of Reading

Further Information: The British Dyslexia Association Email: admin@bda-dyslexia.demon.co.uk Website: www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk 

Touch-type Read and Spell Website: www.ttrs.co.uk

First TTRS course established at the University of Greenwich. London