Automated Transcript Episode 12
Episode 12: Dyslexia support offered by the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity
Speaker Andy Cook CE Helen Arkell
Please excuse any errors as this transcript has been automatically generated
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Welcome to the SEND Parenting Podcast, focused on supporting, inspiring, and empowering parents and their Neurodiverse children. I'm your Neurodiverse host, Dr. Olivia Kessel. We'll be speaking weekly with experts in the world of neurodiversity. No topic is too big or too small for us to discuss. We will include things like, how do you navigate education? How can you understand what your child's legal rights are to an education? Practical advice on neurodiversity, and most importantly, hearing the voices of other parents just like you. Looking forward to having you join US weekly as part of the SEND Parenting Tribe.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
In this episode, we'll be speaking with Andy Cook, chief Executive at the Helen Arkell Charity, which provides holistic support for dyslexia, supporting parents, children, teachers, and adults struggling in the workplace. If you're wondering if your child has dyslexia, or if you're struggling to get the right supports in place to help navigate school, this is the podcast for you.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
So welcome, Andy. It is really wonderful to have you on the Send Parenting Podcast. You know, I wish that when I was young and an un-diagnosed dyslexic that my parents had access to the services that you offer at Helen Arkell. They didn't know what they were doing. I didn't know what I was doing, and it really wasn't until university that I got diagnosed. So, you know, the services that you offer and how you help people and support people is wonderful. So thank you for joining us today. Great.
Andy Cook:
Well, yeah, great. Thanks for inviting me to be here. Thank you.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Can you just take us a little bit through what is the vision and ethos is of Helen Arkell?
Andy Cook:
Yeah, the charity was set up over 50 years ago. Helen, who was our founder, sadly passed away, a couple of years ago. It was set up with a vision of trying to get dyslexia better recognized and get people the support they needed, that perhaps she had struggled to get herself when she was going through that journey, you know, many years ago. Aware that it can be a bit of a battle, um, and the fewer barriers that people have to face the better. So, um, yeah, so really at the charity, our main aim is to make the charity be what Helen wanted it to be and, and have the vision for it to be. In today's times where that takes us trying to move to a place where we're able to help more people with dyslexia in general across the UK bigger geography.
Andy Cook:
But also it's a big thing for us to help more people from lower income backgrounds in particular because it can be an uneven playing field out there. As I'm sure you are aware, to be able to go and get some help yourself, it can be an expensive world out there. So, you know, as a charity, we're able to, um, try and get some fundraising going so that we're able to give away some free support to more people. We would love it to be more than it is at the moment. But it is growing quite fast. You know, I joined the charity back in 2017 and we, it was only small numbers that were getting help that would otherwise not have been able to afford to pay, but we managed to help 271 individuals in that way last year.
Andy Cook:
Going forward the vision would be an awful lot more than that. That would be our aim. But yeah, I mean, we want to see it as a holistic approach. See each individual on a one-to-one basis, get to know what their needs might be, try and help people around them, so their parents, but also their schools and any anyone else that they come into contact with on a regular basis to be better educated in how to, um, how to support them and are understand their needs and, and how to bring out the best in them, um, but also adults as well. So it's not all about children. Um, and it brilliant. We will accept that the earlier the intervention, the better. However, if you happen to be in your thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, um, and there's been this term dyslexia knocking about, but it's never really been looked at, um, because no one's had the wherewithal, the means, um, uh, to, to get it looked into.
Andy Cook:
Then there's still a lot that can be done. You know, it can be life changing for adults too. So, um, we, we would also help adults and also help workplaces to be better or aware not only the accommodations that they could be making to, um, to get the most out of their, um, employees with dyslexia, but also to recognize that if you don't take on people with dyslexia into your workforce, you're missing out. You really are missing out on some great talent. So, yeah, it's a fairly broad spectrum of things. Um, one to one support. Last year we helped, uh, 1,371 individuals with one-to-one support, either with assessments or one-to-one tuition or coaching, um, but also another thousand people attended courses, maybe hints and tips for parents or workplaces or training of schools, training of teachers, training of teaching assistants. You know, we try and come at it from a number of different angles, but all with the aim of making life better for people with dyslexia so that they can thrive and achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve in life. And that will be different for different people, people.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Absolutely. And that's, that's great how holistic it is, you know? Um, take me through, like, so if a parent comes to you about their child and then you kind of liaison with the school as well, do they, how, how does that work in, in practicality? Because I know sometimes with parents that I've talked to, like there's almost, um, there can be a barrier within the school to actually get a diagnosis. I have one friend whose daughter, eldest daughter is dyslexic, quite severely. So, and she noticed kind of similar tendencies in her younger children, and she went to the school and said, you know, I, I'm noticing this. I think it would be good to get an assessment. I think it would be good to, you know, to support them more. And, and she, you know, the school kind of really pushed back on her, um, and she went ahead and got the assessment. But, um, how, how do you deal with that? And is that something that's common that, that comes across the charity?
Andy Cook:
Um, I'd say that's disappointing, disappointing to hear. Uh, I think our, um, uh, this might become from being, you know, an optimist in life, but I think our, our general view is that, um, the schools that we have, um, contact with are really wanting to try and try and find something that's in the best interests of that child. And I think generally speaking, we're all on the same side, so it would be unusual to find that barrier, but perhaps if there is a bit of reticence there, maybe that comes from an anxiety that perhaps there may be requirements to put certain things in place that they feel might be difficult or expensive, or I don't, I don't know, maybe just a slight unsureness about the unknown. So I'd say this, it was, it's it, generally speaking, we have a very positive, um, uh, relationship with schools every time we see somebody, whether it's for an assessment or, or whatever, we would need to get background information. So, it's certainly a requirement that we would have, um, a fairly detailed, um, list of background notes from both the school and from the individual's family or from
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Moderation. So kinda opens the communication Yeah. To the, you know, with, with the school at that point of the assessment.
Andy Cook:
Yeah, it, it is important, because, you know, for everyone to get the most out of this, then the best, the better you can get to know that individual, um, you know, the more helpful you can be. So, um, so yeah, we would always need to liaise with the school beforehand to get that information. And then also afterwards the feedback, what we found, um, and our recommendations that we, that would go into our assessment reports, um, we try to make them as, uh, well, they've gotta be as useful as possible for the individual, certainly, but also realistic for the environment that that individual's in. So, so nearly all are, um, our assessors, for example, are also teachers. They know, they know full well what it's like in school and, and to come up with recommendations that are, um, realistic, uh, and practical. And if schools, um, which doesn't happen sometimes come back to us saying, great, thanks for doing that.
Andy Cook:
Thanks for your report, but actually we don't have much knowledge in this area. Would you be able to do a bit of training with us then, then? Yes. You know, so in set days with schools or training in different areas, um, it's just something else that, you know, we're able to do. And, um, we have been a bit, sort of fortunate recently in that there's been a bit of money from a donor to, to help us train specifically teachers and teaching assistants from state schools. So about 50 or 60 teachers last year and another about the same number again this year, uh, are getting upskilled and increased in their knowledge of dyslexia and then going back into the state school system where, you know, typically you might find, um, the ability to be able to support learners with dyslexia of being a bit more stretched than, than in the private sector.
Andy Cook:
So, um, yeah, so those links are really important and if at all possible, uh, the more collaborative and positive those links are, the more everyone benefits how to the whole thing. Um, and if we've had sort of some situations like the one you described, um, I'd like to think that normally that can be fairly quickly got over just through talking to the relevant people at the school and people realizing that you're not coming in as an outside agency trying to criticize or dump a whole load of work on someone that actually you're just trying to help.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Yeah. And, and, and I, I think your point about the resource being limited is probably, you know, the, the, the key to the reason behind it, because, you know, teachers, I, I take my hat off to them. I think Covid taught all of us that, you know, teaching is very, very difficult when we had to do it by ourselves at home. And, you know, it's a, it's a system that is underfunded and, you know, I know that some classrooms don't have teaching assistants and there's a lot of kids in the class, so, and there's a lack of knowledge actually for teachers who are coming out of teaching school regarding not just dyslexia, but all Neurodiversities, you know, and how to,how to manage in a classroom with it. And you know, that that knowledge and that education is power. So I like the way that you are attacking it from all angles, helping the parent and the child, but also helping the education system as well. In terms of, oh, sorry, go on.
Andy Cook:
Yeah, I was just going to agree with that really. And, um, you know, you could say, um, in, in lots of areas of life that everything should be done within the general system and there shouldn't be a need for charities to exist, you know, in all sorts of different spheres. Um, but, you know, it is, life doesn't always work like that. You know, you have to, um, work with the system that you have, and if we can add something that's a bit different, if we have that ability to be able to provide a bit more one-to-one support for people or specialist, you know, assessments or consultations and things that clearly would be very difficult for a teacher in a school to provide, um, then, then great. We can do that. The difficulty is if it is only available to a certain sort of strata of society that can afford to pay for it and need disadvantage other people and that, you know, it's definitely something to be, I'm sure you know, you'll, you'll be aware of, um, in the uk and it's probably, uh, uh, the main reason why it would be reckoned that of the dyslexic children out there in the uk, only about 20% have actually received any help.
Andy Cook:
Um, the vast majority haven't. And it's probably to do with, with the money side of things. Um, and maybe geography, maybe sometimes people don't know that they might have some help nearby, but I think often it would be that the money side of things can be, uh, can create this, um, uneven playing field.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
And, you know, it is incredibly sad that statement. And, you know, when you do go into schools and you provide the, the training for them, does it cost a lot of money? Is it, you know, the, you know, how you can get a, a school to help a dyslexic? Is it an incredibly expensive initiative for a school,
Andy Cook:
For a school? It's really just changing the way that people do things, um, and changing the, level of awareness that people have. I mean, we, you know, I'm sitting here, we've got, um, 20 teachers next door, um, going through a course, uh, at the, with us for a year. Um, and then they'll go back at the end of the year into their schools with better awareness of how to be able to support, um, children with dyslexia. But all of the things that they'll be learning about multisensory techniques and, um, breaking learning down into more achievable chunks and being able to revise are all things that help all children. It's not like you would need to do something different for a dyslexic child, and therefore all the other children in a classroom have to have a different approach. So actually all of these principals work for all children, and, um, you wouldn't that be great. And then a utopian society, um, schools would have the, the time and ability to be able to sort of change the way that teaching is done so that it is become more inclusive.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
It's interesting, Andy because, you know, like if we think about education it, which started in like the 18 hundreds, 1880, I think, it started earlier in Germany, but things haven't really changed very much since those times in terms of education. And it was started really to make children be obedient and obey and that they were underlying children were really bad. That was how children were viewed in the 18 hundreds and discipline and the reward and kind of punishment system was what education was based around. And it hasn't really changed that much. So, you know, I wonder in also my utopian thoughts that maybe this, you know, ever increasing neurodiversity population that's coming in schools, that I think it's 30% now, if you look at it as a collective whole, kids are neurodiverse, so it's going to push us into having to do things differently that will benefit all children, you know, in terms of how education is is done, but it's just a mammoth task. How do you make those changes happen?
Andy Cook:
Yeah, no, I agree. And that will probably be where the pushing comes from, and the pulling might come from what's going on in workplaces because there's a movement now in workplaces to recognize dyslexic thinking as a positive attribute. Now LinkedIn now recognizes dyslexic thinking as a skill on your profile that you can put, and it's a positive and lots of work by some of the big companies. I mean, Ernston Young, just being one of them, really looking at how to lead the way in changing recruitment practices to be more inclusive and not have the barriers when, um, you are looking at your, or your recruitment or the practices that perhaps exclude some really good people. And if that's going on in workplaces where they're saying we want more good people, you know, we're not. So, you know, if you actually look at, um, the strengths that are typically associated with children with dyslexia or people with dyslexia, they're very, very sought after in tomorrow's world, where,perhaps being able to, um, spell brilliantly is not quite so important.
Andy Cook:
Those things are very mechanical and get, can get sorted out relatively easily now with all the technology that exists. And perhaps, you know, those of us that, were able to write a perfect CV that hasn't got any spelling mistakes in it, who perhaps might have got through the first sifting stage of a job application process, just, because it, you know, of that, whereas others might have been ruled out, might find that we've got to actually work a bit harder to show that we've got ideas and that we can be creative in our thinking, and that we can pull teams together and we can really add value in different ways. Just adding literacy is, well, okay, well that can be done, you know, in the future that can be sort of done by robots, you know, what do you add with your human brain that is more imaginative brings more to the table than that.
Andy Cook:
And I think, you know, when you go back to looking at the days gone by of how education was perhaps, um, sort of used to, um, put people in their place, maybe that sort of thing. I know when, um, I think perhaps if everyone wants to look strong, they talk about going back to basics. And what that generally means is the three Rs and things. It is a bit, uh, that's just going back really to an area that sounds maybe strong and, um, forceful, but actually those, um, more creative skills of encouraging people to develop the talents that they've got in different ways that aren't just to do literacy are actually be much more welcomed by the workplace. So if schools starts perhaps listening to that and seeing how a measurement of success is not necessarily exams as such, but, but, um, preparing people for, um, the future world and their future lives so that they can be successful, happy, productive individuals in the world, um, that it might sort of change the approach that's taken.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Yeah, it's I think it's the revolution is happening, you know, and it's wonderful. I mean, for my own personal life, I am so happy that I don't, that Microsoft exists, you know what I mean? I can <laugh>, I can actually have it checked, you know, all my spelling errors, my grammar errors, you know, and Alexa for that matter, my daughter says, mummy, how do you spell this? I don't know how to spell it. So I say, Alexa, how do you spell it? You know, you can live, I'm 50 now. You can live your entire life without being able to spell properly <laugh>, you know, and even become a doctor, you know, which, uh, you know, was, was challenging, especially with exam examinations. So, you know, the, the written and the multiple choice aspects of exams were difficult or more challenging, as a dyslexic, but the oral part of the exams, I would just, you know, I could rock those, you know, so luckily between the balance of the two, I was able to pass, because I went to school in Ireland where they do a three-pronged approach to, to your exams and your grades.
Andy Cook:
Yeah, great. Yeah. But they go see, and if that, if that, um, if there hadn't been those different aspects coming in, they might have missed out on you, you know, becoming a doctor. Absolutely and that's really what it's all about, it is looking at trying to approach things in different ways so you get out the talent that people have and make sure that you're measuring the right things. And if there's an over-reliance on the sort of mechanical things of spelling, then there's a, there's a big risk that you're missing out on other areas that you're just ignoring. Um, so, so yeah, no, I agree with you
Dr Olivia Kessel:
You know, another interesting thing that I've been been learning about is like when do you get a diagnosis? Like I know from my daughter, they're like, oh, we have to wait till she's old enough for a diagnosis. You know, it's around seven, eight. But then early intervention and actually providing that support early on makes the gap not happen or, or become as wide, and there's one school locally to me who, um, you know, they, they teach everyone, like we were talking about earlier, they teach all of their nursery and reception children's as if they have dyslexia. Um, what are your thoughts on that in terms of early intervention or, or when's the right time to get a diagnosis?
Andy Cook:
Yeah, well I think, um, those are two different things. Really. Early intervention I think is really key and brilliant that, um, that's obviously happening in the school that you are, you are talking about, they are, um, adapting their approach in a way to make sure that you are giving advantage to everyone and you're not disadvantaging anyone either. So that, great. I think our view would be if anyone's feeling that their child is struggling for some reason, that's a bit unknown, try and go and get some help. As far as a diagnosis, we, and I don't think we would be unusual in this, would probably think that seven and a half is a, roughly about the age where things have settled down enough to get a reliable diagnosis. Um, so, but a diagnosis is really important and great to get, but it's not the be all and end all.
Andy Cook:
You know, the main aim is that people get the help that they need. So, um, if someone comes to us, you know, six years old, seven years old, you know, the parents bring them along and um, you know, it would be quite typical, sadly now, you know, with, it's maybe partly being in the charitable end of things, we perhaps see people that by the time they come to us, they really have come as a last resort that are, you know, in quite a bad way. But we've seen quite a few cases where they'll be children as young as six that are already telling themselves that they're rubbish and they, it is generalized. So it's not, I'm not very good at, at spelling, it's, I'm rubbish as a person. You know, it's sort of generalized into just affecting their self-esteem. There are increasing numbers of children that are self-harming still at primary school.
Andy Cook:
And of course, there can be a whole range of different reasons, different influences, different things going on in those children's lives. So you can't say it's definitely all to do with dyslexia, but there's certainly, um, a lot is, you know, that can really affect, um, people's, people's, uh, self-esteem early on. So if you are six and by the time you've got to seven, you've been telling yourself, why am I stupid? There's no, you know, I'm rubbing why can everyone else do things I can't. By the time you're seven and that's been going on for a year, that's a long time in a young person's life, um, let alone maybe two years till they're eight. So I'd certainly say definitely get as early intervention as you can. Um, but probably that will take the form of a formal diagnosis at around about seven and a half.
Andy Cook:
But if you've managed to get some help your child before, then that's really good, you know, that it's all helpful. Um, and you know, particularly with self-esteem, you know, certainly say that that sort of knock to the self-esteem is the biggest danger of dyslexia and, and other PLDs as well, or other, other factors in life. And if you can get people through so that they still have that self-esteem preserved and the confidence to try things without fear of failure or, um, too much fear of what other people around them are going to think if they happen to get things wrong, if I can keep trying, they will keep learning and keep exploring their strengths as well, then there's a much better chance that they'll then have a positive approach to life when they get out. The worry is that if people's, um, self-esteem has been knocked so much by the time they sort of reach their mid-teens where they end up almost feeling well, there's no point in trying, what's the point?
Andy Cook:
I'm never going be able to do it. I don't want to look like I'm trying because I look like I'm trying and I fail and it's then that makes me look worse. So I'm going to be fairly disruptive instead and just, have sort of different, different behaviors though it's so I don't lose face, maybe get into a crowd that also think that, uh, our academic achievement is, you know, not, not the way to to go. Things can get into a really negative cycle. So the sooner you can break that, the sooner you can get some help, uh, the Better,
Dr Olivia Kessel:
You know, that's, uh, it, it's such a powerful message to parents really because you're the one that's going to first notice that your child is struggling with reading or I know I've read, you know, can they sing nursery rhymes? There's some, there's some clues that, you know, you can see that, uh, parents can pick up on and, and even if it's not dyslexia, you know, it's going to affect their, their self-esteem. So coaching your child and, and working with your teacher to make sure that they don't feel, um, that they're a loser or stupid. And, to also encourage the class to understand that people learn differently, people are different and that, you know, they shouldn't be made fun of if they're reading a book that's three years behind the book, that the rest of the class is reading. Because I know that can also happen. It's happened to my daughter. Um, but once you educate children, they're incredibly empathetic, you know what I mean? They, it, it's, um, it's almost a a not understanding that can, can create some of the meanness that happens in the classroom, but once you explain, um, and from from the teacher's perspective they share, then, then it changes the kind of atmosphere or maybe some of the, uh, the experiences that a child is having.
Andy Cook:
Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, we only, you only learn effectively if you feel safe in a, in a, um, supported environment. And, um, that's not always easy to achieve. You know, if you're in a, if you're in a school, um, humans are very competitive by nature. You know, if we're, if we're all put together in a group, and it would probably go the same for, you know, as children, suddenly there's 30 of you. Same as well. We all know don't mean if you go on a course somewhere and everyone turns up, there's a lot of, um, sort of jockeying position early on, isn't there? And then people start relaxing, they get to know each other and can be themselves a bit more. But by nature we are fairly competitive, which doesn't necessarily make it feel safe to show when you don't understand things, um, or that you are struggling.
Andy Cook:
And the, the more awareness there can be of how, um, everybody thinks differently, every different things make people tick in different ways, that's fine. In fact, it's good, it's a healthy sign of society to have good diversity. Um, uh, otherwise if everyone's the same, you're not going to, um, learn nearly as many new things. So just carry on doing the same. So it the more awareness there is of the benefits of, um, people with different, um, different ways of thinking, the better. But we are where we are, you know, we've got to try and improve things, but, but we are where we are.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
I think it's a message to parents, becasue I know there's a, you know, a kind of statement, car park moms, not to exclude dads, but car park moms and, you know, oh, how did your child do on that test? Oh, you know, what school are you going to next? And you know, as you say, there's a competition there, and that's not necessary. I mean, competition is good, but also it, you know, it can be destructive. And from the, the long-term sequel of what it can do to children when they're teenagers, it's just, you know, we, we as adults need to start that process rolling, um, so that our children can do it in their classroom as well. They learn from us and they model from us. So, I think there's, you know, parents need to be a little bit less competitive as well.
Andy Cook:
Yeah, I know. So I mean that's the, the other of dyslexia with a strongly hereditary component to dyslexia. Uh, and I think this is where things went particularly badly wrong during lockdowns, um, with homeschooling is that often, um, children with dyslexia will have parents with dyslexia. And quite often when we see children with dyslexia and speak to their parents, they'll say, oh this is ringing lots of bells with me, actually. It's making me wonder about myself. Um, so you may well find that dyslexic parents have got negative associations with schools, maybe hated school when, when they were there, going back to school and having those, um, class you, those playgrounds conversations instantly takes them right back to what it was like when they were at school. And everyone was, um, uh, talking about their own experiences and they were thinking, oh, well life things haven't gone so well for me.
Andy Cook:
Um, ha you know, already just fuels the, um, the difficulties that people might have. So if your, if your parents feel that way, um, then you as a child are likely to pick up on that to a certain extent. So you've got it coming through the genes. Um, but also if your parents have have a, a negative view of dyslexia or negative associations with how it went in their lives, it's not going to help. Which is why, you know, in those situations, if we can help the parent to get a more positive view of actually what dyslexia is about and how it can bring all sorts of benefits, it's not all bad. It might feel that way, but it doesn't have to be that way. Um, then you can help them to also bring that positivity through to, to their children as well as some practical hints and tips for, um, for what to do, how to, how to approach homework, you know, how you work together on it and things.
Andy Cook:
And to overcome that feeling that lots of parents might have, or dyslexic parents might have that, God, I hated homework myself, I really want to do it. I'm not going to be able, I'm not going to be able to support you nearly as well as all of those other parents that are in the playground. Um, and it just all ends up with a, with a bit of a downward spiral, you know, better to better to try and say, look, everyone is, as they as they are, let's look for a positive way for it. There are lots of things you can do and, um, lots of role models out there with dyslexia. Um, who can be, who can be useful, you know, the, but children maybe I I would imagine are, um, uh, reassured to hear that, you know, they're not on their own, you know, they have dyslexia, but it's not something to worry about.
Andy Cook:
One in 10 people have lots of those. Absolutely brilliant. Here are some, you know, there's Richard Branson, there's Jamie Oliver, there's lots of people you can, you know, you're probably gonna be particularly great on the creative side, marketing, thinking, lots of entrepreneurs, the world's your oyster, you know, you've just got to work out what your oyster happens to be. And you know, at school, everyone has to learn the same way if you're in a classroom or that's the way it's likely to be, but life won't be like that. Life. You can go your own way and explore your own, um, passions in, uh, in a way that, that you would like to. So that can be,can be a big reassurance to children, um, adults who come to us maybe slightly less so in that, um, that perhaps come to us feeling very down about the fact that they've not been able to find work or that the work that they have found hasn't lasted.
Andy Cook:
You know, the induction phase where people can be quite tricky. Uh, lots of information coming, um, very quickly. And so people can have quite a high turnover of job people with dyslexia that come to us. Um, so you know, perhaps hearing about, well, it's great you've got dyslexia. Look at Richard Branson. It's perhaps sort of can make people feel, oh, well I'm, I'm not gonna be a great entrepreneur and, I'm not sure I'm brilliantly creative either, can also, um, not be beneficial. I think the main message is, well, let's find out how you tick. Let's get to know you better. And once we've established that, then we can come up with some recommendations for a way forward that will get you to where your particular journey in life should go. And that might not be, um, uh, top of a a big company. It might be something else, but that's fine. You know, you just want people to be, uh, to feel happy and fulfilled in their lives. Um, and not always feeling that something has been unaddressed and has prevented them from, um, making the progress that really they would've liked to
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Reaching their potential, whatever, whatever that might be. Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
But you know, it, it's fantastic, you know, hearing this today, and I I just love the way the charity looks at it from all the different angles because that's really where solutions or the magic starts to happen. You're not just looking at, you know, helping a dyslexic child or a dyslexic adult. You're looking at the whole kind of ecosystem around them, which needs to, to change. Are there huge waiting lists at, at your charity? Because I imagine, you know, with the numbers of dyslexic out there that, uh, and and what you do, there must be high demand.
Andy Cook:
Um, yes, that's a huge demand. Um, the waiting list, it depends what you count as. Huge really. I think our average is about four to six weeks at the moment.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
That's Not huge. I mean, when you look at like Cams, which is like three years, yeah, four to six weeks is definitely manageable. I think
Andy Cook:
<laugh>, it, it would've been longer definitely when we came out of lockdown and, and we were closed down. And at that time, or in the first lockdown, um, the ability to do assessments, um, in any other way than face-to-face, was it, it it was not possible to have a, um, the validity for those assessments. Things have moved on quite quickly so that, um, online support, if, if that works for the, for the individual concerns can now be recognized, um, as just as, as values is. So, um, but at that time it wasn't possible. So we were closed down, you know, like everyone was for, for periods of time. Um, and that meant there was a huge backlog, uh, exacerbated by the fact that lots of parents had been homeschooling and realized just how badly their children were struggling in a way that perhaps they hadn't quite quite realized when they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
Andy Cook:
Um, so there war a much longer backlog, but we've been working hard quite, we've, we've grown our team of dyslexia specialists, which will, you know, sort of coaches, um, assessors. Um, so yeah, about four to six weeks it can vary cause each case is different. And if you need, um, you know, face to face assessment by someone who's particularly skilled in dyscalculia in this part of the country, that might, that might take a bit longer. Um, you know, it really, it, it, we match up, you know, the best person to see that, that individual, but on average four to six weeks,
Dr Olivia Kessel:
I think that's a completely reasonable, you know, time, time period, uh, considering. So that's, that's really good to hear. I wanna thank you so much, Andy, for all the information you've given, uh, me today. And, you know, it's just, it's amazing and it gives me hope and it, I'm sure it gives, uh, a lot of parents hope that there's services like this out there that you can access in a relatively short amount of time to not only help you maybe your child, help with the workplace, help with your school. So it's a really <laugh> one stop shop, which is great for dyslexic. So, um, yeah, you must, it must be a pleasure to wake up and do your job every morning.
Andy Cook:
Yes, it's a absolute pleasure. And you know, the beauty of being here is you, you, you know, there's four people upstairs as we're speaking here upstairs, there's four people having assessments next door, there's 20 teachers learning, so you're very aware of it and it's a buzz to the place. And you know, in our world, dyslexia is all about positivity. You know, all the stuff, all this case studies of what people are achieving. So, um, it'd be great if we were able to, um, impart that to, to more people, you know, 1,300 or so last year. We want that to be more, we recognize it's a drop in the ocean, but we are on a mission to increase what we're doing and help more people. So yeah. Uh, uh, uh, good luck to, to everyone and, um, by all means, you know, check out our website and see if there's something that we might be able to help you with. We'd love to, you love to if we can.
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Excellent. And I'll put the links in with, uh, when this podcast is released so that the people can access it. So thank you very much for your time today, Andy.
Andy Cook:
Brilliant. Thanks. Thanks, Olivia. Thank,
Dr Olivia Kessel:
Thank you so much for listening to the Send Parenting Podcast. If this is your first time listening, please follow us as new episodes are released every Thursday. Please also visit our website at SENDparenting.com to sign up for the newsletter and to get links to the Helen Arkell charity discussed today.