Dystinct - Issue 7 | January 2022

In this issue

The January 2022 issue of the Dystinct Magazine brings to you:

1. Dystinct Report – by 9-year-old Flynn Eldridge (Dystinct Journalist)

2. What’s Language Got to do With It? The Impact of Language on Literacy- By Julia J. Yi (Speech-Language Pathologist Shining Star Therapy/ & Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill)

3. The Dystinct Journey of Alyce Sophia Procter (Artist and director at ArtExplorer11)

4. Motivating Students with Dyslexia to learn - By Dr. Gad Elbeheri (Author, Speaker, Educator, Chairman of Global Educational Consultants, Egypt)

5. The Dystinct Journey of Skylar Lahoda - written by Linda Hymel

6. A problem shared is a problem halved: how partnerships can help navigate the journey-By Kathryn Thorburn (Speech Pathologist and Teacher - LanguageAndLearning)

7. The Dystinct Journey of 15-year-old Diezel Reef DIEZ-IGN

8. Three Homeschool Strategies - The Keys to Success – Karen Willson (Teacher & Director of Simply Homeschool)

9. Dystinct Report by Logan Monro (Student at Blank Canvas Awareness Art)

10. Ten practices that support effective literacy teaching – By Clare Wood (Founder, Tiny Steps Make Big Strides Literacy Clinic)

11. Perceptions about Dyslexia Across Various Cultures- by Stephen Emmanuel (Researcher, Ph.D. candidate and founder of Inclusive Classroom Nigeria)

12. The Dystinct Journey of Scott Berry - The story of an award-winning movie maker Scott Berry, from Australia who is beginning to feel the joy in asking for help after recently embracing his diagnosis of dyslexia after years of trying to hide his struggles.

Dystinct Magazine Description:

Dystinct Magazine seeks to find the extra ordinary that lies within the ordinary. Every dyslexic child is blessed to be distinctively different. We have set out to identify and nurture these differences to instil a strong sense of achievement in children who are often forgotten about. We also bring to you relevant up to date advice from leading experts in the industry to help you navigate the path to success.

1 in 5 children who pass through our one size fits all education system are on the dyslexia continuum, diagnosed or not. They are repeatedly dismissed as too dumb or unaidable leaving desperate parents with very few avenues to turn to. Our beautiful children are broken by the very system that is meant to nurture and raise them. These are promising young minds who are made to feel worthless over and over again because the system has failed to recognise their differences. Their struggles are often brushed under the rug or the system recognises their existence but lacks the capacity to make the changes necessary to accommodate their uniqueness.

There is a need to change the narrative around dyslexia from that of ‘slow’, ‘not working hard enough’, ‘lazy’ to one of hardworking, passionate, uniquely different and worthy.

Dystinct Magazine aims to instill a strong sense of self-worth in dyslexic children who have had unfair opportunities chipping away at their self-esteem throughout their existence. Our mission is to foster a community that celebrates the difference of dyslexia.

Not every dyslexic child is magically a genius. Oftentimes, we spend hours looking for the genius or outside the box thinking in our dyslexic kids failing to realise that it was in them all along, hidden in plain sight under the years self-doubt and shame that the society ingrained in them for not matching up to their peers. We aim to peel back at these negative layers of damaged self-esteem and provide the children with a platform to truly appreciate their uniqueness, take pride in their difference and revel in the knowledge that within their difference, lies their strength.

We are here with a commitment to empower dyslexics and their champions so that, they can discover the strengths within themselves and appreciate the uniqueness that dyslexia has offered them.