The Dyslexia Guild Online Conference: A Day of Learning and Inspiration

We had a fantastic day yesterday at The Dyslexia Guild Online Conference! 

This event provided a valuable platform to explore current trends and expert insights in literacy and dyslexia/SpLD. We would like to express our gratitude to the speakers and panellists for their insightful presentations and engaging discussions and a huge thank you to everyone who attended and helped make this event such a success!

A quick recap:

The conference kicked off with a warm welcome and introduction by Dr. Anna Smith, Head of The Dyslexia Guild, followed by four excellent main speakers:

• Rob Jennings – Co-founder of the Dyscalculia Network, discussed issues related to maths assessment and diagnosis. He outlined definitions of dyscalculia and maths difficulties, and considered how co-occurring conditions might have impacted upon maths assessment and intervention in the past. Rob encouraged delegates to access information from the Dyscalculia Network Email: info@dyscalculianetwork.com.
• Dr Amanda T Abbot-Jones – An Independent Dyslexia Consultant, shared information regarding her research into the prevalence of anxiety within dyslexic communities, and practical solutions and strategies for one-to-one study support students. Both of Amanda’s books are available to borrow from The Dyslexia Guild library. Amanda said “I would just like to express my thanks for the wonderful organisation of the Dyslexia Guild conference and for inviting me to share my research work with the members.” 
• Re-Star Programme, King’s College – helped us to understand more about why neurodivergent young people are at risk of depression and how we might increase their resilience towards this. They are now at Stage 2 of the study, find out more here. To take part in the school staff survey, click here. 
• Dr Paul Demetriou-Crane – An educational consultant in further education, discussed how we could support adults with dyslexia who also have English as an additional language (EAL), and offered practical tips to enhance practice. Paul’s book is available in The Dyslexia Guild library.

We would also like to thank our additional speakers:

• David Bailey – Dyslexia Action CPD Tutor who showcased The Supporting Adults Toolkit, a free Guild member benefit. “The toolkit can also be used for giving neurotypical people (employers for example) an idea of the challenges dyslexics face”. 
• Monica Vashisht – Dyslexia Action Shop & Product Manager brought us up to date with new tests such as IDS-2, DASH-2 and Tests of Dyslexia (TOD), reminding Guild members that they can get up to a 10% discount on purchases. 
• Amanda Woolf – Real Training showcased the new Postgraduate Certificate: Teaching for Maths-related Difficulties.

Here are a few words about the day from our attendees:

“A thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating set of presentations that, crucially, were very relatable to my own academic setting and practice.”

“It was particularly relevant to my work in HE, but I think it also had value for those working with younger people. That was cleverly done.”

“Great to attend online – every presentation was excellent and will definitely inform my teaching/assessor role at college.”

“Really fascinating conference and I got so much from the presentations”

“Thanks great conference as always”

“Thank you for bringing professionals together”

“Thank you so much for today- I have hugely appreciated hearing all the different speakers”

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event a success. We look forward to seeing you again next year!