Welcome to Dyslexia First
Dyslexia Assessments
to help you reach your full potential
Dyslexia First offers first class dyslexia assessments for children and adults across the North West including Liverpool, Manchester and Merseyside, this includes assessments for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) and Exam Access Arrangements.
Helping With Dyslexia
What We Do
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UNIVERSITIES
Assessments
Qualified Dyslexia Assessments
I am Michala Morton. I am a fully qualified Specialist Teacher of Dyslexia who is passionate about unlocking the potential of individuals who have dyslexia. I work for the British Dyslexia Association and The Dyslexia Association assessing children and adults. I have worked in Special Needs for over 20 years across a wide range of educational settings. I also worked for a Local Education Authority for 14 years assessing and tutoring children with dyslexia.
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction: Specific Learning Difficulties, Liverpool John Moores University, 2012
- Postgraduate Certificate with Distinction: Advanced Educational Practice (Dyslexia), Liverpool John Moores University, 2011
- M.Ed. Merit: Master of Education in the faculty of Humanities Psychology Education, University of Manchester, 2007
- Child Development Module with Distinction, The Open University, 2006
- B.Ed. Honours: Degree of Bachelor of Education, Liverpool Hope University, 1997
Professional Bodies
- APC – Assessment Practicing Certificate (recognises the professional achievement, training and skills of specialist teachers)
- Member of PATOSS (The professional association of teachers of students with specific learning difficulties)
- Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA)
- Full and enhanced DBS (updated annually)
- Information Commissioner’s Office (ico)
- Hiscox professional insurance
Want To Know More?
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty primarily affecting the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Around 1 in 10 people in the UK are dyslexic and it is common in both children and adults.
Indicators of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed, and these can occur across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia. By examining how someone responds to or has responded to careful intervention, we can build a good picture of the level and persistence of dyslexic difficulties.
Dyslexia First offers first class dyslexia assessments for children, university students and adults across the North West. Simply give us a call or fill in our form at the bottom of the page.
Assessments throughout the North West
Dyslexia First is based in the heart of the North West and offers assessment in the following areas: Greater Manchester; Lancashire; Cheshire; Liverpool; St. Helens; Wigan; Warrington
DYSLEXIA NEWS
Our latest thoughts
10 things a child with dyslexia wants you to know
Children with dyslexia often have to work harder than non-dyslexic children and so they are determined to prove how dyslexia will not hold them back. It can be frustrating for them so as a parent/guardian or teacher, it’s worth taking the time to really listen and understand the child and the struggles they are facing.
Every individual with dyslexia experiences it differently and will have a mix of strengths and difficulties. They are often strong in other areas such as creativity and have the ability to think outside the box so you help them to make the most of their dyslexic skills.
In conversation with Dyslexia First’s founder, Michala Morton
I did my Batchelor of Education degree at Liverpool University. My first school I taught at was an old grammar school; it was like the secret garden, it looked horrible from the outside, but really beautiful inside and at the rear as it looked out on to a nature reserve. I said this at my interview and apparently that’s what got me the job.
The importance of the brain’s reading circuit in understanding Dyslexic development
Dyslexia isn’t caused by visual problems, flipping letters or reading letters backwards, and it is certainly not related to intelligence. It is the result of a brain with a different organization making reading and writing more difficult. In order to understand what is happening in a Dyslexic person’s brain, it is useful to learn about the four areas in the brain that we use for reading and which must be connected to make reading an effortless process. Together they form a reading circuit that links these different areas of the brain and then runs at a speed so fast it’s practically automatic.