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
Improved Learning with a Disabled Students’ Allowance
Many people are unaware that dyslexic learners are eligible for the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). If you or your child is thinking of going to University, applying for a DSA could mean that you’re entitled to new equipment and technology that will help you reach your full potential as an undergraduate or postgraduate student.
Dyslexia: Getting the facts straight
Although it’s commonly believed to be a difficulty with reading and writing, in reality that is a consequence of dyslexia. In fact, dyslexia is a neurological issue which affects the way the brain processes information. This means that anyone with dyslexia can have difficulty processing and remembering information and it can impact on many areas of life, not only reading accurately and writing fluently, but also organisational skills, coordination and memory.
But this same neurological difference can mean that dyslexics often have real strengths in reasoning and creative or visual fields. Having dyslexia is absolutely not a sign of a child’s intelligence, it’s actually the gap between their ability and achievement. Once that gap has been identified it’s just a case of working out the best way to bridge it.
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.