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Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Awareness Week!

Posted	18th Oct 2020
Author	Ryan Lynch (President)

Hey everyone!

To kick off this new year, we're starting with one of our most popular awareness events from last year - Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Awareness Week!

We'll have plenty of stuff going on over the week, so make sure to keep an eye on our Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/maynoothaccesssociety/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MaynoothAccessSociety/) stories to avoid missing out!

We'll have a couple of competitions throughout the week so don't miss out on winning some early prizes!

There's going to be a movie night as well on Tuesday so keep an eye on your emails to join a Teleparty on Disney+, we'll be watching Pirates of the Caribbean! (Two of the lead actors are dyslexic)

Friday will also mark the launch of our weekly coffee club so make sure to join us at 11am for a chill hangout! We'll be sharing the zoom link later in the week!

See you all soon!

Upskill week!

Posted	10th Feb 2020
Author	David Lyons

The Access society is all about self growth and development, and this is the week where we want to show you how to go about it!

Make sure to come along to these great event and enhance your skills and employment chances!

Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Awareness Week

Posted	17th Dec 2019
Author	Mollie Doyle

Games Brief

Aim: To show what having dyslexia/dyspraxia is like to those who don’t have the disabilities

1 Unscramble eggs *name tbc*

Aim: To unscramble as many words in one minute

Equipment: Scrambled words, stopwatch, score sheet

Rules: You have one minute to unscramble the words provided. For every word correctly unscrambled you earn a point, if you cannot unscramble the word you can say pass and move onto the next word. The person at the end of day with the most amount of points win.

How to play:

The challenger will challenge a player to play unscrambled eggs& rules are explained.
Timer is started and person starts to unscramble the words. Words begin easy and as you go on, the words become harder

For every correct answer one point is awarded.
At the end of the minute the score is tallied up and player is told their score. Challenger explains that this is what people with dyslexia experience everyday.
At the end of day/week, the leader board is published, and prizes are given.

2 List it off

Aim: To list off as many things in order in one minute

Equipment: A list, stop watch, score sheet

Rules: You have one minute to remember everything on the list. After one minute you have a minute to list everything off on the list in order. For every item correctly listed off in order is one point, if item is skipped minus 0.5 of a point. Eg, if one item is left out, 0.5 is deducted, if two items are left out in order then 1 point is deducted.

How to play:

The challenger challenges a player to play & rules are explained.

Player is shown the list and timer is started.
After one minute the list is taken away. Player is asked to recall everything in order within a minute
At the end score is tallied up and player is told their score. Challenger explains this is what people with dyspraxia experience everyday when someone gives them orders.
At the end of day/week leader board is published and prizes are awarded.

3 Bad directions

Aim: To identify where on campus the description is describing

Equipment: Descriptions of places on campus, score sheet

Rules: You have to try figure out the place on campus I am describing, for every correct guess you get one point. If first guess is wrong point is reduced by 0.10 until you correctly guess the place right.

How to play:

Listen to description of place on campus
Guess where
After all places are described and guessed for point are tallied up.
Challenger explains that people with dyspraxia can find it hard to follow directions and read maps.
At end of day/week leader board is published and prizes are awarded.

4 Sounds like spelled like

Aim: To guess the word when spelt phonetically within a minute

Equipment: Words spelt phonetically, stop watch, score sheet

Rules: You have one minute to guess words that is spelt phonetically, for every word guessed correctly a point is given.

How to play:

Rules explained
Words are shown and player must correctly guess word correctly, if cannot guess word player may pass
At the end of a minute score is tallied and player is told their score
Challenger explains that people with dyslexia can find it hard to understand phonetics

At end of day/week leader board is published and prizes are awarded

Dyslexia Dyspraxia Week

Aim: To raise awareness for these two disabilities through games, social media and personal stories.

What is dyslexia?

According to dyslexia.ie; There are many definitions of dyslexia. A very simple one would be that dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which makes it hard for some people to learn to read, write and spell correctly.

The Dyslexia Association of Ireland defines dyslexia as a specific learning difficulty affecting the acquisition of fluent and accurate reading and spelling skills. This occurs despite access to appropriate learning opportunities.

Dyslexia is characterised by cognitive difficulties in (1) phonological processing, (2) working verbal/auditory memory, and (3) speed of retrieval of information from long term memory. (phonological spelling= breaking down words, working memory= remembering sequence of info presented, speed of retrieval= takes longer to organise thoughts and therefore takes longer)

Dyslexic difficulties occur on a continuum from mild to severe and affect approximately 10% of the population. People with dyslexia may experience greater stress and frustration as they endeavour to learn, resulting in heightened anxiety, particularly in relation to literacy acquisition. People with dyslexia may also have accompanying learning strengths.

What do others think dyslexia is

*Fabian is writing this*

How does dyslexia affect me?

Saoirse: Dyslexia affects me in different aspects day to day. When I was younger I would always confuse my b’s and d’s, my q’s and p’s. Id hate when the teacher dictated words to write down into our copies because by the time I had figured out how to spell one word, they wouldve been on a new sentence. I was made go to an afterschool class where it would be school like school for primary school students with dyslexia called workshop, we did one on one classes with a tutor where we’d read a bit of a book with our tutor and try read and spell words together that I found hard to read in the book. We worked on other skills too like typing skills and speech and drama. Without the workshop I wouldn’t be where I am today, but that doesn’t mean I’m cured of dyslexia, I learned coping skills in the workshop and without practising them, I go back to the way I was before.

Indicators of Dyslexia

While no case is the same, these are common indicators of dyslexia:

Difficulty with reading unfamiliar material.

Tendency to mispronounce or misread words.

Slow pace of reading.

Reading for information only, not for pleasure.

Understanding more easily when listening than when reading.

Difficulty with spelling.

Finding it hard to visualise words, or remember the sequence of letters in a word.

Difficulty with sentence construction and punctuation.

Difficulty putting information on paper.

Difficulty in spotting mistakes made in written work.

Finding it easier to express thoughts in words than in writing.

Underachieving in school and college, particularly in exams.

Having immature or poorly formed handwriting.

Tendency to be clumsy and uncoordinated.

Access Soc AGM!

Posted	18th Nov 2019
Author	David Lyons

Our Annual General Meeting went unbelievable! We elected our first year rep, postgrad rep and our Vice-president! We also set out our plans for the year, spoke about our subcommittee and how we can get as many people as possible involved! The pizza only tied everything together! Thanks to everyone for showing up!

Turn Maynooth Pink

Posted	18th Nov 2019
Author	David Lyons

Access society play Mingling games to help get people talking and getting to know each other! We played some of our favourites like the bottle game and the country game! It gave everyone a chance to chat with each other and start the year off making friends! It also gave everyone the chance to feel relaxed and help raise the conversation about Breast Cancer and raise money for charity!