Author Archives: patguyschoolandfamily

WIN a hoody featuring an ‘Olivia and the Proverbs’ image and proverb – available in a variety of sizes, colours and designs. TO ENTER: Just draw / make a picture to show what happiness is to you. This could be anything from being on holiday, going swimming, taking your dog for a walk, reading, buildingContinue reading “Creative Competition “Happiness is…” Under 12’s”

All animals adapt in order to survive, fine tuning their brains according to the input they receive from their environment. The more sophisticated the animal, the more adaptable their brain.  At birth the human brain already has the majority of the information messengers that it will ever have. The young child’s brain has twice asContinue reading “Early Experience and Brain Development”

Neurodiverse pupils often develop their own strategies for coping at school. However, such defence mechanisms are not always useful in the long term. Unfortunately, strategies developed in childhood can easily become lifetime habits, whether useful or not. Few of these strategies are helpful in adult life: being dismissive of others, arguing for argument’s sake, pointContinue reading “Old Habits Die Hard”

(Resilience refers to an individual’s ability to recover quickly from setbacks) Remember that uncomfortable times do not last for ever. Every day brings a fresh start and new opportunities. 2. Only those who do nothing, never make a mistake – African proverb. Everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes is an essential part of learning. Reflect onContinue reading “Proverbs to support resilience”

The ‘Olivia and the Proverbs’ books comprise of short stories designed to teach children the meanings of English proverbs in a fun way. Each story focuses on one proverb. The stories are beautifully illustrated by Alessandra Covino.  I wanted to share some of these illustrations with you, along with their matching proverb… . I never tire ofContinue reading “Olivia and the Proverbs – Illustrations”

I just had to share with you some of the incredible entries I had for my ‘Olivia the Architect’ creative competition. To enter I asked children to design a house for their favourite soft toy or pet…I had over 150 entries! This just blew me away! I had such fun looking through them all andContinue reading “Competition Entries…”

I’m thrilled to be able to announce the winners and runners up for my ‘Olivia the Architect’ creative competition. I had a whopping 150 entries! It was very hard to pick the winners as I had so many brilliantly imaginative entries – so a huge thank you to all who entered. It was so difficultContinue reading “And the WINNER is…”

(GCHQ – the United Kingdom’s top level security agency) The value of neuro-divergent individuals’ thinking processes is being increasingly recognised.  How to help your dyslexic child become the next 007 or more. Dyslexia involves thinking differently, rather than having a disability. A diagnosis will give the child an insight into their strengths and weaknesses, anContinue reading ““People with dyslexia have skills that we need, says GCHQ”. “

Specific Learning Difficulties tend to be separated into a few distinct diagnoses, for example: – Factors to be aware of when children are diagnosed with a SpLD :- Children with SpLDs will experience memory problems for different reasons: – The child may be diagnosed as having a language problem and delayed speech before starting school.Continue reading “Specific Learning Difficulties, (SpLDs): the Chinese Menu Model.“

Sensory processing refers to the ability to register information through our senses, (sound, sight, taste and so on), to filter the information we receive and to make appropriate responses. Most individuals are able to sort such information effectively and will only take on-board anything relevant. However, some children are over sensitive to stimuli, experience aContinue reading “Children and Sensory Overload”