There are 6 main factors
we have found that can contribute to the learning difficulties
associated with Dyslexia (Visual) and other Specific Learning
Difficulties. 1. Hereditary- Dyslexia can be inherited, passed down through the genes. This can lead to... 2. Physiological Conditions- particularly the eye's functionality and the resultant processing ability of
the brain are affected, hindering the ability to process learning, particularly the visual, of which reading and writing rely significantly on, and
this can lead to... 3. Learning Difficulties- a real struggle exists to learn and retain the building blocks of reading and writing, which can lead to ... 4. Negative Belief Systems- negative mindsets such as 'I can 't do it!", " I am dumb" which can lead to... 5. Emotional responses- frustration, anxiety, withdrawal, anti-social behaviour which can lead to.. 6. Wounding of the Human Spirit-
that part of us that makes up a unique
human being, being our Human Spirit, can be wounded, in some cases, from the learning struggles, the resultant negative belief systems and emotional responses that follow, and can lead to hopelessness and
despair, a surrendering of looking forward to achievement and success,
and can result in a lack of confidence, self esteem and joy.
The Alison Lawson techniques and technologies aim to treat the physiological conditions, facilitate easier learning, input new positive belief systems which influence the emotional responses, so that they can regain their hope of achievement and success, restoring confidence and joy!
What do we do?
And what are the the results? •The
visual systems are treated to function normally or better than
normally, (this does not include refractive errors, diseases of the eye
or degenerative conditions) therefore vision improves •Suppression (which is responsible for hindering learning) in the brain is removed. Neural pathways in the brain are switched on and strengthened. Visual and Working Memory are improved. Individualised remedial work to bridge the gaps in learning is undertaken in the program. •Words start to make sense •Concentrating is easier •Retaining of learning is easier •Reading is easier •Spelling is easier •Writing is easier •Processing of learning is easier and faster •Confidence improves •Enjoyment of learning improves
The Alison Lawson Remedial Dyslexia Therapy, and associated technologies, was developed by Orthoptist Alison Lawson.
Alison
has practiced in both the private sector and in the public sector since
obtaining her qualifications in 1953. She started her career at The
Royal Children's Hospital, Camperdown where she became head of the
Orthoptic Clinic. Later she was invited to become a member of the
Orthoptic Clinic at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney and later, at
the Royal North Shore Medical Centre in St Leonards.
After a
time, Alison went to England and was invited to join the Queen Elizabeth
Hospital for Children, London. After this she alternated between the
Royal County Hospital in Surry and St Lukes Hospital, Guildford. She also worked in private practice with several leading ophthalmologists in
England. In 1964, she returned to Australia and furthered her
learning, undertaking various courses including that of Tutor Orthoptist,
which qualified her to teach and train Orthoptists.
Alison and daughter Maria who now heads up The Alison Lawson Treatment Program World and Australia wide.
Following
this, Alison accepted the position of Head Orthoptist with a group of
eye surgeons in Parramatta. Combined with a practice in Gosford, she
specialised in children's learning difficulties and undertook extensive
research in the visual cortex section of the brain.
In 1979 she
patented a machine known as the Lawson Anti-Suppression Device (LASD)
which was used to treat Amblyopia. Following this event, Alison was
increasingly aware of the amount of children who were experiencing
difficulty reading. The children she studied struggled with reversals of
letters and words, and/or words moving on the page. As she started to
observe them more closely, she found another significant commonality: a
moving focal point in one of their eyes. This moving focal point
resulted in the brain responding in such away as to cause the various
symptoms which made learning, reading and writing difficult. This led
her to develop the very simple, safe and effective medical treatment for
Visual Dyslexia which was patented on 11th July, 1996.
Since that time over 5000 people have had their lives changed since undergoing this revolutionary world first treatment.
Alison
has personally trained her daughter Maria Thomas, (Maria now heads the
work at the Moss Vale Clinic), and the operators of the Australian and
New Zealand Centres, in the application of the Alison Lawson technologies and treatment.
Tracey,
the operator of The Alison Lawson Centre Sunshine Coast, previously
pioneered the Blue Mountains Centre in NSW in 2011, which now operates out of the Gabrielle Centre for Children in Blaxland, under operator Bronwen Pennington. She moved to the
Sunshine Coast in 2014 to enjoy a change of lifestyle, bringing with her a heart
to help people reach their full potential, whatever that may be, and a
passion for teaching children in a fun learning environment.
In June 2024, she felt the call to close the permanent Centre in Nambour and pioneer a mobile service to travel to, and reach, those who are needing help and can't get to any Centres due to isolation or inability to spend the time and finances to make the trip for the duration of the treatment.
So, the Alison Lawson Centre Sunshine Coast is now mobile, making accessibility to Alison's life changing treatment program more readily available to those in need and who would like to avail themselves of this service.
Areas that are now being serviced include Sunshine Coast, West, Central and North Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
'Learning
should be exciting and enjoyable so that children want to learn: not
just something to be endured. At ALCSC we aim to provide a caring and safe
environment for children to grow in their confidence and abilities as
they find they can do more than they thought they could, once they start
to reap the benefits of the treatment. Some of the results are so
astounding I still stand in awe at what these children can accomplish
when the root issue of their reading and learning difficulties are dealt
with. These children and their parents are real heroes.'
Tracey
is more than happy to answer your questions and will be able to assess
you or your child to determine if the treatment will be beneficial. You
can contact her direct either by email or by the phone number located
on the contact page.
VISITORS TO THIS SITE... "Thanks
for finding us on the web. Searching for answers and help for you or a
loved one who is struggling with their learning can be a bit daunting.
There are many views as to the best way to
meet these precious people's needs. In the last 15 years or so there has
been a large increase in the amount of therapies/ learning aids that
have sprung up to try to offer assistance to make the journey of
those struggling with learning a bit easier. Many medical and
educational professionals struggle to determine what is the underlying
cause of many learning difficulties, or what can be done to treat them.
At
The Alison Lawson Centre Sunshine Coast, we see many parents confused,
discouraged and spending many hard earned dollars searching for the
'breakthrough' for themselves or their child, with results that, at
times, have minimal or no real benefit.
At the Alison Lawson
Centre Sunshine Coast, what we offer brings real and tangible results
that improve the child's/ person's ability to learn, targeting the
underlying physiological/neurological conditions that contribute to the learning
difficulties in a lot of cases. We also provide an individualised
remedial package to help to catch up on missed learning. The results
speak for themselves.
Satisfaction in our clients is very
important to us. Word of mouth is our biggest advertisement. We are
people who put our clients first, wanting the best for them, even if
that means we need to send clients elsewhere.
Integrity is also
important to us. We value being honest, transparent and free from an
agenda other than to help you and/or your child more fully reach their
potential. If we can't help you, we will let you know. But more often
than not, however, what we offer can bring much awaited breakthrough.
Thanks
for taking the time to read this. For more information on what we know
and what we do, continue reading. If we can help you in any way in your
search for understanding, please contact us." Tracey Heslop Operator, Visual Dyslexia Therapist The Alison Lawson Centre Sunshine Coast
Are reading and learning difficulties preventing your children from shining?
At The Alison Lawson Centre Sunshine Coast you
are respected, valued and encouraged to reach your full
potential-whatever that may be for you as an individual.
You can do great things with your life. You were meant to SHINE!
TREATMENT
WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?
The
word DYSLEXIA comes from the Greek language and literally means
difficulty with words (‘dys’-difficult, ‘lexis’-words). When left
untreated, there are significant limitations in the development of
specific aspects of speech, reading, spelling, writing and sometimes
numeracy, which may lead to secondary behavioural problems.
It is
estimated by the British Dyslexia Association that 10% of children have
some degree of dyslexia. Unless a teacher or parent is skilled in the
identification of visual dyslexia, the person may be misdiagnosed and
frequently regarded as lazy, forgetful and inattentive, or even slow.
THE FINDINGS OF ORTHOPTIST ALISON LAWSON
Alison
Lawson is a qualified Orthoptist who has practiced at various hospitals
including the Royal Children’s Hospital, Sydney, and Queen Elizabeth
Hospital for Children, London.
During her career, she worked with
children with learning difficulties, and made extensive research into
the visual cortex part of the brain to try to help these children. She
also observed that these children’s eyes were not working together as
they should. This resulted in the control centre of the brain
suppressing the images in the visual cortex part of the brain for a
particular eye, therefore hindering the visual processing of the child.
As vision is so important for learning, the child with this problem
struggles to interpret the building blocks of reading and writing,
generally falling behind their peers.
This lead her to develop the safe and simple medical treatment for Visual Dyslexia which utilised the LASD (Lawson Anti-Suppression Device) developed and patented by Mrs Lawson.
Since
that time, literally thousands of people have had their lives changed
since undergoing this revolutionary world first treatment.
THE TREATMENT
• An
assessment is first undertaken to ensure the treatment will be
beneficial. This takes about 1.5 hour and the results are immediately discussed with the client.
• An
average of 10 approximately one hour sessions are completed over a minimum of two
weeks and up to around 10 weeks. Sessions include stabilising the
unsteady fixation of the eye, remedial work on the LASD using methods to
aid in the retention of learning, removal of suppression, eye
exercises, retraining the brain, training up the visual memory, and
discussing and checking the homework.
•
The treatment also includes homework which is mandatory for a
successful outcome. Homework includes eye exercises, spelling, writing,
number patterns/times tables, brain training, transcription, bar
reading, memory work, etc.
• On completion of the treatment the
unsteady fixation is stabilised, the eyes should work better together
thus improving depth perception, suppression is no longer operating,
reading, spelling and learning should be easier and more enjoyable,
concentration and comprehension should improve, letters will no longer
move/blur/shake on the page, processing of learning should be faster,
getting thoughts down on paper should be easier, eyes should be more
comfortable, as well as many other benefits which pertain to each
individual as the underlying medical condition associated with the
learning difficulty is treated.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF VISUAL DYSLEXIA ?
Not every sign or symptom
of the dyslexic profile presents itself in each dyslexic person,
although there is usually evidence of a sufficient cluster of these to
lead to a diagnosis. It should be noted that dyslexia tends to run in
families, so there may be a history of it. Asking parents, however, may
not be enough, as often a parent will not have recognised it when
he/she was at school. Many only realise the condition once their
children are diagnosed.
Before School
History of slow speech development.
Difficulty learning nursery rhymes.
Finds phonological difficulty with the selection of the odd one out e.g. cat: pig : fat.
Some dyslexic children enjoy being read to, but show no interest in letters or words.
Others have no patience for sitting and listening.
Difficulty
with two or more instructions at one time (due to weak memory system)
but well able to carry out tasks when presented in smaller units.
Difficulty keeping simple rhythm.
May not crawl but walks early.
Persistent difficulty in dressing.
Difficulty with shoe laces, buttons, clothes the right way around.
Difficulty with catching, kicking or throwing a ball.
Difficulty with hopping and skipping.
Excessive tripping, bumping into things and falling over things.
Obvious good and bad days for no apparent reason.
At Primary School
Personal organisation poor.
Takes a long time to complete written work.
Poor spelling.
Getting thoughts down on paper a struggle.
Literacy based learning is generally hard work, even if the child is very intelligent.
Poor time keeping and awareness.
Copying off the board slow.
Difficulty in remembering what day of the week it is, birth date, seasons of the year, month of the year.
Difficulty in learning to tell the time.
Difficulty remembering anything in sequential order, e.g. days of the week, the alphabet, tables, foreign languages.
Poor reading progress.
Inability to blend letters together.
Difficulty in establishing syllable division, beginnings and endings of words, synthesis and analysis of words.
Hesitant
and laboured reading, especially when reading aloud, often misses out
words or adds extra words or fails to recognise familiar words. Or can
be very speedy in reading but doesn't read all the words- reads some and
then pieces the story together.
Making anagrams of words, e.g. tired for tried, breaded for bearded.
Confusion between left and right.
Poor handwriting with many reversals and badly formed letters.
Difficulty in picking out the most important points from a passage.
Poor standard of written work in comparison with oral ability.
Losing the point of the story being written or read.
Messy work with many crossings out and words tried several times e.g. wippe, wype, wiep, wipe.
Persistent confusion with letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/q, n/u, m/w.
Confusion with number order, e.g. plus and minus.
A word spelt several different ways in one piece of writing.
Badly set out written work, inability to stay close to the margin.
Seems to dream, does not seem to listen.
Concentration on literacy tasks poor, but can be good for other tasks.
Easily distracted.
Limited understanding of non-verbal communication.
Fine motor skills may be poor leading to weakness in the speed, control and accuracy of the pencil.
May become the class clown, disruptive or withdrawn (these are cries for help).
Employs work avoidance tactics (sharpening pencils, looking for books etc.)
Lacks confidence in literacy tasks..
Rests head on desk or right over to one side when colouring or writing.
Performs unevenly day to day.
Excessive tiredness due to the amount of concentration and effort required.
Headaches are common
Eyes sore, itchy or watery
For a detailed Signs and Symptoms Checklist, please see below.
We just might have the breakthrough you're looking for.
If
you are located in an area which is not easily accessible to one of the
Alison Lawson Centres (see Centre locations below), please contact us
as arrangements can be made to take the treatment to a suitable location
near to you. Conditions, however, do apply.
To register your interest for the service to come to a location near you, to organise an information session for your local community or just if you have some questions, leave your contact details on the adjacent form and someone will contact you shortly.
Also, type your phone number in the 'Message' box if you would like to be contacted by phone.
Australian Centres
Sunshine Coast Mobile Centre Various
locations including Central, West, Central and North Queensland, Sunshine Coast,
Northern Territory, South Australia P : 0459024340
