Marcy Rice, Author at Helen Arkell

Reading in adults with dyslexia research

***This study has now closed. Thank you for participating! Sign up to our e-newsletter to hear about the research results later this year.***

Laura is a third-year student at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is researching reading and enjoyment and reading behaviour in adults who have dyslexia and is recruiting participants for the study.

Laura says:

We are looking for adults aged 18-30 with dyslexia to participate in our online study, with the opportunity to enter a prize draw for a £50 Amazon voucher. We are looking for adults with normal/corrected-to-normal vision and hearing, who are native English speakers (defined as attending school in a majority English speaking country from age 5). We kindly ask you not to participate if you have a neurodevelopmental condition that affects learning (e.g. autism, ADHD, epilepsy).

The main task of the study will involve reading a series of short book extracts, rating how much you enjoy them, and deciding if you would like to read a bit more of the book, or if you would like to move straight on to the next book.

You will also be asked to complete two short questionnaires about your reading history and experiences, and a measure of reading fluency.

Taking part will take approximately 30 minutes.

Please use a computer, laptop or tablet to complete the study rather than a mobile device, to ensure tasks are displayed correctly.

***This study has now closed. Thank you for participating! Sign up to our e-newsletter to hear about the research results later this year.***

Thank you!

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:50:42+01:00December 14th, 2022|Research news|0 Comments

CEO Blog – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

2 December 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, a big donation, and an incredible quilt …

It might only be 2nd December, but our sweet little home in 24 West Street is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, much to the delight of the many visitors who keep coming through our doors.

It smells a lot like Christmas too, particularly in my room, because that’s where the mulled wine was served on Wednesday evening, when we opened our doors to the local community for Christmas Drinks, to nibble on the odd mince pie and hear more about our work.

The great and the good of Farnham and the surrounding area were here in force, including the Mayor of Farnham, who presented us with a cheque from Farnham Town Council, to provide specialist help to people with dyslexia from lower-income backgrounds.

Two other groups deserve special mention. The one is Castle Quilters, because they had clubbed together to make an amazing quilt in memory of dear departed Jan, who was not only a keen fellow-quilter, but also knew our charity well, having received much support from us over the years. Their donated quilt took pride of place in the raffle, (alongside Helen’s homemade cake), and spurred people on to buy loads more raffle tickets than usual. It was great that the winner, Lorna, was someone who has themselves done so much for the cause of Helen Arkell, having raised over £2,600 in sponsorship when running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for us earlier this year, along with her friend Susie.

The other special group are the family of our founder, the late Helen Arkell MBE. Peter, one of Helen’s children, attended Christmas Drinks on the family’s behalf, and announced a special donation of £40,000 from the family to the Charity, as a lasting legacy to Helen’s memory. How amazing is that?!!

Everything we do has the aim of furthering the work that Helen started back in 1971, with a special interest in providing 1:1 support to children and adults, regardless of ability to pay, and training teachers so their expertise can reach many more children with dyslexia in their classrooms, throughout their careers.

I hope Helen looks down on us and is proud of what we are doing in her name. This year, we have supported more people than ever:
• 1,387 children and adults have received 1:1 support from us for their dyslexia, or suspected dyslexia.
• Another 1,380 people have received training from us in how to support people with dyslexia at home, at school, and in the workplace.
• People have come from 27 counties of the UK, and from 12 different countries.
• 271 individuals have benefitted from bursary-funded support this year, at a total cost of over £120,000.

We can only increase the numbers of people we support, and the various ways in which we help them, thanks to a whole team effort. So, if you’re already a Friend of Helen Arkell, thank you for being part of a growing gang. And if you’re not (yet), then why not join us, and be part of a very special organisation that touches the lives of over 2,500 people a year?

By joining us as a Friend of Helen Arkell, you’ll be giving us the best Christmas present we could possibly have. And in return, you’ll hear our behind-the-scenes news, attend our events, and if you’re lucky you might even meet Teddy Edward Arkell Bear (!).

Thank you!
Andy

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:51:03+01:00December 2nd, 2022|CEO blog|0 Comments

Beautiful donation from Castle Quilters

We held annual drinks evening on 30 November for friends and supporters including the Mayor, Councillor Alan Earwaker. This is the first Christmas event at our new home on West Street.

The evening was made extra special by a fantastic donation from Farnham’s Castle Quilters who handmade a beautiful quilt to raffle in memory of a very special member of their quilting circle.

Jan Ashwell lived in Bordon for over 40 years and taught for 26 of those at Mill Chase School. As well as being a talented quilter, Jan was passionate about supporting young people with dyslexia and additional learning needs, including getting support and a diagnosis for her son. Sadly, Jan passed away last July.

The Christmas Drinks raffle made over £350 for the charity.

Huge thanks to the Castle Quilters for their enormously kind and beautiful donation – a long-lasting symbol of friendship both to Jan and to the charity. We are thrilled that the quilt was won by Lorna, one of our amazing supporters who ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Helen Arkell back in October. The quilt is now taking pride of place in Lorna’s home.

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:51:20+01:00December 1st, 2022|Fundraising news|0 Comments

Handwriting research – invitation to join

At Helen Arkell, we use a test called DASH-2 (Detailed Assessment for Speed of Handwriting, second edition) during our dyslexia assessments. Pearson Clinical UK, the publishers of the test, alongside academics at Oxford Brookes University, are developing a new edition of the battery of tests that the DASH test is part of. They are currently particularly interested in recruiting children and young adults with dyslexia to take part in their research. Could you or your child take part?

This is the message from Pearson Clinical UK:

At Pearson Clinical UK, we develop and distribute assessments for professionals in psychology, allied health, general education, special needs education, and other areas serving people of all ages and cultures.

What is happening? Pearson Assessment is collecting data for a new project involving the development of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Third Edition (MABC-3) and the Detailed Assessment for Speed of Handwriting (DASH-2). For this project, we will measure children’s movement ability and handwriting speed. By testing a large number of children and adults, we can understand how they typically perform. The results from this project will help develop the new assessments. The published assessment will then enable professionals to identify children who require intervention and support with movement activities and handwriting. We welcome your/your child’s participation in the project.

What will the project involve? If you agree to be involved, Pearson Assessment will first determine whether you/your child fit the criteria for taking part based on the demographic information you provide. If you/your child are chosen to take part, we will contact you via email to arrange an assessment session. This should take around 45 minutes, although this will depend on age and ability of the person being tested. The assessment will take place either at home or at a convenient public location. The tests will be conducted by a trained professional (with an enhanced DBS check). They will ask you/your child to complete some movement activities such as throwing, catching and jumping and/or handwriting tasks.

Being part of this research means that you can help make tests more accurate for those being assessed so that they can get better and more directed intervention and support. If you would like to be part of this project, please follow the links below. By clicking on the links, you are not committing to taking part in the research.

Children aged 3-15 years

Young adults aged 16-25 years

Thank you!

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:51:28+01:00November 22nd, 2022|Research news|0 Comments

Research into counselling for young people with dyslexia

Clare Field is a Masters student at the University of Roehampton and she is looking into the effects of counselling and psychotherapy on children who are diagnosed with dyslexia. Are you a young person who fits the criteria and may be able to help Clare? Details are below.

Aim: Study into the experience of counselling and psychotherapy for dyslexic children and young people
“…without asking the client themselves what has been helpful, the research can
only make assumptions as to why an individual may or may not have benefited from
therapy.” (Stamp & Loewenthal, 2008, p.350)

• As a child or young person, did you receive support through counselling and/or psychotherapy?
• Are you diagnosed with dyslexia?
• Would you like the opportunity to talk, explore and share your experiences of counselling and/or psychotherapy you had as a child or young person?

***I am looking for***
● Participants aged 18-24 years
● Diagnosis of dyslexia
● Received counselling/ psychotherapy or play therapy as a child or young person
● Willing to talk about experiences of therapy and dyslexia
● Available to talk over Microsoft teams for a 1-hour interview
If you are interested in taking part in the research, please contact me via email: Clare Field at fieldc@roehampton.ac.uk

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:51:36+01:00November 21st, 2022|Research news|0 Comments

Please support us this Black Friday!

Please click on the graphic below to sign up and help us support children and adults with dyslexia while you shop this Christmas. Thank you!

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:51:44+01:00November 21st, 2022|Fundraising news|0 Comments

🎅 Celebrate a green Christmas 2022! 🎅

Send cards, save on postage and help children and adults with dyslexia!

Send eCards and donate the cost of greeting cards to Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity.

With DontSendMeACard every e-card you send saves time, helps a charity, and reduces carbon and they are not just for Christmas – you can browse birthday, thank you, Mother’s Day and other occasion cards all year round.

Send an eCard now.

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:52:03+01:00November 20th, 2022|Fundraising news|0 Comments

CEO Blog – We all need friends

4 November 2022

Life’s a bit easier when you have friends to bounce things off, isn’t it? A problem shared, and
all that? In the charity world, it makes good sense for us to help each other, join forces and
work together when there’s a clear benefit to be had. Particularly when it brings added-value
to the people that our charities are set up to support.
So, I was delighted to be put in touch with Julia this week. Julia is an experienced dyslexia
specialist and founder of Literacy100, a charity that seeks to help people from the homeless
community improve their literacy. Many of the people Julia works with are dyslexic. Julia
also filled me in on all her work with Thames Reach, another charity working with homeless
people in London. We brainstormed ways in which our respective charities can work
together to improve the opportunities of homeless people who are struggling with literacy
and where dyslexia may be a factor.
Also this week I was lucky enough to be put in touch with Dean from NoticeAbility. This is a
non-profit based in the USA, which is doing brilliant work with students who have dyslexia –
Dean is Head Honcho. We have set up a call next week, to compare notes and see how we
can work together and learn from each other. It feels like the pandemic prevented us from
forging these sorts of links over the last two years, and it’s great to start making new friends
again.
Likewise, it was brilliant to meet my newly-appointed opposite number at the British
Dyslexia Association. Chivonne was only appointed Interim CEO of the BDA just last month,
so I felt very honoured that she could find the time in her busy induction schedule to pop
down to Farnham, to hear more about our work at Helen Arkell, to compare notes and
generally just to start forging a productive working relationship.
On Tuesday this week, Tory and I were delighted to make new friends at euNetworks, a
company that has a brilliant way of managing its workforce, and undertakes ‘Watercooler
Chats’ to bring people together and spark off discussions on a range of issues. Tory and I
joined them to introduce the topic of dyslexia and we had some great discussions between
all the 62 participants. We’ll certainly find ways to work together again in future.
Then on Thursday night, we made some friends down the pub! – this was a Quiz Night in aid
of Helen Arkell, at the Hog’s Back Brewery. Thank you to everyone who joined in to support
us and had some fun; beer and pizza at the same time!
Last but by no means least, this week Rachael and I met another group of individuals who
are keen to join our team of dyslexia specialists. It was great to hear all their various
experiences and to see how they might fit into our growing network. Between us, our aim is
to help more people with dyslexia with every year that goes by, so there will always be
room for recruiting more talent into our workforce.
Of course, there’s a very obvious way in which you could contribute to our overall team
effort too, even if you’re not a dyslexia specialist. We are badly in need of more Friends of
Helen Arkell, to become part of a growing ‘inner circle’ within the Helen Arkell community,
contributing small, monthly donations in return for receiving ‘behind-the-scenes’ news. You
will love being a Friend because it will make you all warm and fuzzy inside, and you’ll sleep
soundly in your bed. You will also give off an aura of saintly virtue, and will instantly become
more popular with everyone you know. Even Teddy Edward the Great Bear of Frensham is a
Friend of Helen Arkell. Or he would be if he had any money (which he doesn’t).
Onwards and upwards, my friends!
Andy
PS. We hope you like our new website, which was developed free of charge by our friends at
Delivered Social in Guildford. Our old website was on its last legs, so Jonathan and his team
stepped in with an incredibly generous offer to get us set up with a new one, free of charge.
A big shout-out to Jonathan’s gang, and particularly to office dog Dembe who is the real
brains of the operation. Thank you, guys!! It really is brand new this week, so if you spot any
glitches, typos, or anything else you feel we should know about, please drop us a line and
we’ll put it right. Thank you!

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:55:55+01:00November 4th, 2022|CEO blog|0 Comments

New book in – The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading

We have a new book in our specialist shop, recommended by Claire Harvey, our Head of Education.

Teaching children to read is one of the most important tasks in primary education and classroom practice needs to be underpinned by a secure foundation of knowledge. Teachers need to know what reading entails, how children learn to read and how it can be taught effectively.

The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading is an essential guide for primary teachers that explores the key technical and practical aspects of how children read with strong links to theory and how to translate this into the classroom.

You can order here or pop into the Farnham Centre.

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:56:32+01:00November 1st, 2022|Shop news|0 Comments

TCS London Marathon 2023

One last place! Join #TeamHelenArkell in the world-famous London Marathon – which is the largest fundraising event in the world!

The TCS London Marathon is one of the world’s most famous running events. The course follows an iconic route taking in many of London’s landmarks, from the Cutty Sark and the City to St James’ Park and The Mall.

We need your help raising funds to support children, young people and adults who have dyslexia who need our help more than ever.

More information here.

By Marcy Rice|2024-07-23T16:52:18+01:00October 21st, 2022|Fundraising news|0 Comments

About Marcy Rice

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