Two Hampstead mums have created a range of stationery with the aim of changing the lives of children with dyslexia.
Maggie Souter and Sally Ashcroft – both have at least two decades of experience teaching and dyslexic children themselves – launched Handy Spelling earlier this autumn.
Maggie and Sally want to make sure children with the condition have access to simple and subtle ways of helping them in the classroom – and to that end they’ve created stationery to help kids remember important words.
READ MORE: Primrose Hill boss warns: Don’t celebrate Bonfire Night hereSally, who has specialised in teaching dyslexia and spelling at schools in both the state and private sector in Hampstead, told this newspaper: “We are both parents of dyslexic children so we have had to go through what many parents do and to learn that learning is going to be very different. And we wanted to create some products that’d be really supportive.”
Maggie, who now lectures in communication design at Central St Martin’s, added: “One of the key things was to make it useful but subtle. The children want it somewhere that’ll give them the confidence they need without making a situation stand out.
“When my kids found out they were dyslexic I knew nothing about it. Lots of the books were so negative except for one called The Gift of Dyslexia, and it’s so important to have that.”
Maggie said: “We want this to be something that supports dyslexic children to be expressive and creative, and to support parents by giving them something that’ll make a real difference.
Sally emphasised that the pair felt it vital to make sure children’s confidence wasn’t hit by difficulties spelling – and wanted to remind them that creativity and writing went far beyond getting letters in the right order.
Celebrities including Countdown’s dictionary expert Susie Dent and TV chef Jamie Oliver have endorsed the Handy Spelling range.
Susie Dent tweeted: “I love this stationery, made by a not-for-profit company to help children with dyslexia or spelling struggles, and raise a smile.”
The mums have created a number of downloadable lessons designed to help dyslexic children build confidence – these, along with the stationery range, are available at HandySpelling.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here