Lexicon Reading Center kicks off Free Screening Project in Dubai schools early due to high demand

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November, 2015 –Lexicon Reading Center, a Dubai-based company providing support for children who learn differently, has carried out numerous projects to raise awareness of dyslexia in the UAE. Last month the centre announced a new project offering screening sessions for dyslexia and dysgraphia at schools across Dubai this November.

Initially the Center aimed at hosting the screenings at five schools, however as a result of the awareness campaign, the centre has received an overwhelming response and as a result has stretched the screenings to 15 schools and with more than 400 students in total, both primary and secondary and across different curriculums (British, IB, Indian and American), running over a three week period starting this week.

As the screening programme is aimed at identifying children who are at risk, Mr. Stockling Msc (Psych), clinical director at Lexicon Reading Center, will be communicating the screening results with the school, and then running a full scale information session for teachers and parents to be actively involved as well.

Mr Stockling said “Since we announced the free screenings for schools, the response has been huge. We believe that the issue of dyslexia is so important, that we made the decision to offer the screenings to three times the number of schools as a way to reach a larger number of pupils who will potentially benefit from early intervention.”

Lexicon Reading Center aims to emphasise the importance of early diagnosis and an intervention of learning difficulties within the five to seven age bracket. They have a team of highly trained educational psychologists who are professionally qualified to assess children and then provide appropriate support accordingly.

As part of the awareness campaign, Professor Nancy Cushen-White, a clinical professor at the University of California and a director of the US-based Slingerland Institute, ran a free workshop in October to guide teachers how to teach spellings.

“We were pleased to see the number of teachers that took out time to participate in the workshops,” said Professor Cushen-White. “We were able to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis, ensuring quick treatment which in turn can improve a child’s learning potential at an earlier age. One of the key indicators of Dyslexia is when children struggle to spell and often find it difficult to recognize the correct letters. Teachers responded very positively and we will look forward to their continuous support when we conduct the screenings over the next three weeks at schools. Together we hope to provide our full support to parents with concerns.”

Dr Steve Chinn and Malcolm Litten, two of the UK’s leading experts on dyslexia, will be conducting a concluding workshop on the 11th November, free for members of the public.

Schools interested in applying for the Free Screening Programme, or more information on the workshops, please contact the Lexicon Reading Center at info@lexiconreadingcenter.org or call +971 (0)50 795 4428. The deadline for applications is the 5th November 2015.