Hello, I’m Glenys (Mrs. T) Trouncer and I’m joining Breakaway Education as an MSL Professional to provide literacy intervention for students of all ages. A Southern Highlands local, born and bred, I’ve worked as a Private Music Tutor for over 25 years and hold a Master of Teaching degree in Primary education.
As a parent of a distressed Year 5 student, seeking some kind of help, I began to find out about Multi-sensory Structured Language (MSL) learning. MSL had been recommended to us by the Australian Dyslexia Association (ADA), as the kind of learning our daughter needed.
All of us must master the Alphabetic Code to be able to read, write and spell independently. Our daughter needed to learn this code using MSL, something she had not received in her six years of schooling. She had, miraculously and by employing a sophisticated battery of survival tactics, including guessing strategies, made it to Year 5 without knowing how to say the Alphabet in correct sequence, without being able to confidently and correctly write the letters of the Alphabet or say their correct letter sounds.
Testing proved, there was not lack of intelligence, just a need to learn differently, as is so often the case for these students. Her distress showed-up at home, not at school, in her out-of-character behaviour and her objection to going to school (especially on Spelling Test day). She was very anxious and asking “What is wrong with me?” and “Why am I so dumb?”.
“Multi-sensory learning involves the use of visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic-tactile pathways simultaneously, to enhance memory and learning of written language.” IDA Fact Sheet, Multisensory Structured Language Teaching.
As I saw MSL intervention assist our daughter, I decided to train with the Institute of Mulitisensory Structured Language Education and am convinced of the benefits of this approach to teaching for those who need to learn language differently. This approach is beneficial not only for those diagnosed with any form a dyslexia but also for any student, of any age who struggles with a learning difficulty (LD).
Our daughter, who will always be dyslexic as it is a condition of different brain function, is now handling Yr 7 positively and confidently. She well understands her strengths and weaknesses and is not held back by her lack of the basic building blocks of language.
In my work as an MSL Professional, I have the great privilege of seeing struggling learners, for whom reading, writing and spelling were always difficult, distressing chores, become independent, confident students who want to learn.
Picture Credit: http://www.multisensoryeducation.net.au/