This year has been phenomenal!

"I could never have imagined that the number of activities we could undertake while working our day jobs?"

I can't believe that we are coming to the end of the year and Christmas is just around the corner.

This year has been phenomenal! I could never have imaged the number of activities we could undertake while working day jobs.

I would like to take this time to reflect on the significant achievements of 2019.

None of which would have been possible without the support of our Dear Dyslexic community, our sponsors and most of all our staff, volunteers and Board of Directors.

Our staff, volunteers and board of directors have worked tirelessly this year to ensure we continue to work towards our vision of empowering young people and adults with dyslexia to reach their full potential.

We have had significant pro-bono support from people across the country who also believe in our vision and mission.

I am filled with so much gratitude and thanks, words can’t describe it.

A special mention must be made to the Chair of our Board, Christine MacJouvelet, who has stood by me and is always contributing above and beyond the requirements of her role.

It is the gift of time that people have offered so generously even though they have busy lives, competing priorities and families of their own, these people have offered guidance, support and mentorship.

Read more

2019 Achievements

We have undertaken so many activities this year it’s hard to sum up in words so we have made a little video for you.

Some of the key achievements have included the redevelopment of our website, advocated in Federal and State Parliament, presented across the country, joined forces with a number of fantastic organisations working towards the same cause, held our 2019 Annual Gala with the wonderful Jackie French, released 29 podcasts with 7000 downloads - can you believe that? - become a cartoon character (now that's something I never thought would happen) and we are now carrying out significant research never undertaken before in Australia.

What a year of ups and downs, watch the successes of 2019 with the Dear Dyslexic Foundation

We are excited to announce that Carmel Reilly and Norman Chord have joined the Dear Dyslexic Foundation Board of Directors.

Carmel originally trained as a speech pathologist and brings a wealth of experience in rural and regional health, grants and government. She has a passion for working with neurodiverse communities and previously served on the board of the Lady Bug.

Norman has a background in neuroscience and has worked in startups and the private sector. He has a passion for social enterprise and has previously been an advisor for a number of national boards.

Meet our Board Members 

2020 Work Place Training Calendar

DDF runs training across the country supporting those who work with young adults with dyslexia. We are planning our training calendar for 2020. Whether you’re a teacher, disability support worker or tutor these courses will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to support your students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

Our training and workshops offer you an insight into a hidden current of talent in your workplace that you might not have known was there. We provide supervisors and managers with the skills and awareness they need to support their teams to do their best and to fulfil their legislative requirements — all while creating an inclusive and dyslexia-positive workplace.

Our interactive, hands-on workshops will allow you to go away with all the tools, skills and confidence you need to make the learning pathway smoother, and the work experience more fulfilling for your whole team.

Register Your Interest 

Latest Podcasts

Over the last three months, we have launched a variety of guests on the Dear Dyslexic podcast series, including Jack Churchill, CEO of Scanning Pens, speaking of his lived experience of dyslexia, American actor, author and dyslexia advocate Ameer Baraka discussing his lived experience of dyslexia and his time in prison that lead to his dyslexia assessment, and most recently Shae’s interview with Eleanor T. Loiacono talking about neurodiversity in the workplace. It has been a fantastic year listening to such a broad variety of speakers discuss their stories and experiences. The Christmas break is a great time to catch up on all the podcasts you have missed throughout the year.

Listen Now 

The Story Of Ross Duncan

I was up brought living close to an area of the industrial heartland of Scotland, better known as Lanarkshire, which is about 14km from Glasgow. I was the only son and the youngest of three and grew up in a modern standard, a very strict traditional Presbyterian Scottish household. But from day one, comparisons were already being made of me in the household that I was slow to develop and to slow grasp even the basics. Where my peers did things with a certain level of ease, I had a continual struggle to achieve the most basic things. If I had achieved the most basic things, if I had achieved 'average', then this for me was an accomplishment. But I was made to feel awkward.

"Seen and not Heard" Read More 

Research Recruitment Has Commenced

We have commenced recruitment for the second phases of our research project with the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University. The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of living and working with dyslexia in adulthood. This is the first time anyone in Australia has conducted research to gain a better understanding of lived experiences within the workplace for adults with dyslexia. We are recruiting for two groups. We would love to hear from you:

If you are an adult living in Australia with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and are currently working,

or

If you are an employer with 10 or more employees and you have worked with or managed an employee who has had dyslexia.

Join our research

Christmas Closure

We wish you all a safe and joyous Christmas
We will be closed from the 24th of December and will reopen on the 26th of January. From the entire team at the Dear Dyslexia family, we wish you all a lovely Christmas and a safe new year. We will be taking some time out to rest and plan for an amazing year ahead. See you then. x

Our Values

Lead the Research, Make the Change, Celebrate our Stories