TWO Port Macquarie mothers have taken action in their quest to close the knowledge-to-action gap in our classrooms by forming the Dyslexia Support Mid North Coast.
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The group consists of pro-active parents who are advocates for children with dyslexia, with a focus on increasing awareness, sharing information and providing support to parents and students on issues involving dyslexia and specific learning difficulties.
Since its inception only one month ago, Dyslexia Support Mid North Coast has welcomed more than 60 members and is growing daily.
The groups co-founders, Joanne McNamara and Kelly King, both deal with the disease on a daily basis with their children and are eager to bring a program to Port Macquarie sooner rather than later.
"Every child wants to learn. Sadly, dyslexia is the forgotten learning difficulty in education," Joanne said.
"Parents are confused about what support to pay for and it's exhausting for children who struggle on a daily basis.
"The main thing is that the kids are bright, but they struggle in the classroom and it is very hard for them to get the support that they need."
They hope to put intervention in place in schools, and to point parents in the right direction outside of school as the help in Port Macquarie for dyslexia is minimal.
"The rapid growth of the support group is testament to our local need for more information and support," Kelly said.
"We were overwhelmed by the response that we've received. We have over 60 members in six weeks."
October 15 was dyslexia awareness day and the screening at the library was a huge success, with around 35 people turning up for the meet.
"Our next meeting is already very popular and it is almost fully booked," Kelly said. "Not just in Port Macquarie but Australia wide there seems to be a lack of support for Dyslexia.
"Parents often fork out thousands of dollars to professionals who don't completely understand it.
"We want to establish strong relationships with our schools and also develop programs that are embedded in our school system so that the students are getting what they need in the classroom."
The Australian Dyslexia Association offers an accreditation program while there is a school in Coffs Harbour where several teachers have been trained in multi sensory learning.
Their ultimate goal is to get that training here in Port Macquarie.
"We want to have this implemented in at least one school undertaking that program by October next year," Kelly said.
