The Special Needs Episode

Episode • May 19, 2022 • 1h 5m

Special Educational Needs (SEN) has become rather a ‘thing’ but was it ever thus and we are just more aware now? What do we mean by SEN? You know that feeling when you think something is not quite right? The worry, the angst, who do you call? What do you do?

Apparently, “1 in 5 of us has dyslexia” - Dyslexia Nigeria, so yes, it is a ‘thing’.

In the post-Covid world, what have practitioners in the coal face noticed about the children they see?

In this episode, the second in our Education Series, we sit with experts passionate about special-needs children, particularly dyslexia and the autism spectrum. We discuss early signs, early intervention, labelling (or not) and, perhaps most important of all, next steps. We speak with:

Mrs Helen Oshikoya, founder of Nobelova Gradani Psychoeducational Services Nigeria. She is a certified Educational Assessor and Advanced Certified Autism specialist.

Dr Adrienne Tikolo (Ph.D), MD of Dyslexia Nigeria. She is certified Dyslexia assessor with certification in Educational Testing and Board Certified Cognitive Specialist. She is also a member of the British Dyslexia Guild and British Psychological Society.

Mrs Olayide Olumide-Odediran, ED of Dyslexia Nigeria and a Certified Professional Coach, IBCCES Certified Cognitive Coach and UK CIM Certified Executive Function Coach. She holds an M.ED from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a First Class (Honours) Degree in Business Administration & Law from Keele University, UK.

We discuss:

Early Diagnosis;

The Labels, the Definitions;

Systematic Synthetic Phonics/Whole Word Recognition;

The Rose Report;

Special Needs and COVID-19;

Debunking Stigma;

A Parent’s First Action Line;

Collaborations and CSRs

Books, Travel and, yes, the obligatory Jokes

Learn more about Dyslexia Nigeria here

Visit Nobelova Gradani here