The judging panel which consisted of volunteers from the Dyslexia Community and our special guest judge Freelance Journalist Cat Rodie, have...

2017 Champions of Champions!

13:10:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

The judging panel which consisted of volunteers from the Dyslexia Community and our special guest judge Freelance Journalist Cat Rodie, have been overwhelmed by the entries again in 2017. The stories of your champions have been heartwarming and also inspiring. (Note: please see earlier blog in regards to Jackie French being unable to assist us with judging due to post surgery complications).

We thank you all for taking part again this year.

The Overall Champion this year is 9 Year Old Jack Kennedy who wins the Sailors with disABILITIES 'Sailing with Champions Prize'. 

Congratulations Jack! Your entry is fantastic. 

Jack will have the opportunity to take along his family and friends to a fantastic afternoon of sailing on the Sydney Harbour! Watch Jack's entry below!


While all entries were wonderful this entry from our Adults Category deserves special mention. Thank you to Eleanor for this wonderful song. We have been told that Eleanor has only performed it live once before as it is such a raw and emotional song that it has been too difficult to perform live again. This brought the judges to tears. 





All age category winners are listed below with the link to their entry! Congratulations to all who have won a prize and to those who have entered this year you are all champions.

Thank you for supporting our Campaign & Competition, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with you all on this.

Julie Hermansen
Finder of Champions


2017 My Red Letter Champions of Champions
Sailing with Champions Winner
Overall WinnerJack Kennedyhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e029-jack_25.html
Age Group5-8yrs
1stMillie Schulzhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/11/my-red-letter-2017-e085-millie.html
2ndLuke Bakerhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e028-luke.html
3rdJack Pritchardhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e019-jack.html
CommendedZara Taylorhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e076-zara.html
CommendedLuka Carberryhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/11/my-red-letter-2017-e094-luca.html
Age Group9-12 yrs
1stSeren Davieshttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e057-seren.html
2ndSophia Lesliehttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/11/my-red-letter-2017-e109-sophia.html
3rdAlexa Zimmerlinghttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e056-alexa.html
CommendedSam Newmanhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e053-sam.html
Age Group13-18 yrs
1stBailey Meareshttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/11/my-red-letter-2017-e099-bailey.html
2ndAlyssia McDonaldhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e067-alyssia.html
3rdLewis Squadritohttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e027-lewis.html
CommendedTaylah Isaachttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e061-taylah.html
Age GroupAdults
1stEleanor Gardner http://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e016-eleanor.html
2ndJan Barsonhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e013-jan.html
3rdSarah Golehttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e038-sarah.html
CommendedSarah Gurrinhttp://www.myredletter.com.au/2017/10/my-red-letter-2017-e001-sarah.html


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In order to organise a national competition without any kind of budget, you need to be a little bit nimble. So when our special gue...

2017 My Dyslexia Champions

09:15:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments




In order to organise a national competition without any kind of budget, you need to be a little bit nimble.


So when our special guest judge Jackie French informed us recently that she was dealing with complications after knee surgery that may require another round of surgery, we wished Jackie the very best for her recovery and nimbly found a new special guest judge.

We approached Freelance Journalist Cat Rodie to help us out with the judging (Cat is also proud to be dyslexic, although she still wonders why it has to be such a tricky word to spell!) . Cat responded very quickly with a yes, and she has since judged the four age categories for us (more on that soon).

But before we move on here are some words from Jackie about the My Red Letter Competition and Campaign:


'A complication after knee surgery meant I was unable to judge this year, and I am delighted and grateful that Cat Rodie was able to step in.  I've been watching as entry after entry came in, and every single one was superb. Many many congratulations to everyone. I am so looking forward to next years' competition.'






 And from Cat: 'It was a huge honour to judge the red letter competition. Your entries brought back so many memories and perfectly articulated what it's like to be a kid with dyslexia. There is a shift happening - people are starting to see that dyslexia represents a different way of thinking or seeing the world. One day, people will celebrate being dyslexic - parents with a dyslexic kid will feel like they won the lottery. That day is coming, and by sharing your experiences, all of you helped forge the way.' 





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Entry:  E110 Name:  Amelia Age:  9 Champion: My Mum, Dad and Tutor Victoria   My super hero is three people, my mum, dad and Victoria. ...

My Red Letter 2017 - E110 - Amelia

17:51:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E110
Name: Amelia
Age: 9
Champion: My Mum, Dad and Tutor Victoria 

My super hero is three people, my mum, dad and Victoria. 

Mum helps me with my homework, Victoria's and school, and when I need a lucky charm she is there. 

My dad helps me with cheering me up and saying how lucky I am. When he was a kid he got none help with work, so he helps me as much as he can and he is dyslexic too. 


And the last of all is Victoria, she is my tutor she teaches me new things after the class and before. She has so much niceness in her, she is a 5 out of 5. She taught me running writing and more. 

Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  E109 Name:  Sophia Age:  10 Champion: Mum My dyslexia hero is my mummy.  She helps me through all of my spelling mistakes an...

My Red Letter 2017 - E109 - Sophia

17:46:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E109
Name: Sophia
Age: 10
Champion: Mum

My dyslexia hero is my mummy. 


She helps me through all of my spelling mistakes and all the things that go wrong but she also compliments me and encourages me on all of the things I do well, like drawing and writing. 

I chose to draw myself surrounded by letters that represent the spelling mistakes that I make.  It is like drowning because everyone else seems to be able to spell so easily except me.   



The dragon represents my mummy saving me from the words.  She helps me by teaching me how  to spell the words I get wrong and by making me split words into syllables, which help me to spell the words easily.  Mummy got me an iPad and showed me how to use assistive technology to write all of my novels.  I write a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot! 

It would be harder if Mummy didn't help me and I would probably give up on my writing. 

The Dragon
The dragon has powers over life and death.
Where you cannot reach, the dragon can.
When the dragon tries, it tries with all its mighty power 
And it does this because of love.
The power pushes evil away with the power of the heart.


Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  L108 Name:  Elle Age:  14 Champion: Jackie French & Mum Click on the below links for more information List of My Red Lett...

My Red Letter 2017 - L108 - Elle

17:37:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: L108
Name: Elle
Age: 14
Champion: Jackie French & Mum
Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  L107 Name:  Anita Age:  Adult Champion: Code Read Dyslexia Network Champion - From Medieval Latin <campio> meaning fighte...

My Red Letter 2017 - L107 - Anita

17:31:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: L107
Name: Anita
Age: Adult
Champion: Code Read Dyslexia Network

Champion - From Medieval Latin <campio> meaning fighter. “One who fights on behalf of others, one who undertakes to defend a cause.”

I’ve been working really hard to find a way of expressing this sentiment without it sounding like a cliche but the fact is I can’t decide who my ‘dyslexia champion’ is. I have too many. So I am going to group them all together under the banner of Code Read Dyslexia Network; the newly created NFP that burst to life on Saturday October 14th 2017 with a TV appearance on Channel 9.

When you scratch the surface of this new group you will find its slightly battered and bruised heart : a band of fiery women (mostly mothers of dyslexic children) and a sometimes grumpy but eternally passionate old bloke. These people who are bound by the same heartbreak, the same battles and the same joys, have become my safe harbour. They are my inspiration, my confidantes, my friends. They are, all at once, a soft place to fall, a lightning rod to galvanise me into action and a sounding board for all the fun, frustrations and fears this life with dyslexia brings. 

I don’t know what I’d do without them. They are the very essence of what it is to be a champion. 

Code Read Dyslexia Network are fighters and I stand proudly beside them as we go into battle. 


Anita - mother of a dyslexic child, wife of a dyslexic man child, Structured Literacy Therapist. 
Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  E106 Name:  Evan Age:  11 Champion: My Family   My name is Evan and I am 11 years old. My dyslexia champion is my family. My fa...

My Red Leter 2017 - E106 - Evan

17:24:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E106
Name: Evan
Age: 11
Champion: My Family 

My name is Evan and I am 11 years old. My dyslexia champion is my family. My family are my mum and dad. They help me when I don’t understand something and they take me to all the activities I enjoy. When I am sailing or doing karate I feel good about myself and it doesn’t matter that I am dyslexic. 

Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  E105 Name:  Karla Age:  12 Champion: Everyone Click on the below links for more information List of My Red Letter 2017 entr...

My Red Letter 2017 - E105 - Karla

17:20:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E105
Name: Karla
Age: 12
Champion: Everyone


Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  E084 Name:  Lilimae Age:  12 Champion: Richard Branson Dyslexia is a journey that some people have to experience and some don’t...

My Red Letter 2017 - E084 - Lilimae

17:15:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E084
Name: Lilimae
Age: 12
Champion: Richard Branson

Dyslexia is a journey that some people have to experience and some don’t everyone that has dyslexia learns how do deal with there dyslexia and what works for them in there learning areas.I love having dyslexia it makes me think in other ways people don’t. But I haven’t always loved it. I used to be ashamed and upset because I thought I was dumb but this year especially I have learned to love it. there are lots of kinds of dyslexia I have trouble with spelling and getting things out onto paper but I know that people experience dyslexia in other ways with maths or other areas. One thing that I what to do is educate people that have dyslexia and people that don’t more about it and what it is because when I say to people I have dyslexia they say oh so your not good with numbers but I want to teach people more about it and how amazing it is and how many people have it like Richard Branson who created virgin Australia of course people would have called him dumb or stupid or say you can’t read but he didn’t listen to them at look how amazing he is that is why I look up to him!

Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
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Entry:  E104 Name:  Jet  Age:  10 Champion: Mum My mum is my dyslexic champion because whenever I don’t want to do something she says “...

My Red Letter 2017 - E104 - Jet

17:06:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E104
Name: Jet 
Age: 10
Champion: Mum

My mum is my dyslexic champion because whenever I don’t want to do something she says “just give it a go” and I find out that it’s really fun.  

Also I keep on thinking its impossible for me to read books fluently but now I’ve started home schooling I’m getting better and better every day because of my mum.  
Click on the below links for more information
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Entry:  E103 Name:  Melanie Age:  Adult  Champion: Jet My dyslexic champion is my 10 year old son Jet.   He is quite severely dyslexi...

My Red Letter 2017 - E103 - Melanie

17:03:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E103
Name: Melanie
Age: Adult 
Champion: Jet

My dyslexic champion is my 10 year old son Jet.  

He is quite severely dyslexic and still struggles with spelling and reading basic words.  Despite this, he still puts in effort every single day to learn how to read, write and spell.  

We have just started homeschooling this term as he was not progressing at school and I love the passion and enthusiasm he displays in areas that he is interested in.  

I love his sense of humour and his out of the box thinking, he is great at solving problems and often comes up with great ideas or solutions to problems.  

Also, without him I wouldn’t have realised that I too am dyslexic! 

Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Entry:  E102 Name:  Dan Age:  Adult Champion: My Mum "As Daniel began to read he began to rock - an indication of how anxious he h...

My Red Letter 2017 - E102 - Dan

16:47:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E102
Name: Dan
Age: Adult
Champion: My Mum

"As Daniel began to read he began to rock - an indication of how anxious he has become." This is an extract from an Educational Psychologist report about me as a child and a small part of my dyslexia story. My Dyslexic Champion is my mum because in my early years she was there with me every step of the way! She was an amazing advocate for me all through school dealing with my teachers. She took me to an educational psychologist when I was nine and together we heard the news that I was dyslexic and not “dumb” as I had often told her. Mum took me to every speech pathology session, every tutoring session for reading, writing and maths, every occupational therapy session and every other specialist appointment I went to. My mum was determined to find something or someone to help me overcome my dyslexia. She read with me every single night as a child and worked with me at home which I am sure at times was very challenging. Mum was my counsellor, consoler and motivator. She read everything she could find about dyslexia and left no stone unturned. Later in life it was my mum who inspired me to become a teacher and help other children including dyslexic children with their learning. 

My Dyslexia story
I remember my first day of Kindergarten walking into the classroom eyes wide open full of joy and excitement to be at school. I sat down on the floor and the teacher had drawn a picture of Humpty Dumpty siting on a wall on the blackboard. I told the boy next to me that that was Humpty Dumpty and he agreed. We sang the nursery rhyme and I think that was the highlight of primary school for me. From that point on it seems like it all went downhill. Each day went by and I wasn't able to read, write, spell or do mathematics and I worked out pretty quickly that I couldn't.  My parents raised concerns at the end of Kindergarten when I couldn't read or write but they were told everything was fine. They were told "we all develop differently, we all get there in our own time, you can't compare him to his brother"(not dyslexic) They raised concerns again when I was in Year 1 and were told similar things. 

 Struggling with reading, writing and spelling can have a profoundly negative impact on a person's self esteem and self worth. For dyslexics school can be a miserable, lonely place that causes anxiety. "Daniel has severe specific learning disabilities....He feels inferior to others."(Educational Psychologist report aged 9)   I can vividly remember being in Year 2 at school sitting on the floor during a whole class lesson looking out of the window watching some birds flying around and thinking how lucky those birds were because they didn't have to go to school. My mum would pick up the pieces of my shattered self esteem whenever I had a bad day at school. 

On top of my learning problems I had difficulties with all sequencing skills - fine motor, gross motor, auditory and visual. I was cross dominate which led to coordination problems (right eye dominate, left handed for some things, right handed for other, I jumped off my left leg but kicked a ball with my right leg.) Life at school was very difficult. I know I got tired of hearing about all the things "I should be able to do by now at my age." And that I "wasn't trying today." No child goes to school not wanting to be able to learn and yet at times I was told to try harder or you could do this yesterday so you must not be concentrating today. That's the funny thing about dyslexia and working memory you never know when it's going to work. I was miserable at school and I just wanted to be normal. 

At the age of 9 years and 2 months my life changed forever I went to an educational psychologist and was diagnosed as dyslexic. The psychologist found that my verbal intelligence, vocabulary and listening comprehension skill were far greater than my reading and spelling ability. (My reading comprehension and spelling were 4 years below my potential level.) The reason for this was that I couldn't decode the words on the page. I would now say I had poor orthographic mapping skills which impacted adversely on my reading comprehension. According to the psychologist's report I was trying to use my intelligence to work out the words based on the context due to the fact that I couldn't read the words which undermined my comprehension of the text. A later educational psychologist report from high school noted that I had very strong oral language and vocabulary skills as well as excellent listening comprehension. However I had problems with decoding particularly with multi syllable words and these inaccuracies undermined my reading comprehension. "Daniel has a decoding problem not a comprehension problem." The psychologist also found that I had severe fine motor coordination problems. So things like holding a pencil, writing and tying shoe laces were difficult. I had severe problems with auditory sequencing and auditory processing. Overall there was a "Very wide differential between verbal and performance scales."

At the end of the report the psychologist concluded "Daniel will also need a very great deal of sympathetic support and encouragement from home and from school to help re-build his rather battered self-image, and also to maintain his motivation to continue the struggle to learn against the odds." This comment sums up how I felt about myself in year 4 and beyond. Unfortunately the school said they didn't hold to IQ tests and I suspect they didn't know much about dyslexia or how to help me. However it was a great relief for me to know that I wasn't "dumb" and It was a starting point. My parents were able to get some intervention from specialists outside of school based on the report in the form of tutoring, occupational therapy and speech pathology. It was the beginning of a long hard journey to overcome my learning difficulties/ differences. A journey that I am still on today and will be for the rest of my life. Thanks to my mum and dad I was very lucky to be identified and to get some intervention for my dyslexia not every dyslexic is so lucky.

What's it like being dyslexic?
My own personal experience of being dyslexic is one of extremes and not much in between. At times it is wonderful. I have a vivid imagination, I am creative, I am good at problem solving and can think outside the box, I enjoy drawing, animating and photography as well as playing and writing music. I have a good sense of humour and I am good at seeing the big picture.   At other times it's incredibly frustrating and demoralizing.  I have to work hard on my organisational and planning skills, my short term memory can fail me. (So I have to take notes...I just have to remember where I put them.) I get anxious about things and at times still feel like that 9 year old boy who felt inferior to everyone else. As much as I have a creative side I have difficult expressing my ideas as precisely as I want. Dyslexia has made me determined and resilient but at times dyslexia has made me anxious, insecure and full of self-doubt. Like I said my experience of dyslexia is one of extremes and contradictions. 

I've been fortunate enough to have had lots of support and I thank my family for that. As a mature age student I decided to become a teacher and my parents were very supportive of this as they always have been of everything I have done. My parents have always tried to help me find my place in world. There is no way I would have considered stepping back into a school after I finished it. I was so glad to get out. I've been fortunate to win multiple awards for my educational music YouTube channel (education and music two things I really struggled with as a child!) I am now studying Multisensory Structured Language with MSL Australia and helping my son with his dyslexia and hopefully I can help many more dyslexic children in the years ahead.  There is no way I would have been able to achieve all the things I have without my parent’s support and advocacy. 

If I wasn't dyslexic and my brain didn't work differently then there would be no Rocking Dan Teaching Man. When people ask me, "How to write your songs?" I can only answer with "I don't really know!" Because I don't really know the songs just come to me. It is amazing how the dyslexic brain works sometimes it's like magic! I can also say that there would be no Rocking Dan Teaching Man without the support of my mum. She encouraged me to learn the guitar after I left school despite the many failed attempts I had growing up to learn musical instruments. 

My Advice
My advice to other dyslexics is: don't give up! I know things are hard but you are intelligent, you are capable, you are resilient and you will find your place in the world.  Thanks to my parents for all that you have done for me.  A special thanks to my mum for sitting through every intervention session, every parent teacher meeting and for the hours you put into my learning at home. Thank you for inspiring me to become a teacher and an educational YouTube musician.  You have always being my number one advocate and my dyslexia champion.  
Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
Sponsors
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Entry:  E101 Name:  Hayley  Age:  13 Champion: My Mentor (Mark)   I am going to be honest with you I don’t really like school and I hav...

My Red Letter 2017 - E101 - Hayley

12:13:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E101
Name: Hayley 
Age: 13
Champion: My Mentor (Mark) 

I am going to be honest with you I don’t really like school and I have had to change schools this year in year 7. It’s not the easiest thing to do for someone with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

My new school is only minutes from home and my Dad thinks the new school is marvellous. You know what dad sometimes you’re over the top. Although the teachers are pretty good and encouraging.  I like writing plays and short stories. I have a number of OC’s that is an original creation and I love to draw.  

I would like to share a little about my dyslexic and dysgraphia journey. Hi, I am Hayley and I am 13-year-old in year 7.

I got good scores in NAPLAN for reading and writing but I still can’t spell that well, Thank you, spellchecker, and Siri. My memory kind of sucks at times but it’s better than my Dads. You know what my grades are pretty good.  

Yep, doing ok for the moment. But let’s time travel back to year 1 and 2. So some of the teachers and classmates thought I was a little strange and I had bits and pieces of items from my bag scattered over the school.  The year one teacher was great, the rest just didn’t know what to do with me. So, in year 2 it was lots and lots of drawing, not much school work, and year 3 I got to hang out at the sensory room (I was just sent there a lot because I think it was easier for the teachers. There was not much school work to worry about).

Mum and Dad sent me to a young psychologist named Aaron and he worked out I had dyslexia. It was great - I just didn’t feel so silly any more. I knew I was different but I knew I wasn’t stupid.  

Aaron told Mum and Dad I should change school so at the last term at the end of year 3 this really cool principal said I could try his school for 3 weeks. Then he said I should go back to my old school (to say goodbye) for a few weeks and come back in year 4. I wished I could have stayed at the cool principal’s school but appreciated it more when I went to the school.

So, I got to the school in year 4 and Mum & Dad are blown away that I am doing school work and can’t believe the work I was doing. This young man seems to know all my tricks. What, I say the teachers here seem to understand dyslexia, err! So, it’s a tough year and my grades aren’t great but I am working.

So, year 5 comes along and I get this really chilled teacher I’ll call him Mr Terrific (Mr T). Mr T is so laid back and great with ICT and he really support me with using my IPAD. He is always happy to meet with Mum & Dad. In year 5 this is my first crack at NAPLAN (didn’t sit the NAPLAN in year 3) and I couldn’t believe that I did okay with some great results.
Now I am in year six with Mr M his daughter has dyslexia so he gets me, YEAH. All of a sudden, I am working hard and getting my assignments in all little too early and using all sorts of ways to present my work. The class loves Mr M what a legend. So, at the year six celebration I am co-winner on the encouragement award I am pretty happy. Then I see on the award the name of one of my great mates who is a grade ahead won the award the year before me - I was pretty amazed!

Sadly, time to leave the school as there was no year 7 at the school. Let’s just say things didn’t work out that well for me at the big ‘high school’. Mum and Dad were really worried that I was so stressed at the new High School so they moved me. I started with a new school in year 7 term 3. You know what Dad offered me a day off tomorrow and I said sorry got to go tomorrow. Lots of work to complete. 
At my new school I no longer have an IEP and do a language. I take a bit longer with maths, but the teachers said I am doing well. 

I need to let you know school is still hard and I still get stressed and the dyslexia has a impact on my emotions (for example small things can get to me while bigger problems take a lot to upset me). My Dad got me into basketball and then we didn’t have the numbers at the school so we shared a campus and I played some games for the other school. So, I said to my Dad if you get the team back at the school I’ll play, thinking it can’t be done. Yep, next thing I know I am back at the school playing basketball. You know we played 10,12, U14’S in under 12s we lost almost every game over two seasons and then in the last game in the season we finally unexpectedly win and someone’s says can we go to McDonald’s, of course. You know what we lost all those games together and we finally won together, what a proud moment for the team and coach Dad. Team sports taught me how to lose and showed me you can win and have fun with your mates. Our team had a focus on inclusion which was great.

My Mum & Dad have worked hard for me given reports to my school and Aaron has helped me when I am feeling down. I have done a dyslexia program and have a tutor from SPELD.

When I was younger I got to meet this energetic and exciting young man – (pictured below). He goes under the alias of a teacher, counsellor and author, in other words he is a superhero. I did a program which was great. It was a social group for kids like me. Would you believe I have done it another three times through school? My social skills weren’t that great until I started playing sport and I met the man below (Superhero!)

You know how I told you I am doing ok now and how I changed schools this year without too many issues and have made some good friends. This enigmatic gentleman pictured below, well he is my mentor, and you know what, when the pressure was on early in the year he got Mum & Dad on track.  

This fantastic person (Mark) and Aaron helped me make the transition to a pretty big public R-12 school. You know what he has been with me every step of the way over the last few years.   I can talk to Mark about anything and he makes me laugh. He also listens and doesn’t judge me and helps me get things into perspective when it feels like the world is just too much…….he has a great smile, crazy hair, infectious laugh and has helped me overcome many barriers which I thought I could not jump over.  He jumped with and sometimes encouraged me to jump even higher!!!!

His name is the legendary Mark – he is a star and is my dyslexic champion. 

Thanks (Marvellous) Mark – you are an advocate and superstar for kids with dyslexia and social issues!

Mark is one of a kind!!!!
Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
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Terms & Conditions

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Entry:  E100 Name:  Tessa Age:  8 Champion: Mum   Click on the below links for more information List of My Red Letter 2017 entries Co...

My Red Letter 2017 - E100 - Tessa

11:53:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E100
Name: Tessa
Age: 8
Champion: Mum 
Click on the below links for more information
List of My Red Letter 2017 entries
Competition details and prizes

Entry Form
Sponsors
Terms & Conditions

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Entry:  E099 Name:  Bailey Age:  13 Champion: Teachers   I have so many wonderful teachers that have helped me achieve my goals.  They ...

My Red Letter 2017 - E099 - Bailey

11:50:00 Dyslexia Australia 0 Comments

Entry: E099
Name: Bailey
Age: 13
Champion: Teachers 

I have so many wonderful teachers that have helped me achieve my goals.  They are Mrs Kelly, Mrs Pearson, Mrs Boulton, Mr Reece Anderson, Mrs Whim, Mrs Hunter, Mrs Ayers and my current teachers
  
Each have known I am a little different. Well not different just very creative.  None of them gave up on me, they helped me and pushed me to achieve my best marks.  We worked together, they believed in me.  Every child deserves to have amazing teachers that lift them when they are down.  Understand when you need it explain in a different way.  Give you the confidence when you need it. Even give you cuddle to pick you up when everything seems to hard.   I am not stupid, I am still discovering my talents so watch out world, I will become someone and you will all know about it.  

Never ever give up on your goal.  My teachers never gave up on me.  I will make a promise to all my wonderful teachers that have left a mark on my heart, that I will never give up on my dreams.  I will prove to them that their time was never wasted on me and I hope they give every other kid like me the same support so that they can go on and be like me.  Grateful for the time they invested in me.  

My greatest and most valuable everyday support people are my family.  Mum, Dad and Madi.  They support me, believe in me, guide me and help me every single day.  They wipe my tears when I feel I am failing.  When I can’t write a sentence they help me.  They help me spell the words I struggle with, they check my work before I submit.  I know I will be ok because of them.  

I will never let anyone tell me I am dumb or stupid. Because I am not.  I am creative, clever, smart, funny and a unique individual.   


I am grateful every single day for the support I have had and I get from all the amazing people around.  I am chasing my goals and one day I will catch them.  
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