FOR OVER 25 YEARS, thousands of dyslexic children and adults have overcome their fears of reading and writing with help from an Acomb specialist author's help.

Christine Blance, a former biology teacher, now an online dyslexic tutor and author, believes that she has 'invented' a new and better teaching method of chanting repetitions of words to help parents and children overcome the struggles of dyslexia.

Christine wanted to specialise in helping those who found it hard to read, write and speak when she encountered her first dyslexic person in a class.  Christine was able to achieve this by enrolling into a class to learn about dyslexia and became qualified as a specialist which led to her 'invention' which she teaches across the country and world.

Christine says, “The brain needs repetition every day to understand things and I have seen now that most schools forget about this and don't do it so often but there is key evidence that it works. 

Hexham Courant: Chris Blance's booksChris Blance's books (Image: Chris Blance)

"For example, repetition was the only way to remember our times tables and to spell out simple words like 'because' which many will remember the sentence of 'big elephants can't always understand little elephants.

"But that is where the problem lies - rhymes to help with remembering words don't always link to the word it is trying to spell and can cause some distress. That's why with my flashcards it starts with the word they are trying to spell or read out.

"I have found this to be extremely helpful and has shown to be a success as my student's become more confident in their reading and spelling."

Not only did Christine invent this technique but she also found a way to diversify her business during the pandemic which now lets her speak to students across the world.

Christine said: "When lockdown hit, I thought it was the end of my career and business as a tutor, as I would teach from my house. Then I thought about teaching online and it's been a success ever since.

"My lessons also involve the parents as I teach them how to help their children and it’s amazing to see the bond grow between them."

As well as teaching online - Christine also has a downloadable course called 'enCHANTing strategies' where people can go through the lessons themselves to gain more confidence.

To get in touch with Christine call  07817231903 or visit https://helpfordyslexia.co.uk/ for more information.