Meet Helen Amstel founder and tutor
Growing up with dyslexia
In school I was left to get on with my work at the back of the class because I couldn’t read, let alone start writing anything in response. At the age of 11 years, I was still unable to write my own name.
Most of my teachers did not understand or know what to do with me. I would be punished for not doing the work and kept in at play time to practice reading “horrible” science books.
My peers called me a baby or stupid. This became my self-image which had a dramatic affect on my confidence and self-esteem. I thought I wasn’t likeable so protected myself by being shy with very few friends. These experiences stayed with me for most of my life.
My parents sent me to a school that specialised in learning difficulties where I was taught in a different and imaginative way. I managed to overcome the worst of my dyslexia and after three years I was able to re-enter mainstream schooling and take my exams.
As an adult I worked in jobs that required little reading and writing. It was only when I discovered my child was dyslexic that I knew I had to face my dyslexia. I started my training which included going on self-esteem building courses and with a lot of help from my family, especially my mother, I developed the confidence to face my demons.
Parenting and Dyslexia
Being dyslexic and having a dyslexic child was a challenge for me and again if it had not been for my family’s help, our lives would be very different today.
My daughter is confident and sociable which helped her to make friends and cope socially. I believe it is in part due to her character and partly due to growing up with the support of a mother and grandmother who understood her needs and struggles.
However, when it came to schoolwork in primary school she was quickly left behind. By the end of year two she was complaining of sore throats and stomach aches to avoid going into an environment that didn’t understand her.
It was only when her needs were recognised, accepted and addressed by her school that she was able to undertake the school’s syllabus and then these illnesses disappeared.
Why I do this
Sue Gardner, a Special Needs Teacher and also my mother, and I started the Thorpe Dyslexia Centre in 1999 because of my own experience of the school system both as a student and a parent.
My goals are to offer parents, children and adults a service that recognises dyslexia and help them to improve the quality of their lives and reach their full potential.
I believe I am in a unique position to empathise with a student. I understand the frustrations and emotions that dyslexic people go through.
Working with each student requires creative thinking and I plan each session to meet that student’s needs.
2007 – Association of Natural Medicine, Intuitive Colour Counselling Skills – further development of my counselling skills.
2011- Essex Adult Education, OCR Level 2 certificate in adult literacy.
2012 – Essex Adult Education, OCR Levels 1 & 2 certificates in adult numeracy.
2020 – ED-UK Brain Gym ® 26th Movement Facilitator which supports children’s learning through movement.
2024- Passed GCSE English at Adult Community Learning, Colchester. (It was hard especially towards the end, but I did it!)
2024- Presented with an Adult Community Learning Team Player Award for my compassion and support towards fellow learners.
Helen’s qualifications and training
1983 – The London Montessori Centre – this has taught me how to teach using a multisensory learning style.
1999 – Starcross Educational Research Association, Practitioner in Computerised Indirect Learning. This included training in assessing for signs of dyslexia. It also showed me that learning to touch type was a dyslexic-friendly method of improving skills.
2001 – Step by Step training with Sue Gardner a Special Needs Teacher – has taught me how to teach in a colourful and creative style.
2002 – Essex Adult Education, Rogerian Counselling Skills – taught me how to listen a student’s concerns and develop skills to answer their own questions.
2004 – Read America Inc. Phono – Graphix Reading Therapy – has taught me how to present spellings in a ‘big picture/global’ learning style.