One Accounts Limited, a Douglas based company and part of the ICM group, is celebrating its first anniversary by supporting the work of the Manx Dyslexia Association with a special fundraising day on Friday 04 November. This comes in the middle of the UK Dyslexia Awareness Week which is taking place this year between 31 October and 06 November. Sue Rutter, Chair of the Manx Dyslexia Association told us: “We are thrilled and delighted that One Accounts Limited has chosen to support us to raise awareness of dyslexia which affects 1 out of 10 people. Our main aim as an association is to promote awareness of this learning difficulty on the Island and in particular to support parents who may not know how to deal with their dyslexic child. Parents often feel very anxious about their child’s emotional response to their difficulties which can increase tension at home. This of course adds to the anxiety the child will feel at school.” Sue stressed the importance of working with dyslexic children at a young age as the sooner they get the support they need the better. She went on to tell us: “Children with dyslexia can often have low self-esteem which is very sad as there are ways of helping them. It just requires time and effort. It is important that they can find something they are good at to make sure they do excel in something.” The Isle of Man College also has a Dyslexia Unit which focuses on adult dyslexia and learning support and they are also supporting the One Accounts fundraising initiative on 04 November. Sue stressed that dyslexia in the workplace is often overlooked: “Adults who are dyslexic will have problems with sequencing, spelling and organisational skills. However they are usually very good orally and with people. There are of course many different levels of dyslexia but if you think that 1 in 10 people are dyslexic, then it is quite likely you will have a few in every office. Staff may not be aware of these problems their colleagues may face and can involuntarily show a lack of understanding and sensitivity.” Mary Furlong of One Accounts Limited explained how staff at the ICM group intend to fundraise for the Manx Dyslexia Association on 04 November: “We have picked up on the Back To Front theme that has been used in the past to fundraise for Dyslexia and we are organising a few events on Friday 04 November. The first will be in the office. We are having a Back To Front morning where our directors and senior managers will swap roles with our more junior staff and do filing, shredding, cover reception and make the tea and coffee. We are all looking forward to seeing that. At lunchtime we will be out with buckets in Douglas, on Strand Street, in Back To Front fancy dress with Sue and some of her volunteers. Finally we will have a Coffee Morning in the afternoon with some Back To Front games for staff and Sue and her colleagues will talk to us about Dyslexia in the workplace.” Sue and Mary both hope that the day will raise money to help the Manx Dyslexia Association carry on with their valuable work but also raise awareness amongst the staff and members of the public of the challenges facing both children and adults with dyslexia and how they can be supported at school and in the workplace. More information about the work of the Manx Dyslexia Association can be found at: www.manxdyslexia.org. ENDS