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Terry and Lucy - Learning to Learn

A daughter who is a dyslexia specialist has solved the mystery of her father's school refusal

Lucy is a dyslexia specialist, often working with people who are returning to learning after having difficult experiences at school. Her motivation in part was down to growing up with her father Terry who saw himself as an educational failure. This didn't tally with the person she knew, a demon at Trivial Pursuits with a vast knowledge. Newly qualified in 2008, she asked Terry if she could do an assessment on him. His tests showed dyslexia - his score on reading was in the 99th centile and one of the highest Lucy has ever seen. His scores for spelling were 60 points lower, and thus many of Terry's struggles at school were explained. He became a 'school refuser' around age 12 and 13 after constantly truanting. Assessed by psychiatrists who were convinced there were problems at home he was sent to a boarding school for children with health problems. He left school with no qualifications and went straight into retail furnishing, working in window dressing and displays before getting a job in french polishing at an antique restorers, which became his career and led to his own successful business. During their conversation they discuss his experiences with school, his diagnosis and whether Lucy is trying to right the wrongs of her father's past.

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4 minutes

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