This is the transcript of the audio sent to Jamie Oliver.

Hello, my name is Olive Hickmott. I lived with poor literacy for 50 years before discovering how people who are
good at literacy actually do it — by visualising words, often out of conscious awareness. This process, known as Orthographic Mapping,
locks the sound, meaning, and spelling of the word into one package, in long-term memory, building on a child’s natural visual strengths. It may sound complicated, but it’s beautifully simple to learn. Thousands have learned the skill without any teaching.

For much of my life, I experienced the usual frustration, embarrassment, and shame that come with poor literacy. My spelling
was terrible, and reading left me exhausted — I could read the words but rarely remembered what I had read. Everything changed when I began exploring the most effective ways to teach Orthographic Mapping. Since developing this skill for myself, I can read a whole book, of say 350 pages, in a weekend, understanding and remembering it all.

We have trained thousands of people on how to develop this vital skill. In my experience, every dyslexic person I’ve worked
with has not been reliably visualising words, yet it takes only minutes to learn. With a bit of practice, it becomes second nature and can quite literally transform lives.

All our coaching and training is built upon Empowering Learning’s published Pedagogy and Curriculum, which starts in the early
years to help every child develop this essential skill through visual learning — before they become confused or discouraged. This document
includes a simple observation check to determine whether a learner is using the skill, without any lengthy and stressful diagnosis. If not, it provides an easy method for teachers, parents, or learning support staff to teach it. Learning how to do Orthographic Mapping before decoding will then accelerate phonics. This would save time, money and frustration for children, parents and schools.

Orthographic Mapping should be checked before and during any Dyslexia Assessment and screening.   To get your own copy of the Pedagogy and Curriculum, plus free classes, go to www.visualkids.co.uk.