Kent Dyslexia Specialist Launches New Programme Combining Neuroscience and Traditional Literacy Support

Former teacher and dyslexia assessor Laura Gowers, founder of This is Dyslexia, has launched a new intervention programme designed to bridge the gap between traditional dyslexia support and advances in neuroscience-informed learning.

With dyslexia estimated to affect around one in ten people, many families find themselves searching for what comes next after concerns are identified or a diagnosis is made. While specialist literacy teaching remains an important part of dyslexia support, Laura believes there is also an opportunity to look more broadly at the cognitive processes that underpin learning.

Her new NeuroProcessing programme brings the two approaches together.

Combining specialist professional oversight with US-developed programmes including Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant, the programme supports literacy development alongside areas such as working memory, attention, processing, sequencing and auditory processing.

Rather than replacing traditional dyslexia teaching, the approach is designed to complement it.

“Dyslexia support has traditionally, and rightly, focused heavily on reading, spelling and literacy,” explains Laura. “But after more than two decades working in education, I became increasingly interested in what was happening underneath those difficulties.  A child may need explicit teaching in reading and spelling, but they may also be struggling to hold information in working memory, process information efficiently, sustain attention or distinguish and sequence sounds.  My approach is not about choosing between traditional dyslexia support and neuroscience. It is about bringing the two together.”

Drawing on 23 years of experience in education, specialist teaching and dyslexia assessment, Laura developed the programme to provide families with structured intervention that can be completed at home while still being professionally monitored.  Children complete short, regular sessions using adaptive technology, while their progress is monitored through performance data and specialist reviews. This allows the programme to respond to the individual child’s profile rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

For Laura, this also addresses an important gap she regularly sees through her assessment work: families receiving a dyslexia diagnosis but being unsure what meaningful support should look like afterwards.

“A diagnosis can provide enormous clarity, but it shouldn’t be the end of the conversation,” she says.  Parents understandably want to know: What can we actually do now?  We know dyslexia is lifelong, but that doesn’t mean the skills involved in learning are fixed. Children can be explicitly taught literacy skills while also being given opportunities to strengthen and practise the cognitive and language processes that support learning. That is where I believe combining established dyslexia practice with carefully selected, evidence-informed technology becomes particularly exciting.”

The programme has also been designed with modern family life in mind. Sessions are completed at home, reducing the need for additional travel and appointments, while specialist oversight means parents are not expected to become their child’s teacher or intervention specialist.

Laura believes this combined model could represent an important direction for dyslexia support: retaining the specialist literacy approaches that have supported learners for decades while exploring how developments in neuroscience, cognitive science and adaptive technology can complement them.

“Technology should never replace good teaching or professional expertise, but when we combine technology, neuroscience-informed approaches and specialist teaching intelligently, we have an opportunity to provide children with much more individualised support.”

About This is Dyslexia

This is Dyslexia is a specialist consultancy led by educator Laura Gowers, dedicated to providing cutting-edge cognitive support and dyslexia assessments within the neurodiversity sector. The organisation specialises in evidence-based interventions that help children overcome language and reading hurdles.