Dyslexia Reframe: 'Perceptual Talent with Learning Differences'
Inviting indigenous and community groups, and anyone who relates to visual-spatial ways of thinking, to explore how the Davis Methods can support learning.
Photo of our dedicated IWWA Whānau Learning Team. Literacy as Peace Education.
From left to right: Parehuia Mafi, Claire Ashmore, Tutangiora Mafi.
I’ve been reflecting on the mahi (our work) of the IWWA Whānau Learning team and wanted to share some insights that really resonate. Our experiences highlight the value of learning approaches that truly honour visual-spatial thinkers — learners who engage with knowledge in ways that feel natural to them and build confidence in their own strengths.
Reflections from Parehuia
Parehuia recently shared:
"He paku shift — a small shift ✨
Our ingoa, our name, has grown to better express who we are and what we do.
Our kaupapa and collective has now settled into IWWA Whānau Learning 🌿🤍
We have a few images to share — a glimpse into why we’ve been quieter on socials 🌙⭐️
We’re on a pretty epic creation journey, ia rā, every day ✨
Late last year (see our previous posts), we asked a question many of our whānau live with:
“Why the struggle?”
With learning. With te reo. With the labels — ADHD, dyslexia 🌊
So we piloted wānanga with our community and whānau — to listen, to understand, and to share what we know. To make it all make sense 🌈
This year, we’ve been collaborating with beautiful creative networks to develop a rauemi — a small, intentional prototype resource for whānau 🌱📘
There is deep whakaaro, lived experience and aroha woven through this mahi 🤍✨
We’re grateful for the journey.
If you’re like us — athletes, or told you learn too fast or too slow, ringatoi, creatives, day-dreamers, taiao natives……. 🌊🌿
If you carry takiwātanga, or you’ve been shut down by systems that never saw your strengths…
Imagine if learning was aligned to who you are 🌞🌙
Imagine spaces that nurture you to restore, return & honour your senses, your gifts 🌺🪶
This whānau kaupapa may have a way for you 🌿💫
We look forward to sharing more of our mahi with you next year ⭐️🌿
Ngā mihi nui — the journey continues ✨"
Acknowledging the feeling of awe being within nature and the sacred places of the tribal peoples and our ancestors.
I’ve also had the privilege of working with and collaborating for more than a decade with Peter Apulu. Peter is the Director of BrownTale which is a service 'specialising in courageous conversations advancing career development for Pacific Peoples'. His perspective reminds us how important it is to honour learners’ strengths and cultural context.
Insights from Peter Apulu
Peter Apulu shares:
*"When I listen to what you're doing in your [Davis] framework, it's very much about honouring the person that you're talking to, the relationship building and the reciprocity of spirit and mind, your history, your whanau, my whanau (family).
What it does, it ticks the boxes for mental health, or even health issues. Bearing in mind where suicide rates for Māori are at 66%. And the rest are either Pacific and then it will be our pakeha brothers and sisters. And, you know, it's obvious when they say, ‘Well, why isn't pakeha not highly represented?’ You just… well, it's the system. Right? It's catered for their needs and it's equitable for them under this environment, but not equitable for Māori. Because Māori build and see things a different way.
So this particular program why I'm so passionate about it, is because Davis offers us a platform from a learning style that they know is within their own realm of their understanding. So if I was sitting at the commission for inclusion and diversity, this is what I would talk about."*
Reflection on Perceptual Talent
Reading these reflections reminds me why we do what we do at Growing Choices. The Davis Methods create spaces that nurture the learner, honour individual strengths, and allow visual-spatial thinkers to thrive academically and personally.
When dyslexia is reframed as 'Perceptual Talent with Learning Differences', dyslexic symptoms are addressed at root cause, and dyslexic symptoms naturally fall away. The learner can then be at peace in both the 'word world' and the world of their perceptual talent thus thriving and flourishing in all spaces.
Photo Acknowledgment:
This area is within the rohe of Ngāti Awa and connected also to Te Whakatōhea and other iwi of the wider Bay of Plenty region — all of whom trace links back to the voyaging Mātaatua waka.
If you see yourself, your learners, or your community reflected in these experiences, we’d love for you to explore how this approach could support your learning journey. We invite you to explore the idea of learning and collaboration with the IWWA Whānau Learning team.
