‘’It takes me half a bottle of whisky to get through one of your assignments’’: Exploring one teacher educators personal experiences of dyslexia’

This article uses a life history approach to explore personal experiences of dyslexia of one higher education lecturer and its impact on her professional identity. The informant is currently employed as a lecturer of initial teacher training in a UK university. She worked as a primary school teacher for over a decade prior to embarking on an academic career in teacher education. The informant draws on her own experiences as a pupil, teacher and lecturer and additionally she presents accounts of student teachers with dyslexia drawn from her current professional context. Although the data is not generalisable, the account nevertheless illustrates the positive impact of the social model of disability for the informant and her students who had been identified as dyslexic during their in initial training as teachers. Additionally, the account also illustrates the ways in which teachers’ personal experiences of dyslexia can shape professional identities in very positive ways. Implications for both teacher training and pedagogic approaches in schools to support learners with dyslexia are drawn out of the narrative

Genetic structure of IQ, phonemic decoding skill, and academic achievement

The aim of this study was to examine whether phonemic decoding skill (deficits of which characterize dyslexia) shares genetic and/or environmental covariance with scholastic abilities independent of general intelligence. Non-word reading ability, verbal and non-verbal IQ, and standardized academic achievement (Queensland Core Skills Test; QCST) were measured in Australian twins (up to 876 twin pairs and 80 singleton twins). Multivariate genetic analysis showed the presence of a general genetic factor, likely reflecting crystallized ability, which accounted for 45-76% of phenotypic variance in QCST scores, 62% of variance in Verbal IQ, 23% of variance in Performance IQ, and 19% of variance in phonological reading ability. The phonemic decoding genetic factor (explaining 48% of variance in phonemic decoding) was negatively associated with mathematical achievement scores (0.4%). Shared effects of common environment did not explain the relationship between reading ability and academic achievement beyond those also influencing IQ. The unique environmental reading factor (accounting for 26% of variance) influenced academic abilities related to written expression. Future research will need to address whether these reading-specific genetic and unique environment relationships arise from causal effects of reading on scholastic abilities, or whether both share a common influence, such as pleiotropic genes/environmental factors

Understanding the care experiences and needs of hereditary cancer syndrome patients in Canada

Aim: To explore the care experiences and needs of hereditary cancer syndrome (HCS) patients across Canada to inform clinical practice.Methods: Qualitative descriptive study consisting of semi-structured interviews with HCS patients who had a positive molecular diagnosis of hereditary breast and ovarian syndrome or Lynch syndrome. Results: Interviews were conducted with 73 patients. Participants described a sense of disorientation after their positive germline HCS diagnoses, with the sense of being lost, navigating a road without a map. These feelings emerged from the “fragmentation” of their care, their bodies, and information. Consequently, patients described experiencing a sense of uncertainty and distress, and desired integration in the form of consistent, knowledgeable healthcare practitioners and a streamlined, holistic approach to care. Conclusions: Patients described a range of needs that are relevant for clinical practice and policy. Integrating care by establishing provincial HCS programs could facilitate increased patient satisfaction and optimize care outcomes.M.Sc

Radioimmunoassay for Immunoreactive Non-Collagenous Domain of Type IV Collagen (NC1) in Serum: Normal Pregnancy and Preeclampsia

Peer Reviewe

Digital Health Tools in Genomics: Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

C.B. and S.G. hold a CGS-M scholarship and S.M. holds a CGS-D from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). G.D. holds a CIHR Fellowship Award and a training award for specialty medicine residents from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé. Y.B. holds the Canada Research Chair in Genomics Health Services and Policy

Coloured filters show gender differences and poor repeatability

The Irlen Institute claim to have treated more than a million people with individualised, precision‐coloured lenses to improve vision‐related symptoms and reading. However, the evidence for this treatment is lacking and the Irlen approach sits under ‘Other unproved methods’ alongside Iridology and the Bates Method of curing myopia on the ‘Eye‐related quackery’ page of the US‐based health fraud website Quackwatch. Other coloured lens treatments are available including the Harris lenses (using the ChromaGen lenses developed for the treatment of congenital colour vision deficiencies; different coloured lenses are often prescribed for each eye) and the Dyslexia Research Trust system that provides just blue and yellow lenses. The issue is important to optometry given that a similar treatment is provided by optometrists for the condition Visual Stress (occasionally known as pattern‐related visual stress and at one time described as Meares‐Irlen syndrome), typically using the Intuitive system and Precision‐tinted lenses. Although the issue of the underlying evidence‐base for this treatment has been recently debated, new evidence that calls into question the suitability of the approach has become available and will be reviewed in this editorial alongside a critique of other relevant studies