Meet Matt, a courageous single father who has turned his life around to build a better life for his kids. Crucial to Matt's journey was the opportunity to strengthen his reading and writing skills.

When we started our work in the prison back in 2013, we were using methods grounded in science and good evidence. That’s why we got the great results we did! But back then, the term ‘Science of Reading’ wasn’t yet being used in the way it is now. It’s a term that has trended over the past couple of years. And a great hashtag has emerged along with it – #ScienceOfReading.

In many ways I’m back where I started. My first job as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) was working in schools. Now after 25 years I’m back in schools. Back where I started. But with more knowledge on board, more skills on board and a greater appreciation of the work that teachers do. Some things have changed in the last 25 years and some things haven’t. Teachers still work incredibly hard. Students still have incredibly complex needs. And parents still want their children to be able to read and write. None of this has changed.

Learning to read and write can be difficult for some children. If you were one of the lucky ones that found understanding the English language easy, you may find it hard to comprehend the challenges and associated feelings of those that find it difficult. For some, the anxiety of picking up a book and attempting to read it can be debilitating. As children move from the early years to middle and upper primary, we very quickly see the gap in literacy attainment grow if children continue to have difficulties. One of the heartbreaking realities of this is that many children feel shame when it comes to these challenges with their learning and very quickly they develop expert acting or avoidance skills to try and hide their shame and lack of understanding.