BACK TO All Work

LovED

Love to Learn, Learn to Love

MA 2023
Keywords
Dyslexia, Care, Community, Education
Overview

Our project 'LovED' is dedicated to empowering dyslexic children and their families in China.


We recognize the unique challenges faced by these families and aim to bridge the gaps in support, awareness, and resources. Through a community-driven approach, we strive to create a safe and inclusive environment where parents can share experiences, find guidance, and access specialized knowledge. Our platform serves as a catalyst for change, fostering connections between families, experts, and local resources. By amplifying the voices of dyslexic children and their parents, we aim to bring about cultural and policy-level transformations, ultimately building a more inclusive and supportive society.


Join us on this transformative journey of love, education, and support, as we pave the way for brighter futures and empowered lives.

Collaboration
No items found.

Stories Untold


About 16,000,000 children in China are at risk of dyslexia.

However, the public awareness of dyslexia among Chinese population is less than 1%.


These children encounter numerous challenges, including academic setbacks, despite their diligent efforts in studying and completing homework. They often struggle to achieve the desired outcomes, while facing a potential misunderstandings from teachers, classmates, and even their own parents. This misunderstanding may result in a perception of them as being less intelligent or less hardworking, significantly impacting their self-confidence and personal development. The absence of proper guidance and support exacerbates their feelings of helplessness.


Simultaneously, we have discovered that parents, being the closest individuals to their children, face their own vulnerabilities. Prolonged exposure to negative emotions can lead to mental health issues among parents, adding strain to family relationships. In many instances, parents willingly sacrifice their personal careers, dedicating their time and energy solely to the well-being of their children. These circumstances underline the immense importance of addressing the needs of both dyslexic children and their parents, ensuring comprehensive support for the entire family unit.


Dyslexia in Chinese

Dyslexia, a learning difficulty impacting an individual's reading, writing, and spelling abilities, is not linked to intelligence or vision impairments. Common indicators of dyslexia encompass slow reading and writing, skipping words or lines, reversing letters or numbers, and confusion with visually similar letters like 'b' and 'd'. Dyslexia can manifest diversely and vary in severity across individuals. However, the manifestation of dyslexia in the Chinese context presents some differences.

Path to the Truth


But the reality is...

Supportive institutions and research teams are scarce and dispersed throughout the country, with a majority concentrated in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Compounding these challenges, Chinese students face the demands of a rigorous and arduous education system renowned as one of the most demanding worldwide.


Consequently, these factors present substantial barriers for parents in their quest for knowledge acquisition, combating prevailing stereotypes, and seeking necessary assistance. As a result, they are unable to achieve a comprehensive understanding of dyslexia, accept their child's unique needs, and provide them with the support they require.


Current practise

  • In addition to the prevalent lack of awareness, our investigation has revealed several issues pertaining to the existing support systems:
  • Research labs and training centers operate in isolation, impeding their ability to have a substantial impact and hinder their potential for growth.
  • Hospitals primarily offer diagnostic services without providing any interventions, thus leaving a critical gap in comprehensive support.
  • Online communities, while serving as platforms for interaction, suffer from superficial communication among parents, primarily due to the diverse educational requirements in different cities. Consequently, these limitations weaken the strength of connections forged within these communities.


Problem identified

Our Vision


Our vision is to create a community that is:

  • Inclusive, which is to foster safe, accepting family environments that deeply support children.
  • Adaptive, which is to provide tailored learning methods and interventions to meet children's needs.
  • Cohesive, which is to build supportive communities based on shared experiences and connections.
  • Circulative, which is to create lasting legacies to empower and benefit lost parents and future generations.

Learn to Love


Our Solution

The proposed service takes the form of a locally-based hybrid community, featuring an accessible online knowledge-sharing platform implemented as a mini-program within WeChat. Complementing this digital presence, offline events encompassing talks, meetings, training sessions, therapy sessions, and various other activities will be organized at the local level.


Our envisioned approach encompasses several key elements:


  1. We seek to establish a secure space for parents to openly share their experiences and emotions, fostering a shift from a linear knowledge flow to a more circular exchange.
  2. We plan to integrate local resources, such as experts and therapists, who will share their specialized expertise and offer tailored support to both parents and children.
  3. Our objective is to amplify the impact of the entire dyslexic population, gradually ensuring that their voices are heard, ultimately leading to cultural and policy-level changes.


Virtuous Circle

As parents engage in the community, gaining understanding and acceptance of dyslexia while discovering ways to support their children, they will evolve into leaders within the community. This virtuous circle ensures the sustainability of our community, creating a ripple effect that amplifies our impact.


Validation

During our discussions with one of our partners, Mrs. Liu, a psychologist specializing in children's education, she expressed her belief that by emphasizing story sharing, which highlights the remarkable achievements of these children, is particularly effective in boosting parents' confidence. Mrs. Liu personally embraces the opportunity to contribute to the implementation of this project, as she finds genuine stories from real individuals to be a distinctive and compelling aspect.

Bring to life


Apart from monetisation...

Given the absence of a top-down approach (policy support), we recognise the importance of taking the initiative to unite parents and gather the necessary knowledge to provide them with prompt assistance.


The visible impact of our operations will become evident in the initial years. As we accumulate experience, knowledge, and credibility, we envision collaborating with educational institutions on a larger scale to provide comprehensive support to teachers and students. By doing so, we aim to influence a broader range of children who may benefit from our services.


Looking ahead, we aspire to utilize our expanding database and the countless stories shared by real individuals as compelling evidence to drive policy changes and expedite the development of an inclusive and supportive society.

SPECIAL
THANKS

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Kam Chana, our tutor, for her exceptional mentoring throughout this journey. We extend our sincere thanks to John Makepeace for his support and encouragement.


Special thanks go to Miss Yu Wang for her valuable collaboration, provision of resources, and insightful contributions. We are also grateful to Mrs. Ying Liu for her professional advice from a psychological perspective.


Additionally, our deepest appreciation goes to all the parents who have generously helped and actively participated in this project. Their guidance, support, and contributions have played a vital role in shaping the success of our endeavor, and we are immensely grateful for their unwavering dedication and support.

Team
No items found.
No items found.