Press Release

Learning Disability Matters: Frustrated mother turns inventor to empower her child

When Andrea Campbell realised that her daughter was not learning at school she decided to do something about it. Shari, who has Down’s syndrome, autism, and associated learning difficulties, attended a mainstream school and although she had some support, she struggled to learn and the school struggled to engage with her. “I found that the educational system was not helping Shari and her behaviour deteriorated posing a major barrier to her learning,” she said.
Mother and daughter engage with the Pocket Learner

Andrea, who is a linguist and Director of London-based Social Enterprise ACT Training Services, started to experiment with different techniques to aid vocabulary building and communication. She stumbled upon the Pocket Learner, a system she developed to promote language learning – vocabulary building, literacy, and numeracy. It is especially effective for those who have been diagnosed with learning difficulties and those who are deemed, slow learners. The system is now helping children across the globe to develop vocabulary and learn to read. It is providing hope to families who are able to use it at home to help their children build a foundation, despite their disability. The system is extremely flexible – it can be employed whether the child has speech or not and is applicable at various levels. It can be tailored to the child’s needs and academic ability and is a good complementary tool for a school activity.

Thanks to the Pocket Learner system Shari can communicate her basic needs and she can read hundreds of words. She has an ever-expanding vocabulary and has grown in confidence. Parents and educational professionals across the globe are attesting to the versatility and effectiveness of the system which has earned several international invention awards since its introduction four years ago.

The Pocket Learner being used in self-directed learning in a school environment.
“I want to share this system with parents like me who are desperate to help their children,” said Andrea. “Whether your child has developmental delay, learning difficulties or you simply want to give them a head-start this system can prove useful. As parents, it is our role to inspire and nurture our children so that we can raise aspirations and give them a fair chance to achieve their potential”.
For more information please visit: www.pocketlearner.net

Contact: Andrea Campbell
Tel: +44(0)78 4653 1002
andrea@acttrainingco.com

Notes to editor

About Andrea Campbell:
Andrea Campbell is the mother of Shari Tyser, a 12 year old girl who has multiple disabilities. She is also a social entrepreneur, author, linguist and public speaker. She is the Director of ACT Training Services, a UK-based social enterprise she co-founded in 2006 to enable vulnerable people to develop skills and find employment. Seven years later she co-founded Camptys Foundation: a not-for-profit organisation that supports front-line organisations working with disabled people across the world – enhancing their learning, play and health.
She is a published author of two non-fiction books: “Practical Business ABC – a guide for budding entrepreneurs” and “Jamaican Proverbs, People and Places”. In 2014 she invented the Pocket Learner, an educational development system geared primarily towards the support of children deemed slow learners and those with special educational needs.

A Linguist, Andrea has a flair for languages and speaks Spanish, French, Portuguese along with her native English. She is a certified Spanish/English interpreter and translator. Her qualifications include an MA Degree in Linguistics (Hons) and an MBA degree.