Newsletter September 2026
Friends,
We hope you are still enjoying the summer weather. Here on Vancouver Island, we are blessed with very little smoke. We feel for all those who have been evacuated or had to spend days indoors because of the air quality. We are also ignoring the slight chill in the air because summer is definitely not over!
We are sad to announce that Ronald Dell Davis passed away on Friday August 28, at home with his wife Alice. He had just celebrated his 84th birthday. I am sad that his wife, close family and friends will feel his absence so painfully.
Many of us have been to a celebration of life, and this is one celebration where strangely, I feel no sadness, just pure far-reaching, overwhelming gratitude. Ron was an exceptional human being and all I feel is the joy of having met him, trained with him, hosted him for four public talks in Vancouver, listened to him for hours, introduced him to my students, hosted him at a fund-raising Gala on Grouse Mountain, sent him off to a Canucks hockey game with my son, and recently had the privilege of being able to share our documentary with him. You have all benefitted from his wisdom and I am confident that we now have a ‘celestial conductor’ and his orchestra will keep playing his inspired, ground-breaking, uplifting and extremely necessary music… very loudly! Read more about this extraordinary person and the contribution he made to the world…..
WHO KNEW FEATURING:
If you look up our Director, Kelly Conlin, you will see that she owns Nice Lady Productions, that she is an award winning filmmaker, working as a: cinematographer, director, editor and producer in independent film, documentary film, commercial work and music videos.
She is a two-time Leo Award nominated filmmaker, receiving Best Editing and Best Direction nominations by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of BC.
Her narrative and documentary films have received Official Selection at over 60 film festivals and garnered multiple awards including: Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Documentary, Best Short Film and Best Experimental Film.
Her documentary work largely focuses on amplifying underrepresented voices, environmental sustainability and history. During her career working in her company Nice Lady Productions, she’s created documentary work for CBC Television, PBS, Paramount+, Hulu, CTV, TSN, The Knowledge Network, APTN, Telus Optik TV, CHEKTV, Citytv and Tom Skerritt’s EVRGRN Channel.
What it doesn’t tell you is how much fun she is, how she is very good at making people feel comfortable, at meaningful conversation and how she is happy to share her knowledge and skills with up-and-coming film makers. Our Telus-supplied National Screen Institute mentor, Maureen Levitt introduced Sue to Kelly. Sue knew nothing about film making, and Kelly knew nothing about dyslexia. She was very keen to hear Sue’s story and decided to read her book. Sue is exceptionally uncomfortable in front of a camera, especially when it is on a ‘railway line’ coming towards her for a close up and Kelly is telling her to look thoughtful. No amount of channelling her inner Oliver Coleman worked, but throughout the ‘take’ it was fun. Kelly was encouraging, funny, professional and clearly enjoying herself. This enjoyment shone through again as she filmed Julie’s little ones. Sue saw a huge grin on her face behind the camera.
As our documentary is accepted for screening and awards at international film festivals, Kelly is hearing what we are used to hearing: “gosh I had no idea people thought like that”, she is seeing how tearful the audience is, especially when Dave shares his emotional story. She is now considering filming a feature film, a sequel to WHO KNEW. We can only imagine how much fun that will be and how the impact will be even greater. THANK YOU KELLY for being who you are and helping us to illuminate our work.
Announcing! Our latest film festival acceptance: Saturday, October 24, 2026 at the Southwest Theaters Lake Creek 7, 13729 Research Blvd, Austin, TX
On Sunday August 16 we had a surreal experience when we saw our documentary, WHO KNEW Dyslexia is a Way of Thinking making its debut on CHEK TV at 6pm! We knew our Director, Kelly Conlin had sold the rights to CHEK TV for 3 years to show whenever they wanted. We are hoping to learn how many views we had and hopefully they will let us know the next time they screen it. It was so surreal, Sue had to take a photo of herself on TV to believe it!
WHO KNEW continues its global travels…
In New Zealand, five Davis Facilitators are screening WHO KNEW in their Spring!
Tuesday 15 September; Sunday 20 September; Tuesday 13 October; Tuesday 20 October. The viewings are all at unfriendly times for North American audiences (9pm PT Sunday, midnight for Tuesdays), but it is worth mentioning for those who have connections Down Under and night owls.
In the United Kingdom, Davis UK & Ireland are hosting a screening on September 22nd at 730PM BST. Great timing for North America! Visit their booking page here to join…………
We are thrilled the documentary is proving so useful. There are plans afoot for Kelly to film a one hour feature documentary… WHO KNEW 2, TWO or TOO ?!
Lindsay Hodge a Davis Facilitator in Washington State is planning her second WHO KNEW event, inviting local business owners, medical practitioners, educators, parents. Her business name is Kestrel Learning, and one of her projects is her Neuro-Nest.. such a very cool title and such a good idea.
Join Us in Making a Difference
Support our efforts to bring the message of WHO KNEW Dyslexia is a Way of Thinking to more people around the world.
NeuroNest Audiobook and Craft Club - Lindsay Hodge
Imagine being interested in attending a book club. You want that cameraderie, and the excuse to read good books, BUT you struggle with the traditional format. Maybe reading has never been your strong suit. Maybe you don’t have the time or attention to sit to read a physical book. Maybe you can read, but you feel it takes you too long to finish, to participate in the monthly meeting.
Whatever the barrier, this book club was started with you in mind. The idea is to make wonderful books and community building more accessible.
Lindsay has the children listen to an audiobook together, played aloud on a speaker. The children bring their own crafts to keep their hands busy.
Coloring pages and supplies are provided, then snacks and chat about the book. This is a family-friendly event, open to anyone of any age and ability.
Meetings will be held at the Lewis County Autism Coalition’s Spectrum and Development Community Center, 375 Linhart Ave NE Suite B, Napavine, WA. The last Thursday of each month from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
If you have relatives or friends in that area, you might like to pass this information along to them. Read more and RSVP HERE…
NEUROINCLUSIVITY FOR EARLY YEARS
This month we are providing a Jump Start program for past participants.
We are beyond grateful and excited to have made many new connections this month which are leading to University involvement, School District involvement. Child Youth Family Services involvement.
Julie and I are already booked to speak at a Child Care Resource and Referral services event in Sooke. All we have to do is sit tight and ride this very beautiful wave. It appears that more and more educators and parents are realising that the system has to change, that children desperately need the self-regulation tools we can provide. We are privileged to be part of this change!
BACK TO SCHOOL
Sorry to bring this subject up, but Julie has shared some valuable information which we hope will prove useful to many:
Koen has always used a Chromebook for schoolwork. It's great because everything the teachers do is usually accessed through the school system, which uses a google account. There's no saving, it's live and auto saved. And it's easy to share documents with teachers through their school accounts. Only now that he's going to college is he wanting a Mac laptop....Student Aid BC has grants to pay for this.
Students may be able to get a Chromebook assigned to them from the school's Accessible Learning Center. Koen had one throughout Middle School, and then decided he wanted his own just so it was new and had the features he preferred. He used all the paid extensions through the school (Google Read and Write is built in), Grammarly, Speechify, Audio Books through the library, Canva, and we were able to get Storyboardthat.com paid for, for a few years for his Socials and English classes.
Julie Brewer, Director
MEANWHILE, many will be pleased to see that:
After years of heavy digitization, Sweden is bringing more books and handwriting back to schools. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/sweden-unmet-promises-digital-classroom
Denmark sets aside about one lesson a week for “class time” - focusing on well-being, relationships and community.
Demark also has one of the lowest rates of school bullying in Europe.
Sources: Danish Ministry of Children and Education; WHO Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (2021/22), https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/27-03-2024-one-in-six-school-aged-children-experiences-cyberbullying--finds-new-who-europe-study
JUST LOVE the late SIR KEN ROBINSON with his wisdom featuring Finland.
CALENDAR:
August 28 – start of our NeuroInclusivity for Early Years Jump Start
Sept 21 – Jacqueline Ward, Davis International is screening WHO KNEW at Stanford University, California.
Sept 24 – Julie Brewer and Sue Hall speak to the South Vancouver Island Child Care organisation
October 8 – Lindsay Hodge WHO KNEW event, Washington State. (ADVERT)
October – date to be confirmed - Sue presents at a Professional Development Day on Cortes Island
October – 17 or 24 – Victoria Waldorf Conference on Childhood - What's Happening to Childhood?
A series of short workshops that explores Waldorf's response to the variety of challenges parents face in providing a healthy childhood experience for their kids.
October 24 – WHO KNEW is in the Texas Documentary Film Festival, Austin.
“A lesson lives in the mind and can be understood perfectly while nothing in our life changes. A skill lives in the body and changes how we meet the next moment.” Matt and Joy Kahn
Wishing you all a wonderful back-to-school, and thank you for your support!
Sue and the Board of the WDS
info@thewds.org
