Expert father and son publish book
A dyslexia expert and his headteacher son have published a book on elements of the English language.
Dr Neville Brown and son Dr Daryl Brown, head at Maple Hayes Dyslexia School, Lichfield, which specialises in teaching children with literacy problems, are releasing Memes, Morphemes and Language.
The publication comes 300 years since the birth of the city's most famous son, Dr Samuel Johnson, whose Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755.
To mark the release, the Browns presented an engraved copy of their book to the Dr Johnson Birthplace Museum.
It was accepted on behalf of the museum by the mayor of the city of Lichfield, councillor Terry Thomas.
The book is aimed at language and education professionals. It looks at the structure of words, sentences and language and offers an insight into how teaching literacy can be improved.
More than 30 years ago Dr Neville Brown, of Maple Hayes, created a revolutionary 'icon' method to help children with dyslexia to read and write.
This method is still being successfully used at Maple Hayes Dyslexia School, which he established in the 1980s. Pupils achieve levels of literacy and academic success that previously eluded them.
Dr Neville Brown, now aged 74, is a prominent figure in the life of Staffordshire and was mayor of Lichfield city, when it received its Charter in 1980. He told the current mayor how his book explains some of the evolution of language, the assembly of words and the frame work for making new words.
Councillor Thomas said: "I'm delighted to receive the book on behalf of the Dr Johnson Birthplace Museum. I'm sure this is one of the most important books to come out of the city in many years."
Dr Daryl Brown, 45, of Lichfield, said: "This book is just a start on the subject. My father has been working on this for almost 30 years, and I joined him in his research probably 15 years ago, around the time of my Oxford D.Phil.
"We're both delighted to have published this."
