Running on the Spectrum - Gene Moran

I grew up in North Wales and enjoyed school, though I was politely asked to leave, with few qualifications, at the age of 15. Next, I attended a Technical College where a lecturer convinced me of the merits of someone with my educational background becoming a teacher! So I completed my O and A Levels and an Art Foundation Course. By the age of 18, I was on a par with my academic peers. I enrolled at a Teacher Training College, where I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I now realise how this affected my school years. I qualified to teach Design & Technology and PE, and later completed a Degree in Management and Administration, writing my thesis on ‘Juvenile delinquency’. I’ve undertaken creative writing workshops and, as a teacher, I’ve written many policies, exam papers and reports – some more creative than others – but it’s the power of a good story that really intrigues me. Most of my career has been spent in Special Education – EBD schools, Pupil Referral Units and working one-to-one with particularly difficult students – and this experience forms the basis of my novel; ultimately, it’s about building relationships with troubled and challenging pupils. I also entered many students into the Special Welsh Championships where they achieved success in athletics and swimming. I have a passion for the great outdoors and I’ve participated in mountain marathons and volunteered as a member of a Mountain Rescue Team. My love of running shines through in my writing. The protagonist establishes a running club at a special school in North Wales, using Snowdonia and the Clwydian Hills as training grounds. It’s a story about building trust through running.

GENRE: autobiographical

Blurb:

Running on the Spectrum is partly autobiographical in nature. It tells the story of Tom Mallalieu’s four terms at Ysgol Abaty, a school in North Wales catering for secondary students with special educational needs and behavioural issues. Initially overwhelmed by the challenging behaviour of some of his students, Tom realises that building a relationship with them is essential if any teaching and learning is to take place. His own interest in running and his love of the mountains of North Wales

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