Does dyslexia define us?

I just read a statement that said dyslexia does not define us. What do you think?

I would totally disagree. Now there is a surprise lol. I am not ashamed to be dyslexic. Yes it has been somewhat of a pain in the past but that was before I was assessed.

Once I was assessed I began my own journey of understanding my dyslexia and the positives that came with being dyslexic.

Strong emotional intelligence, creativity, big picture thinking and so much more.

Ok reading is a pain but it does not stop me reading. My spelling can be a trifle bazar but it does not stop me spelling or writing.

I would say the way I define my own dyslexia is fine and that I am very happy in my dyslexic shoes. But I am far from happy by the was society defines dyslexia.

It is my view that society has a very one dimensional view of dyslexia and dyslexics. One that does tend to focus Negative aspects.

Then I would say then not being dyslexic has its own negative aspects.We as dyslexics need to define dyslexia for ourselves not let a society that lacks any real understanding about being dyslexic define dyslexia for us.

I bang on about the medical model of dyslexia and how negative it is. All the medical model tells us is we are ill in someway. That we need to be cured.

There is far to much focus on remediation on trying to make us into a non dyslexic image and not enough focus on enabling us to develop our strengths so that we can embrace our dyslexia and succeed because of it.

Unless we break the medical model of dyslexia many of us will keep on becoming negative self fulfilling prophecies.

#dyslexia a difference that reflects #diversity https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2

#vivaladifference please contribute to our unique dyslexic crowd funding. Even £1 or $5 will help us with our unique dyslexic campaign

Many thanks for reading please send me your comments

Feed back from our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative campaign 2014 and crowd funding update

As many of you know we have been running a Unique

Dyslexia Crowd funding campaign these last few

weeks. A campaign which has not be going as well

as we would have liked. So far we have had 14

contributions and thank everyone for their support.

There is still 18 days to go though so still plenty of

time for people to contribute. Just click on the link to

reach our crowd funding page

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884#/story

Some of the brilliant Unique Dyslexic Get Creative participant feedback

Last year was a brilliant year for us especially with our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative Campaign

Our Unique Dyslexic Celebration of Creativity event was held on 29th October 2014. This was the first event of its kind to be held in Scotland by the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise, Dyslexia Pathways CIC constituted in the UK in 2009.

I thought I would share some of the great feedback we received from people who attended.

Fab Important Valid
• I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot
• How creative dyslexic people are
• I have found out some useful information that has made me feel happy
• Informed and confident
• Inspired and happy
• Like I have kindred spirits in Scotland Fantastic
• Very happy so interesting to hear so many and empowered speaking about the creativity of dyslexics
• Inspiring and Insightful
• Amazing justified in how I speak about dyslexia
• Just such a great event loved it
•  Very confident, able and creative
• Amazing!!!
• Great fun would love come to another one next year

 

A big thanks to Dr Ross Cooper (keynote speaker), The Lord Provost of Fife (who opened our event) and to Anita Govan Dyslexia poet and all the other performers at our event.

Some of the great feedback we received from participants who attended out five free Unique Dyslexic Get Creative workshops:

• I feel happy and more confident
• Good banter and love doing anything creative
• I had fun and enjoyed meeting people like myself / sharing
• Inspired and happy
• Included and free to express myself
• Belonging / idea provoking, included
• Happy and not alone with my dyslexia
• I have really enjoyed it and feel more educated on the technical side of music
• I have enjoyed the experience and learned a lot
• Inspired, tired and full
• Free
• Very confident, able and creative
• Absolutely brilliant and a real sense of achievement
• Amazing!!!
• Relaxed, giggly, calm, happy
• Happy, accepted, therapeutic
• Good de stressing relaxing fun
• Great fun would love to do it again
• Clever and energized
• Good about myself and meeting people like me
• Talkative and creative, more confident talking to others
• Food for thought, included, looking forward, satisfied
• I really feel creative and enjoyed this workshop
• Belonging, satisfied, further alerted to my potential
• I felt celebrated about having dyslexia

So please support our Unique Dyslexic Crowd Funding and enable us to share, support and promote our vision of positive social model of dyslexia.

Dyslexics need to advocate for themselves and we need to be more creative to do it......

Hello blog readers hope you are all well

Many of you may know I am an advocate for the social model of dyslexia and have a very positive attitude to being dyslexic.

That's why I say dyslexia is a difference that reflects the diversity within humanity and that neuro diversity is as important as bio diversity.

These are a couple of the reasons I founded my social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC.

I say dyslexia is a difference that reflects the diversity within humanity and neuro diversity is as important as bio diversity.

We were the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world.  

Our Crowd funding is about enabling dyslexics to advocate and promote a more positive profile of dyslexia as well as to the non dyslexic community and a response to much of the negative information about dyslexia out there. 

Dyslexia Pathways CIC was founded in 2009 and next month will be celebrating our 5yr in business. We were the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world and we are a not for profit organisation. Unique dyslexic is a dyslexia pathways CIC campaign. Please share or contribute to our crowd funding campaign.

http://igg.me/p/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884 

Above is a art installation I did as part of our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative campaign simply called Dyslexic Diversity

Below is a movie intro about the Unique Dyslexic Crowd Funding Campaign.

Anyway have a great and groovy week end ya all and please consider contributing to Unique Dyslexic

We need to be bigger we need a social movement to further a positive agenda for dyslexics today and in the future.

Ta for reading listening and maybe contributing

Pease love and groovyness to all

We all gotta have some time off to relax..........even me lol

Hi hi from sunny Glenrothes blog readers hope you are all well

 

Had a great day away from the grindstone in Edinburgh yesterday getting away from all the stress of the crowd funding etc. Stopped off at Cramond in Edinburgh. Had a nice lunch and a little stroll in this picturesque little hamlet on the out skirts of Edinburgh. Its on the Firth of Forth and as you can see its beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

Best all they have a great selection of beers and spirits. Not that I had any mind just a coke for me

 

I put together a better video for our crowd funding campaign today by the way. Please see below. I think its a little more punchy and to the point. Its been a steep learning curve for me phew.

 

 

 

 



 

Please contribute to our Unique Dyslexic Campaign we need more people to contribute which can be done by credit card or Paypal on the Unique Dyslexic Crowd Funding appeal. Contributions can be made in most currencies and will automatically be converted into pounds sterling.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884

We have some great perks:

£5 gets you a shout across our quite extensive social media
£10 gets you a Unique Dyslexic badge
£40 gets you a limited edition Unique Dyslexic Get Creative tee shirt or a set of three limited edition a4 size artworks

Today I met with two students from Fife College who wanted to talk about all things dyslexic. Had a very interesting conversation with them today.

ta for reading much appreciated.

PS blimey one of my blogs has had 477 reads so far a record for me lol

please give us your feed back

Happy 5th wedding anniversary Anne love you lots and lots and lots and lots more.

Hi blog readers hope you are all well

I have been having a busy week here in Glenrothes. I sent of our application to Pilot Light which, is successful, will give us some free professional support that will enable us to move forward with out plan to set up a new dyslexia centre here in Fife.......fingers crossed here.....

On Thursday I went on a short training course on 3D printing at Acorn Enterprise which was very enjoyable....learned a lot. The potential is very star trek indeed. I didn't really know how far 3d printing had come. Amazing things being made like new bladders, titanium hip replacements, 3d printed houses etc. Pretty soon I think we will see 3d printers become as necessary to have in the home as a 2 d printer now.


Dyslexia: It’s a difference that represents diversity







Dyslexic Pathways CIC was set up to break down the barriers faced by those who are dyslexic. Dyslexia represents the diversity inherent in humanity and we want to define dyslexia by what we can do and do well. The idea behind this crowd funding campaign is to enable the 6 million dyslexics in the UK, the 66 million dyslexics in the USA and the nearly one billion dyslexics across the world to self advocate for a better deal for dyslexics everywhere, to start developing a coherent community and social movement as well as to raise awareness of a more positive profile of dyslexia.






https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884


Here is some of our ideas. No colour involved yet as I am colour blind and I think the colours from the Unique logo will be in there.

Remember the whole idea behind the cord funding is to enable dyslexics to advocate for a more positive profile of dyslexia. To show the non dyslexic world what we can do and do well.

But firstly here is my rough design for our Unique Dyslexic logo:

Which was transformed by a graphic artist into this:

This one will not use stick men but will have our logo in the middle and something about dyslexia and 1 in 10

 Some time ago I asked people who read my social media to send me positive words they would use to describe dyslexia. The words will be added to the outside circle of jig saw pieces. Our logo in the middle and something about putting the positives of dyslexia together......

 This one is another version of the jig saw idea.........

 Ok most people know that mind maps and dyslexia go together like milk and cookies for most dyslexics so we thought why not use a mind map idea for one of our logos

 

 
I think the last one speaks for itself

Please give us any feed back and let us know which you like. It will give us an idea which designs to move forward with.

So far we have had 13 contributions made to our crowd funding. Ok not exactly on target but the money contributed now will enable us to take our tee shirt logo designs to a professional graphic artist.

That's my work done for today

Please give us your feedback on the rough logo designs. Please contribute to our crowd funding campaign using the link provided above.

 

and now for something completely different

Hi blog readers hope you are all well

Something a little different today. Interview I did for Self Management Network Scotland April 2015

Thanks for taking the time to listen to this. Please feel free to comment.

First of all many thanks for all the likes and shares every one is much appreciated. But we need to convert all these likes and shares into contributions

Please contribute to our Unique Dyslexic Campaign we need more people to contribute which can be done by credit card or Paypal on the Unique Dyslexic Crowd Funding appeal. Contributions can be made in most currencies and will automatically be converted into pounds sterling.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884

We have some great perks:

£5 gets you a shout across our quite extensive social media
£10 gets you a Unique Dyslexic badge
£40 gets you a limited edition Unique Dyslexic Get Creative tee shirt or a set of three limited edition a4 size artworks

Anyways

Many thanks for taking the time to listen......please lets get our Unique Dyslexic crowd funding moving along.

Many thanks

Steve McCue

PS I did the interview off the cuff so please forgive the ummms and ahhs

We need to value and embrace our dyslexia and be dyslexia positive

Hi blog readers hope you are all well and ready for a restful weekend.

Like everyone else we dyslexics have strengths and weaknesses things we are good and things we are not. That's what we say neuro diversity, which includes dyslexia, is as crucial as biodiversity.

The world would be a poorer place if it were not for dyslexic creativity people, entrepreneurs, engineers, writers, scientists and performers etc.

Here is a list of dyslexic strengths:

Highly aware of the environment

Highly curious

Great intuition and insightful

Thinking and perceiving multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)

A lively imagination

Can experience thought as reality

Creativity 

Holistic, see the big picture, don’t get lost in details, get to the important aspects

See patterns, connections, and similarities very easy 

Can be very driven, ambitious and determined

Superior reasoning

Capable of seeing things differently than others

Love for complexity

Simultaneous multiple thought processing

Not following the crowd

The ability of visual, spatial and lateral thinking

I know school can be a real pain for many dyslexic kids. I know because I was a dyslexic kid myself. But we can succeed because of our dyslexia and the positive strengths it give us. 

That's why we say #uniquedyslexic #vivaladifference

Unique Dyslexic Crowd Funding Campaign

The aim of our #UniqueDyslexic Crowd Funding campaign is to promote and support the creative talents of dyslexics across the word and enable dyslexics themselves to advocate for a more positive profile of dyslexia 

Please share this with your contacts and enable us to make our appeal a success.


Better still ust click on the link below to visit our Indiegogo crowd funding page and contribute. Any contribution for £1 to $5 upwards will enable us to reach our target.
 

http://igg.me/p/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884

 If you like what you see please contribute or share amongst your contacts and help make our crowd funding appeal a success.

Many thanks in advance

Steve McCue (Founder and CEO Dyslexia Pathways

CIC)

Ouch a wet Tuesday here in Scotland AGAIN!

Hi all hope you are all well out there in the real world.

My organisation Dyslexia Pathways CIC (Community Interest Company) is a registered social enterprise and company limited by guarantee. In June of this year we will be celebrating our sixth year in business.

Four or our six directors are dyslexic and the other two is a parent with dyslexic kid and a partner with a dyslexic partner. That's my wife Anne by the way who might want to add I am a big kid myself lol.

In about a weeks time we will be opening a little competition for young dyslexics do design a dyslexia positive logo. We will ask our followers to choose a winner from the entrants to select a winner and the winner's design will be used as part of our Unique Dyslexic Campaign. They will receive a tee shirt with their logo on it.

I have just posted basic concept ideas for tee shirt logo designs for the Unique Dyslexic Campaign on Pinterest. I just want to get some feedback from my directors before I post them in my blog so that you can select the best two or three for use with the Unique Dyslexic Crowdfunding campaign.

News on the #uniquedyslexic crowd funding is that its not going as well as I / we would have liked. We have been promoting it like crazy getting loads of likes and shares but as of yet 9 contributions. Still plenty of time to go though. I know times are difficult for most of us, there is the election and then the disaster in Nepal.

But if you could contribute just £1 or $5 or what you can afford to give it would help us reach our total. We are giving away rewards of a mention on our social media or Unique Dyslexic badges or a Unique Dyslexic tee shirt.

Its easy to contribute by credit or debit card or by Paypal. Just go to our Unique Dyslexic Indiegogo crowd funding page. On the right have side of the page you can enter the amount you would like to donate in any currency and press enter....easy done.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884

We at Dyslexia Pathways CIC and through our Unique Dyslexic campaign promote dyslexia and a difference that represents the diversity inherent within humanity. Our message is neuro diversity is as vital as biodiversity.

Where would we be with out dyslexic scientists, writers, architects, entrepreneurs, inventors and performers etc?

We want all dyslexics to be able to advocate for a more positive image of dyslexia, One that focusses on what we do well and that s what this Unique Dyslexic Crowdfunding appeal is about. Its about enabling us to take positive steps forward for dyslexic everywhere.

Many thanks for reading

Steve McCue

PS please see some of the creative work done by dyslexic participants at a couple of our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative workshops

 

Fused Glass tee light

 

 

Up cycled table designed and made by participants at one of our fife Unique Dyslexic Get Creative workshops

 

 

Fused glass tee light

 

 

Fused glass brooch

Ben talks about his experiences of being dyslexic April 2015

Hello there so how is your belly for spots today?

Hello all hope you are all well....sorry about the title of this blog entry lol. A long time ago when I used to work in builders merchant yards shovelling sand and driving tractors etc it was something we all said to greet our friendly customers.

Later today I am giving an interview for Self Management Network Scotland. Here is a little back ground information on this organisation:

Based at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), the Self Management Partnership and Practice Programme grew out of recognition of the learning being generated by Self Management IMPACT Funded projects.

In order to share the learning, good practice and innovative ideas being developed, this programme will work to develop self management across Scotland and facilitate your conversations about self management.

Explore this site to read our latest posts highlighting what is happening in Scotland now. To contribute, learn from others and attend our events.

Here is their wed site addy:

http://smns.alliance-scotland.org.uk/

Its been a very busy week for me and phew boy am I ready for a long week end. On Monday I presented a dyslexia awareness training session to the directors of Dyslexia Pathways CIC. I have to say they all worked very hard and were all very well behaved. No naughty step needed at all.

Some of the feedback included:

1. a very positive message to take away that I could quote people
2. dyslexia is a very positive difference
3. information on tools to help
4. different outlooks on dyslexia ie medical and social models
5. positive attitudes towards dyslexia
6. embrace your differences

Just a few things to tweek and I will roll this training package out for individuals and organisations.

Our Unique Dyslexic Crowdfunding is not going as well as I would have liked. But we still have just over 40 days to go and we have had 9 contributions so far. Below is a link to our crowd funding page. Its easy to contribute using a credit or debit card or Paypal.


http://igg.me/p/unique-dyslexic--2/x/9774884


As part of this campaign we are soon going to open a competition for young dyslexics to design their own positive dyslexia logos for a tee shirt. One of which will be chosen by people on our social media and used as part of our Unique Dyslexic Campaign.

Anyways many thanks for reading please share news on our crowd funding to all your contacts and please consider contributing to it.

regards

Steve

#uniquedyslexic #vivaladifference

PS had a great meeting at Napier University regarding my dyslexia phone up designs. Both Napier and St Andrews want to go forward and apply for a Scottish Innovation Certificate.