This blog is about you and your experiences of being dyslexic / neuro diverse

My Unique Dyslexic Eye Logo

Hi blog followers and readers, hope you are all well,

I have put together a little questionnaire for dyslexia and nuero diverse readers of my blog to complete. Its totally anonymous. If you can send your answers to my pm box here or to steve_mccue@hotmail.com

1) When were you assessed as dyslexic / neuro diverse or have you not      been assessed yet but believe you are dyslexic or neuro diverse?

2) What was your experience of the assessment process good and bad?

3)  What issues did you experience before your assessment?

3)  Did this change after you were assessed?

4)  What support was offered to you, if any, afters you were assessed?         (all levels), further   education and/or      work?

5)  Was the support offered helpful or not?

6)  Have you one piece of advice have you to share with readers and           followers of my Unique Dyslexic blog?

Many thanks for your time, I will be sharing results and answers with my readers, listeners and viewers, as I said its all totally anonymous. 

One last question: Have you any feedback on this questionnaire you would like to share,  Good and bad and be honest. 

It would be helpful if you would share it  please.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue 

What do you think of oyr logo?

Tablets, tablets everywhere and all of them to take, (an update lol)

In the college broadcasting studio presenting my first Unique Dyslexic Eye show

Hi everyone hope you are all doing well:

This is basically an update of a blog I wrote in 2014:

Well today I have my first session in the gym as part of the recuperation process after my heart attack a few weeks ago. ( I have since survived 3 more heart attacks, my last being around 4 years ago)

Sigh this will be fun lol. I have my sounds ready on my I pod, got my shorts and plimmys ready. Eeeep feels like I am back at school again. (As it turned out it was fine I enjoyed the gym.)

When my thyroid went squwiff, hmmm maybe 25 years ago now, it turned me from a 10 stone pretty fit person who walked lots, gigged regularly very active etc. I did a lot of physical geography as part of my degree so I climbed mountains, went pot holing etc.

I turned into a 19 stone person who could not walk to the bus stop. I have a genetically inherited thyroid condition called Hashimotos disease which is rife on my mum's side of the family.

I remember thinking to myself when the docs eventually diagnosed, me hmmm trust me to end up with a disease that sounds like some weird Japanese manga video game. That process took a year to complete.

Another thought that sprang to mind was, "ahhh I am finally in touch with my feminine side" lol

Hashimotos disease, basically means my auto immune system is treating my thyroid as an enemy and so is attacking it. Arrrgh life long taking of thyroxin tablets lol.

Then about maybe 10 years ago my autoimmune system stared attacking my pancreas and I went type two diabetic. Ohhhh the joy of it all more tablets lol.

I have been asking for help from the doctors with my weight for years because I knew my weight was the real problem here and how it could impact on my heart. But it was all to no avail lol.

I did manage to get myself down to 17 stone and got myself back into a reasonably fit state again. But it took a lot of hard work but no matter what I did I could not lose any more weight.  

Of course no where near as fit as I was. Anyway the doctors were no help at all.......One doctor said to me, "well you carry it well", another said, "we cant do miracles.  Another said, hmmmmm well having hashimotos and type two diabetes makes losing weight very difficult.

I was going to go for one of those surgical cutting you tummy in half operation when I lived in London. But then I moved to Fife and that is not offered here. Ohh the doc said I could go to a group of patients having this operation in Dundee but I couldn't have the operation......hmmmm bit pointless that.

Then the event happened that I knew was inevitable I had my heart attack. Now I had gone into hospital the week before with chest pains, had all the tests and they said everything was hunky dory ,that I was experiencing acid indigestion lol. YAAAAAAA! yet more tablets to take along with statin tablets and daily asprin lol.

Then exactly one week later boooom heart attack. The hospital informed me it was a mild heart attack. It was not until a couple of weeks later I discover from my GP that it was right ventricle was 99% blocked. I am very lucky the rest of my heart is fine and all I needed was one stent fitted. But oh joy and rapture what do I get to take? More tablets lol. (I have since had 3 more stents fitted.)

So now after I have had the heart attack and nearly popped my clogs I get help with my weight sigh. (I am down to 16 stone now by the way)

Anyway I realise its not exactly a dyslexia related blog but thanks for reading. However, I do believe all the stress and anxiety of living in a dyslexia unfriendly society had its part to play.

As of today I am feeling fab, I don't do the gym anymore because I get my exercise from running my allotment. This is my third season doing that. 

Many thanks for reading

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue (I am a dyslexic, dyslexia and inclusion specialist, social entrepreneur, blogger, podcaster and broadcaster)

Tablets, tablets everywhere lol

Positive change for future dyslexics

 

Unique Dyslexic Eye show logo

Hi everyone hope you are all well

If we are ever going to make positive change for all dyslexics present and future we need to build a coherent dyslexic community. A community with one positive vision, one based on social model of dyslexia principles delivered through social enterprise.

Thanks for all the anniversary congrats for the founding of my social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC. I am currently seeking £250 to pay for our years subscription to the Adobe software we use to create our Unique Dyslexic Eye shows https://sdyslexia.blogspot.com/2021/06/positive-change-for-future-dyslexics.html

#Dyslexia #Dyslexic #SocialModelDyslexia

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue (I am a dyslexic dyslexia and inclusion specialist, social entrepreneur and podcaster / broadcaster)

Dyslexia: Its about diversity and difference

Dyslexia: Its about diversity and difference. I did this art installation while recovering from two heart attacks

Hi blog readers thanks for taking the time to visit and read my blog

If is often said that dyslexic kids fail at school because they fall through the cracks. What ever that means. Dyslexic students do not fall through the cracks. Our education system is dyslexia unfriendly that's why we fail. Our education system fails us we do not fail it.

Don't get me wrong here there are fab dyslexia friendly schools and teachers out there but they are few and far between.  Research I did showed that only 19% of assessed dyslexic adults were assessed at school.

This is just not good enough.

Especially when you consider research has shown around 50% of adults in our prisons are dyslexic. Dyslexic kids leave school with low self confidence and self esteem. That dyslexics are six times more likely to be long term unemployed than non dyslexic peers.

Dyslexics, can and do succeed in all areas of our society. Indeed, 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic. But they succeed in spite of their experience in school not because of it.

We have to challenge the narrative of a medical discrepancy model of dyslexia that has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. It's a model that traps dyslexics behind a negative stereo type that says we are broken in some way, that we need treatment etc. It's a model that has gotten us precisely nowhere.

Dyslexics have to change that narrative. That's why I support and promote the social model of dyslexia. The basic premise is it is society that disables us. For so many of us this disabling begins at our dyslexia unfriendly education system.

Dyslexia is about diversity and difference not disability. That's why I founded Dyslexia Pathways CIC in 2009 as a social enterprise. I believe social enterprise and social model of dyslexia is an innovative, inclusive and empowering way forwards.

The medical model of dyslexia is one that has been imposed upon us by a non dyslexic society. The social model is one developed by dyslexics for dyslexics.

If we are ever going to make positive change for all dyslexics present and future we need to build a coherent dyslexic community. A community with one positive vision, one based on social model of dyslexia principles delivered through social enterprise.

Thanks reading why not visit our website at www.dyslexiapathways.com/ 

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Through a unique dyslexic prism

In the college broadcasting room presenting my first radio show

Hi blog readers hope you are all well

I have no problem with being dyslexic. I am very happy that I see and experience the world through my dyslexic prism.

I do have a problem with our #Dyslexia unfriendly education system and society that quite simply has failed us. 

#dyslexia is about diversity and difference and it is society that disables us.


That's why I, and my organization Dyslexia Pathways CIC, say the #dyslexia is a difference that reflects diversity and not dyslexia is a condition that disables us.


The negative medical discrepancy model has also resulted in:


Over 50% of people in our prisons are dyslexic


Dyslexics are 6 times more likely to be long term unemployed than non dyslexics


Only 19% of dyslexic adults were actually assessed as dyslexic while at school

Many of us leave school with long term mental health issues, poor self confidence and low self esteem because of our negative experiences in education

This is not acceptable and cannot continue.

We ourselves have to change how we think and talk about #dyslexia, the medical discrepancy model way has not worked for us. Society will not just do it for us.


All the medical discrepancy model has done is isolated and marginalized many of us. Its created a negative medical discrepancy model stereotype around dyslexics that disables us in our own eyes and in the eyes of society. It is a model that has been imposed upon us by society.


We need to challenge it and fight for change because if we don't future generations of dyslexic kids will continue to be failed. Of course some positive change is happening. However, it is far to slow and we have had to fight for that change every step of the way

We need to celebrate and recognize dyslexic culture and all that dyslexics have achieved across all areas of society.

That's why my social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC supports and promotes the social model of dyslexia and social enterprise model. It is a more positive and inclusive way forward.

A model that celebrates and embraces dyslexia and recognizes our diversity, neuro diversity and difference. One that does not try to turn us into copies of non dyslexics.

More importantly its a model created by dyslexics for dyslexics.

If you think my blog has something to say please share and like it. If you have something to say please leave a comments. We will never see any change unless we all talk about and share our experiences.

thanks for reading

#PeaceLoveGroovyness

Steve McCue Founder of Dyslexia Pathways Community Interest Company

PS: my dyslexia blog has now over 286.000 reads and my new podcasting and broadcasting over 1000 downloads.

Thanks for reading my blog

See link below for my Unique Dyslexic Eye show site

https://stevemccue.podbean.com/

We dyslexics have to change the message

Me in the college studio recording my first Unique Dyslexic Show

Hi all hope you are all well

Unless we, as dyslexics, get together as a global community and until we speak with one voice with the same message things will not change for our dyslexic kids. We have to challenge the medical model of dyslexia given to us by society which tell us dyslexia is about deficits, disorder and discrepancy. It tells us we are the problem and neglects the fact that it is out dyslexia unfriendly education system that disables us. The medical model of dyslexia has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. That's why I, and my social enterprise, support and promote the social model of dyslexia that's say dyslexia is about diversity and difference. Together the social model of dyslexia and social enterprise offers a more positive, inclusive and empowering vision for all of us in the dyslexic community. In the collage picture that's me making my first Unique Dyslexic radio show.

#PeaceLovegroovyness to you all

Steve McCue

We dyslexics tend to be lateral thinkers

 

Me in the college studio presenting my first Unique Dyslexic broadcast before COVID

Hello, to you all

We dyslexics tend to be lateral thinkers, big picture thinkers and creative thinkers. This enables us to find unique solutions to problems and issues big and small.

That's why so many of us are entrepreneurs, engineers, creatives and techy heads.

We dyslexics don't fail at school because we are dyslexic. We fail because our education system is not designed to support the way we think and learn.

Being dyslexic can be fab, we can be fab empathisers, excellent problems solvers, brilliant at exploring and creating new ideas and concepts as well as fab communicators.

But our dyslexia unfriendly education system does not enable us to unlock and use our talents and abilities. But this does not mean we cannot succeed, that we cannot find our own way forward.

It's not we dyslexics who need to change to fit into our education system. Our education system needs to change to enable dyslexic to succeed and develop as learners.

There are so many fab successful dyslexics who have succeeded because they were dyslexic.

Indeed, the vast majority of successful dyslexics say they were successful in spite of their experiences at school.

Just think of what we could achieve at school and for society if our education system was more dyslexia friendly?

Being dyslexic can be fab but it can also be a huge pain in the ass and that's what it is for so many dyslexics a huge pain in the ass. The main reason it is a huge pain in the ass is our dyslexia unfriendly education system. We have all got to get together to change this.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue