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