Friday, 29 October 2021

One of my early Unique Dyslexic Boom radio shows

 

Unique Dyslexic Eye show logo

Hi blog readers hope you are all well.

In todays blog I am going to share one of my early Unique Dyslexic radio show. Back then the show was called Unique Dyslexic Boom Radio. To access the show just click on the link below:

Unique Dyslexic Eye show

On the show three dyslexic university students share their experience of being dyslexic

I also talk Maggie Aderine Pocock, astronomer and Sky at Night Presenter. She talks about her experiences of being a dyslexic black women working in astronomy. 

Please share, leave a like or even subscribe to my Unique Dyslexic Eye show. 

Georgina had a bit of a difficult time during her interview, I was going to deleting it out but we decided not to delete some of her interview.

Thanks for listening

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue


Dyslexics may often feel isolated, but we are never alone

 

My Unique Dyslexic Eye Show Logo


Founded in 2008 Dyslexia Pathways CIC was the world first dyslexia focussed social enterprise. We also support and promote the social model of dyslexia. We believe our social model of dyslexia and social enterprise offers a more positive dyslexic solution to the issues we face on a daily basis. 

We support and promote the social model of dyslexia. The social model of dyslexia says that it is society which disables us rather than dyslexia in itself. This disabling begins at school where we are not taught in ways that we can learn effectively. We do not see this as a fault within teacher. Rather it is the failure of initial teacher training to provide prospective teacher with the skills they need to effectively teach dyslexic children.

We challenge the medical discrepancy model of dyslexia because we see it as inherently disabling and has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. I would say this model has only served to disable us further rather than liberate and enable us.


There are 6 million dyslexics in the UK alone over 55 million in the USA. It is believed that between 10 to 20% of the population of the world are dyslexic.

Research indicates that many dyslexics never receive an assessment for dyslexia. Indeed, our own research carried out in 2016 shows only 19% of those assessed as dyslexic were assessed at school.


Sylvia Moody, (2010) wrote that for an undiagnosed person there is a commonly experienced sense of, “not knowing who you are”. Pennie Aston MSc, MBACP said,” this lack of self-esteem and self-confidence often feel bewildering and shaming and even long-term depression”.

As the social model of dyslexia suggests many

dyslexics fail within education and training.

Not because they are not bright enough but because

our education and training system fails them.

As a result, dyslexics are six times more likely to be

long term unemployed than their dyslexic peers.

Negative experiences at school can leave many

dyslexics with low self-esteem, poor self-confidence

and even long term mental health issues.


Dr Ross Cooper 2006 wrote, “We challenge the deficit models of dyslexia in favour of a social model that maintains that we are not ‘disabled’ by our dyslexia, but by the expectations of the world we live in.  There is nothing ‘wrong’ with being dyslexic per se. 


"We would argue that dyslexia is an experience that arises out of natural human diversity on the one hand and a world on the other where the early learning of literacy, and good personal organisation and working memory is mistakenly used as a marker of ‘intelligence’. The problem here is seeing difference incorrectly as ‘deficit’."


Put in practical terms, for example, it is disabling to expect that everyone:


  • thinks in the same way as each other, when dyslexic people are more likely to think visually than verbally (or laterally than logically, or intuitively than deductively….)
  • learns to read in the same way; reading is about accessing meaning, the rest is merely strategy and there is always more than one way to learn anything.
  • makes sense of information in the same way (they don’t, which is why multi-sensory information is easier for everyone to understand).
  • can take in multiple instructions.
  • can learn to take notes while trying to listen.”

Dyslexia in Education

In relation to teaching dyslexic children: 74% of teachers did not feel satisfied that their initial teacher training provided them with the skills they need to identify and teach children with dyslexia. Dyslexia Action 2012


In an independent YouGov survey, commissioned by Dyslexia Action (2012) almost two-thirds of parents felt dyslexia was not recognized across the system.

Pupils with SEN, (Special Educational Needs) including dyslexia without statements are around ten times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion than pupils with no SEN; compared to pupils with a statement of SEN who are around six times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion.

One of the ways society disables dyslexics is education. From day one at school the vast majority of dyslexic kids are failed.
Consequences of unassessed dyslexia:


Further consequences of unassessed dyslexia. Research by Jack Rack from the Dyslexia institute showed that dyslexia is three to four times more prevalent in the prison population than amongst the general population. Up to 50% or people in our prisons are dyslexic costing society £35,000 a year. It is thought unassessed dyslexia costs the UK one billion pounds a year.


The Dyslexia Behind Bars project showed 53% of (2,029) prisoners at Chelmsford during the project were diagnosed as having dyslexia, compared to 10% of the UK population (data: British Dyslexia Association). Note I cant find the figure but each person in prison costs society around £35.000 a year to keep there.


Focus Prisoner Education said, “It costs £65,000 to imprison a person in this country once police, court costs and all the other steps are taken into account. After that it costs a further £40,000 for each year they spend incarcerated”.

Research by the Westminster Achievability Commission 2017

WAC, for Dyslexia and Neuro divergence showed some of the barriers to employment dyslexics and people from other neuro divergent communities face.


“Many in neuro divergent communities, this includes dyslexics, are ready and willing to work but find themselves faced with insurmountable barriers, WAC 2017.


A few of the key findings from the report:


·       There is a lack of awareness of what we         can do


·       Disclosure can often lead to bullying and         discrimination        in the work place


·       Government measures including Access         to Work are  inadequate


·       The Equalities Act is being implemented         inadequately


Dyslexics can and do succeed is all areas of society. For example, 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic.
Over 90% of successful dyslexics say they were successful because they were dyslexic.
Dyslexics tend to be lateral thinkers, have strong emotional intelligence and empathy, are big picture thinkers, can see the big picture and can think three dimensionally.

We were the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world. Dyslexia Pathways CIC also has a social model of dyslexia focus and believe that our social enterprise and social model of dyslexia vision offers dyslexics a more positive, empowering new way forward.

We must change how we think and talk about dyslexia or risk repeating the mistakes that are still happening.
ta for reading
please share share share
peace love and groovyness
Steve McCue founder of Dyslexia Pathways CIC and Unique Dyslexic

Tuesday, 26 October 2021

My social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC (community interest company)

My social enterprise, Dyslexia Pathways CIC logo

Hi everyone

Really need to raise £500 for Unique Dyslexic Eye to help keep the station going,

Needed to pay for another year of Adobe and a recorder for interviews etc.

Want to get a redesign of our Dyslexia Pathways CIC logo. its 13 years old now.

Would like one that includes the CIC of Dyslexia Pathways CIC.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness

Steve Mccue
 

Monday, 25 October 2021

Episode 6 from series 2 of Unique Dyslexic Show

 

Unique Dyslexic Eye Logo

Hi to you all 

Welcome to episode 6 series 2 of Unique Dyslexic Eye just click on the link below to go to my Unique Dyslexic Eye show page:

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-6rrxt-1110c29

In this episode I talk about Dyslexia Pathways CIC and Unique Dyslexic Eye progress over the last few months as we navigate our way through COVID.

I also talk about free assistive tech options on the web and finally a new track from me.

Would be fab if you could leave us a like and share this blog and help us grow our Unique Dyslexic Eye social media

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve Unique Dyslexic Eye McCue

Saturday, 23 October 2021

More than one way to tell a story


Lizzie McDougal telling us about the Scottish tradition of quilt story telling

Hi readers and followers

Lizzie McDougall came along to our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative event and told us a story in the Scottish oral tradition of using a quilt to tell a story. 

Copied from Lizzie McDougall web site

"For over 20 years I have been travelling around the Highlands and Islands gathering, telling and sharing Highland stories at storytelling sessions and ceilidhs, for museums, feisean, clan gatherings, festivals, visitors, schools, nurseries, community groups, historical buildings and gardens.

My love for storytelling goes back to my childhood. Because of my dyslexia, books were sort of closed to me but I was very lucky and encountered many storytellers and became all ears. So while I love and appreciate the wonders of books, my passion is the stories from the oral tradition.

I love creating storytelling and art projects for people of all ages that help to keep this living tradition alive and buzzing. Over the years I have worked with many people on projects to celebrate our tales and folklore including The Seer Festival, Celtic Trails, The Eagle and The Dove,The Seeing Stones, The Sistership Banner, NC 500 StoryMap, The Highland Story Quilts and The Dementia Memory Blankets.

Using storytelling in exciting ways to create opportunities for people to connect to the wonderful wealth of traditional stories in inspirational ways."

Her story and quilt were fab. I wish I had filmed this at the time but I was too busy. Here is a link to her web site:

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors/lizzie-mcdougall.

A fab day was had by all at our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative Festival here in Glenrothes.

Thanks for reading, please share, give as a like or follow or even subscribe to my Unique Dyslexic Eye social media.

Friday, 22 October 2021

Radio show from series one of Unique Dyslexic Eye



Hi all

Unique Dyslexic Eye Podcast Page

Advocating for dyslexic and neuro diverse communities. Music provided by dyslexic and neuro diverse musicians. We promote the dyslexia and neuro diversity through social enterprise and social model of dyslexia.

Please visit my Unique Dyslexic Eye podcast show page. Just click on the link

Radio show from series 1 of Unique Dyslexic Eye

#peacelovegroovyness to you all

Steve McCue



Sunday, 17 October 2021

Have your say about your experiences of using assistive technology

 

Me with my #IAmDyslexic tee shirt on designed by myself

Hi to all my subscribers, followers and blog readers

I would like to find out about your experiences of using assistive technology. 

Why not have you say on the assistive tech you use by writing or recoding reviews on the assistive tech you use. 

You just have to answer a few questions. You can write, film or record you answers and forward them to me at steve_mccue@hotmail.com. 

You can even phone me on 078 287 414 73 and have your say. 

There are no right or wrong answer here. I just think we, as assistive tech users, should share our experiences of using assistive tech. This would help others to make better choices of assistive tech. It may also help assistive tech developers make more accessible technology.

1. What assistive tech have you used or are using            now? 

2. Which is the best assistive tech you use? 

3. Would you recommend the tech to another to use?

4. What makes assistive tech work for you?

I have tried this before and its not worked but hey. If at first we dont succeed try again lol. I will make this onto an article for one of my Unique Dyslexic Eye podcasts. 

Here is a link to my podcast page:


Please retweet and share.

No names will be mentioned at all. 

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue

Thursday, 14 October 2021

Dyslexia Pathways CIC / Unique Dyslexic Eye progress 2020 / 21


A little poem from me 


Hi blog readers hope you are well

I am a dyslexic dyslexia and inclusion specialist. I was assessed as dyslexic in 1992. I qualified as an inclusion specialist in 1995 and a dyslexia specialist in 1997. Then I worked as a dyslexia and inclusion specialist in a number of colleges until 2008. The last 10 year I ran a dyslexia department.

I founded my social enterprise, Dyslexia Pathways CIC social enterprise way back in 2008. Since then we have supported over 2500 dyslexic and neuro diverse university students. Not to mention providing support to quite a few organisations here in Scotland. 

When I founded Dyslexia Pathways CIC I wanted to offer a different vision. One that challenged the idea that dyslexia and neuro diversity is about disorder, deficits and discrepancy.

To do this we promote a social model of dyslexia which focuses on the idea that dyslexia and neuro diversity is about diversity and difference. We see our social model and social enterprise model as an innovative, inclusive and positive way forward. We do not see being dyslexic or neuro diverse as a problem. We believe it is society that disables us and this begins at school which are still dyslexia and neuro diverse unfriendly.

My dyslexia blog, started in 2011, is just on the cusp of having 298.000 reads today, We will soon be at 300.000 reads. 

My dyslexia Uni work stopped in March 2020 and only started again September 2020. 

In March 2020 I launched my Unique Dyslexic Eye show which has been going fab. I think I have put together of 35 podcasts and numerous videos in that time. I believe we have had over 1500 downloads of my Unique Dyslexic Eye podcast alone.

Our overall goal is to support and nurture the mental health and well being of the dyslexic and neuro diverse communities. On our podcasts and broadcasts we play exclusively music and poetry written and performed by dyslexic and neuro diverse musicians. We also raise awareness of the positives of being dyslexic and neuro diverse and I give advice an guidance on how to succeed and overcome barriers to employment and education.

So we managed to ride out COVID and are still here alive and very much kicking. Busy promoting our social model of dyslexia delivered through social enterprise model of support to the dyslexic and all other neuro diverse communities. This year has been our busiest for a while. 

 Then there was the 2021 / 22 Prestige Award Dyslexia Pathways CIC won.

Not to shabby when you consider I have had 4 heart attacks in 4 years, I am type 2 diabetic, have hypothyroid condition to boot lol. I am a real knock kneed Knackered old nosebag lol. 

I have so many people to thank for their support of my work, my wife, Anne McCue for a start who puts up with such a lot from me. Then there is Carolyyn Cruickshank Grey who provided so much support right from the early days of Dyslexia Pathways CIC. Then there are all those fab musicians, Bex Adams, Ross Cooper and my brother, who contributed their talents to my Unique Dyslexic Eye shows. So many people to thank I am so grateful for all their support.

Finally, huge thanks to all those who have taken the time to read, listen, follow and subscribe to Dyslexia Pathways CIC and Unique Dyslexic Eye

Thanks for reading #PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Please comment, leave a like, subscribe to my social media it would help us out a lot and its free to do. Below is a link to my Unique Dyslexic Podcast page

https://stevemccue.podbean.com/

Steve Mccue
 

Dyslexia warriors all, its not only about rich and famous dyslexics

 

one of our fab neuro diverse positive t shirts 



Hi blog readers hope you are all feeling #fab

I was sent this message through my linked in the other day. Its a little story of #dyslexic success against the odds.

We tend to see stories of famous or rich dyslexics which is cool. But I think every dyslexic's stories is important and should be given a forum. 

I asked if it would be ok to share this in one of my blogs, she agreed and here is it:

"Good afternoon Stephen,

I suffer with dyslexia and I found it hard growing up.

In primary school  both my family and the school said that i was slow and lazy that was why I couldn't read faster than others or spelt simple words incorrect.

Through out high school my teachers turned a blind I to my asks of help. I would write in the margins of by book  that I was struggling with reading and spelling.

I was prodicted E's but I put in so much effort and extra time to complete my GCSE's i came out with C's.

It wasn't till Sixth form that I got some help, the teachers where amazing and helped me with out undermining me. I finally felt I was worth it and the effort I put in to tasks wasn't in vain.

I am happy to say that I am now a business admin. Doing an apprenticeship where I am not struggling and I openly ask for help.

I have wrote this message to say thank you.
I say thank you for being brave and making people aware of dyslexia.

I hope I can be as brave as you.

Thank you again

Kindest  regards

Charlotte".

If anyone else wants to share their dyslexia journey in my blog, anonymously or not, just email it to me as steve_mccue@hotmail.com. 

You can add photos but sent a little description of the photo .

I just think Charlotte had a great positive story to share and thank he for letting me share it here.

I kept the brave bit not because I think I am brave but because I thought she herself was being brave because it couldn't have been easy to share her story with me let alone let me share it in my blog.

My thanks to Charlotte for sharing her story with us. Happy to invite others to share their story in a guest blog here.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Dyslexia: To disclose or not to disclose, that is the question?

My Unique Dyslexic Eye show logo

Hello there followers and readers hope you are all well


If we do disclose to people that we are dyslexic many will in society just focus on perceived negatives. We all cant read or spell, we cant organise ourselves etc. There tends to be a focus on a medical model of dyslexia that doesn't represent the dyslexic community. It focuses on what society thinks / believes being dyslexic is. However, the medical model is one that just does not fit dyslexics, or the dyslexic community, because it focuses of discrepancy, deficits and disorder. 

Maybe that is why so many dyslexics do not disclose they are dyslexic and it is their right not to disclose. But this can mean we miss out on the support we are entitled to in employment and education. Support that could be the difference between passing or failing a course, or finding and keeping employment. That is why I always advise dyslexics to disclose. But, as I already said, its down to the individual dyslexic to decide whether they wish to disclose or not.

Dyslexics are not broken, we are not disabled, we are different. Dyslexia is about diversity not disability. It is not we in the dyslexic community why need to be, "here comes my fave ever word, NOT!.....remediated". If anything needs to be remediated it is societies medical model view of dyslexia.

As for myself I disclose every time because I am very positive about being dyslexic. Being dyslexic give as so many positives, big picture thinking, empathy, emotional intelligence and fab unique problem solvers. Yes, being dyslexic can be fab, but it can also be a big pain in the arse.

We have had a medical model of dyslexia created by a dyslexia unfriendly society. It does nothing to enable us it just fails us. I am not saying reading is not a pain in the ass for many in the dyslexic community. I am saying is society fails to enable us to overcome barriers to reading. It just continues to use the same strategies that work for non dyslexics and do not work for dyslexics over and over again. 

Physically reading from a book is just a strategy for accessing information. But its not the only strategy. We have text to speech, we have video, we have podcasts etc. But society tells us we will read from a book no matter whether we can or cannot access what is on the page.

Many thanks for reading

Please comment, follow or subscribe. Join my dyslexic neuro diversity clan

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue I am a dyslexic dyslexia and inclusion specialist 

Sunday, 10 October 2021

We as dyslexics must change the way we think and talk about dyslexia

Differences between social and medical models of dyslexia

 Hello there blog readers hope you are well

We as dyslexics must change the way we think and talk about dyslexia. We must challenge the negative medical discrepancy, deficit and disorder model of dyslexia. It has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. 

The medical discrepancy, disorder and deficit model has gotten the dyslexic community precisely nowhere. Our education system still fails far to many dyslexic kids. Our kids fail because our education system is dyslexia unfriendly.

That's why I support and promote the social model of dyslexia and I support and promote it through social enterprise. This is a more positive, empowering and inclusive way forward.

Do we need to be talking social model of neuro diversity? Your thoughts, suggestions and ideas please?

Many thanks for reading, your comments are invited

#PeaceLoveGroovyness

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

Friday, 8 October 2021

How I became a dyslexia specialist

 

Hi to you all, hope you are all keeping safe and well.

I qualified as an inclusive education teacher oh wayyy wayyyyy back in 1995. I went to the Bolton Institute of Higher Education and took a years full time course. It was a PGCE in Inclusion, (Post Graduate Certificate in Inclusion Education and I really loved the course and working with the student's on the course. I originally applied to do the PGCE course in Greenwich London I lived in London it made sense to do the course there. However I didn't get on the course can't remember why not. I later found out that someone from Bolton didn't get on the PGCE in Bolton but got into Greenwich.


Obviously, I passed the course and thus began my teaching career working with students with learning and or physical disabilities. This meant I could be working with tetraplegic students one day and students with mental health issues or learning disabilities the next. This was before I became a dyslexia specialist.

Part of my job including providing pre course tests for students to ensure they had the right level of English and maths to get on a course of an appropriate level. I won't get into the rights and wrongs of this right now. However, I came across quite a few young people described as disaffected learners. This is a euphemism for students who hadn't achieved at school for whatever reason, who were disruptive and or who had gotten into trouble with the police etc. All of them had left school without any qualification what so ever.

The testing showed that many of the student's were not able to attend courses they wanted to attend because of this. Oh yes they could take more basic level English or maths classes but could take any practical based courses because none existed. Almost all these students didn't want to take the basic English and maths courses. They had already tried to do this in school and had failed but they did want to do other courses. Engineering kept on being mentioned when i was talking with them.

At the time I was teaching what were then called vocational access courses so I designed a vocational access course in engineering for these students. It enabled students to do things like mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and sound engineering etc. Oh yes English and maths was in there too but it was all based around what they were doing on the course. It was relevant to the students. In the first year we took on a cohort of 12 students.

The hardest part of all this for me was training the engineering teachers in inclusion because none had ever really worked with disaffected students or with many disabled students for that matter. So it was all new for them, some felt a course for students who struggled with the basics of English and maths had no validity but others really got into the whole inclusion agenda.

I taught the English and maths side of the course which was fine but I had to learn a lot about engineering to make the learning in class relevant to the students. It soon became obvious to me because of my own dyslexia that over half the students were dyslexic. I needed to do some specialist dyslexia training. It was the start or my journey to specialising in dyslexia.

The college where I was working at the time provided this specialist training and it was fantastic. But I must have become the most tested person for dyslexia. As I was the only dyslexic on the course my classmates all gave me dyslexic tests lol. Then there was the teacher who developed and ran the course. I would be writing away or answering a question and the teacher would suddenly put one finger on her nose franticly pointing 
at me with another finger and exclaim to the whole class, "See look this is how a dyslexic would do this or that". Looking back on it now I can laugh but at the time it was quite disconcerting.

Anyway that's how I started my career as a dyslexia specialist.

Getting back to the students I was working with on the engineering course all passed and went on to other courses in engineering.

Anyways that is enough from me #PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue

Saturday, 2 October 2021