Dyslexia; we need a shared identity a cohesive community

 Hi blog readers hope you are all feeling fab

Fab to see a new dyslexia organisation talking the negative stereotypes that surround dyslexia.

‘I strongly believe that the time is right to

look at dyslexia in a more positive way –

that it is not a disability, but a strength.’

– Sally Gardner

Multi-award winning, dyslexic children’s

author Sally Gardner is launching a pioneering new website

for dyslexic thinkers that aims to radically change the

discourse surrounding dyslexia and increase understanding of

the strengths of the dyslexic mind.




NUWORD logo

What do you think defines dyslexia? Can you tell us about some of the strengths?

I would say it’s a difference that reflects human diversity. If we look at nature and humanity, nature thrives because of diversity–it would be boring if there were only one kind of tree, one kind of animal etc. 

To say that there’s only one way the brain works is preposterous. Just go back to primordial times and look at how we’ve developed–the amount of diversity and the amount of difference that makes what we are today. There is a way that the dyslexia mind works that links us as a group. 

There are a lot of strengths–we see in three dimensions (there are a lot of good dyslexic architects), we’re good oral communicators, creativity is a strength talked about a lot. We have a smorgasbord of positive things that link to dyslexia–lateral thinking, entrepreneurial ability, problem solving–35 % of entrepreneurs are dyslexic.

Can you briefly explain the social model vs. the medical model please?

The medical model is imposed upon us, with that comes terms and labeling. It sees dyslexia as an impairment and this becomes the only focus. But I make sense of the world through a dyslexic prism; it’s so much more than one thing. 

The medical model talks about remediation and takes kids out of classes. Kids get isolated – often remediated during playtime, with more work at home. They get a lot of text-based homework. It erodes self-confidence and self-esteem and can lead to long-term mental health issues.

The social model has been developed as an extension of the social model of disability. Rather than saying the child is faulty, the child is valued. Barriers are identified and solutions are developed. 

The social model says society disables us. This starts with school being a dyslexia unfriendly place, with teaching that doesn’t understand dyslexia. Lots of parents have individual battles with the school trying to get the human right of equal education for their children. 

I got bored at school. I walked away from school at 14 – because I didn’t feel that I had any academic ability at all. We need schools to welcome and nurture diversity, where the child is included. 

Training for teachers is of paramount import. Teachers must be able to provide learning opportunities for dyslexic/all children. If we don’t have inclusion in our schools how are we going to have inclusion in society? How will non-dyslexics understand what it means if we continue to segregate and isolate?

What do you think needs to change in order to better understand dyslexia today?

I feel that medical model thinking is confused thinking–there are so many messages out there that are conflicting–it’s a tsunami of negative information. Many dyslexics take on that negative interpretation because that’s what they see. 

I put together a project called ‘Unique Dyslexic’, with my Dyslexia Pathways CIC team. We took the project out to dyslexics in Fife and got them together through creative activities. All had had negative experiences at school. One of the biggest barriers is that we believe we can’t read or write or spell. I think it’s that school hasn’t given us the right tools or the right teaching to enable us to access the written word. 

Reading from a book is just a strategy; you can have audio books or text to speech. There is still so much information that focuses on the negative that’s never been challenged. The social model has a simple message about diversity and difference, it can empower the dyslexic to overcome societal barriers. 

The social model is cohesive, the medical model is divisive. So instead of individual parents tackling a school, we can have groups of parents tackling a school. When we talk about the medical model, many teachers just think that they should lower their expectations for dyslexics – because they don’t have the tools to embrace neurodiversity. 

Dyslexics become segregated and isolated through to their adult life. In the ‘Unique’ project we had people who had never talked to another dyslexic, who had taken on the medical model and struggled with self-confidence. 

One of the biggest things that came from the Unique project was that people were talking about their dyslexia and sharing their stories. We have a strong empathy and emotional intelligence–by getting people together we’re starting to end the segregation.

Why is building a community so important?

A community with a shared identity is so important. We don’t have that at the moment. If there was a cohesive dyslexic community we

could have a dyslexic culture (read Dr. Ross Cooper). I looked at building an online community and it worked to an extent–but what we need is a tangible community where people can meet face to face and have discussions. 

One of the issues is that the big dyslexic organisations have become businesses–they’re pulled in lots of different directions. I became a social enterprise and we do have to charge a small amount for our work, but we strive to do it as low cost as possible. 

Funders want you to be income-based rather than trying to get funding. They expect you to show them money. Before, you could get funding with no strings attached, but now there’s a fight for funding with lots of strings attached.

What advice would you give an adult or child struggling with dyslexia?

For a child, school can be a horrible place. But that experience doesn’t necessarily stop you from going on to have a career in what you want. When I left school I would have said I was least likely to become academic. 

When I was assessed at 35 and began to understand what being dyslexic means for me, I was able to go on and become academic. I talked to a lot of dyslexic entrepreneurs who didn’t go along the academic route, but did well because of their way their mind works–laterally rather than logically. I think we need dyslexic mentors from universities and business for young people. It would be a way to show that dyslexia is not a life sentence in a negative way, meaning unable to attain, unable to read, unable to write.

For adults, from the survey I did, around 65% said they were positive about being dyslexic. When asked them about how society viewed dyslexia over 80% felt society viewed dyslexia as a negative. We need real life community meetings to raise awareness, to offer support, to give ourselves a louder voice. 

Online is not enough. We want open first dyslexia hub here in Fife. It’s difficult as we’re such a small organization, with little funding. The only money coming in is what I earn. Hopefully in Fife we will put together a steering committee. We were the first dyslexia-focused social enterprise in the world. In a recent Erasmus European paper Dyslexia Pathways CIC were seen as leading the way for social inclusion.

We here at Dyslexia Pathways CIC are looking for 

people to help us in or goal of opening a dyslexia

hub. We need funding, people with experience of

setting up and running a community project, people

who share our social model of dyslexia vision

We see dyslexia as a difference that reflects diversity and not a disability.

What do you think the future looks like for dyslexic thinkers?

If we can move on and challenge the medical model and grow a dyslexic community, where we can challenge and ask our politicians to do more and we can affect change better together. 

At the moment we have to wear the dyslexic label and the disabled label, but dyslexia doesn’t disable me. We believe that social enterprise together with the social model of dyslexia offers dyslexics with a new and innovative way forward. A way forward that is positive, inclusive and values diversity and dyslexic strengths.

What are your thought on the questions asked and my responses? Please leave your comments here.

ta for reading

regards

Steve

PS many thanks to Concept Northern for their offer of support and help with our new tee shirt designs.