Dyslexia Pathways: leading the way for social inclusion

Hello there everyone:

Welcome to all my friends out there. Hope you are all doing away out there.

One of the achievements I am most proud of with Dyslexia Pathways CIC is this:

(CIC stands for Community Interest Company) 

This means we're are a registered social enterprise and our social aim is to promote and
support the dyslexic and other neuro divergent communities. As with all
social enterprises we are not for profit.

This quote is from an Erasmus academic paper that mentions my organisation Dyslexia Pathways CIC:

"There are numerous CICS who have succeeded in providing an intermediation function developing pathways that assist individuals with disabilities to access support to engage in academic courses and vocational qualifications.

These include Dyslexia Pathways CIC, All Inclusive Disability Consultants CIC and Acute Need CIC who have all led the way for social inclusion for those within the disabled community looking to access support to enhance and develop their skillset.

There continues to remain an urgent need for person centered planning rather than relying on generic mechanism for all types of learning disabilities. There is substantial disparity in how these individuals are treated i.e. only 15 % of adults with autism are in paid employment compared to 48% of people with general disabilities (Higgins, 2009)." One in five dyslexics are unemployed."


The message is social enterprise and social model of dyslexia is  new and innovative way forward for the dyslexic community.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Would be fab if you would follow and share my blog.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

#IAmDyslexic: I am dyslexic

 

Logo for my Unique Dyslexic Eye Podcast

I am dyslexic. I don't have dyslexia. I don't suffer with dyslexia. I don't hate being dyslexic. I am not a person with dyslexia #IAmDyslexic.

Once I was assessed as dyslexic at age 35 I began my own journey of understanding  of what being dyslexic means and the many positives that came with being dyslexic. It enabled me to put my struggles at school into context. Only 19% of dyslexic adults were assessed at school. 

That's why a dyslexia assessment is so crucial because without one how can we as dyslexics understand who we are. Begin to understand that being dyslexic is fab. To stop ourselves from becoming negative self fulfilling prophecies.

Being dyslexic has many many positives: Strong emotional intelligence, fab creativity, big picture thinking, empathy, unique problem solving ability and so much more. Hey give me more positives comment please.... 

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.

My memory eeep my memory can be a trifle emmmm what was I going to say? forgetful.

Don't ask me about remembering names hmmmmm wassyour name again?  Lol I was on a date once and for the life of me I couldn't recall what her name was the whole night sigh.

I would say the way the social moel of dyslexia defines being dyslexic is positive. I own the label and it does not own me. Its our model and not a model that has been imposed on us by a non dyslexic society.

I see the world through a dyslexic prism and very happy in my dyslexic skin. But I am far from happy by the way 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 negatives.

Comparing dyslexics to non dyslexics is a bit like comparing a cow to a kangaroo. You ask a kangaroo to jump and it will jump. You ask a cow to jump and it quite simply cant. Then you label the cow as disabled, you diagnose it, you send it for remission jumping lessons and so on lol. Ok daft example lol but you get my drift lol. 

Dyslexia: a difference that reflects diversity. It is society that disables us.

Then I would say that not being dyslexic has its own negative aspects. I would not want to be not dyslexic, if that makes any sense. 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 / deficit model of dyslexia and how negative it is. All the medical / deficit model tells us is we are ill in some way. That we need to be cured.

There is far too much focus on remediation on trying to make us into a non dyslexic image that we will never achieve, and I would never want to achieve because being dyslexic is fab. Not enough focus on enabling us to develop our strengths as a whole person so that we can embrace our dyslexia and succeed because of it.

Unless we break away the medical model of dyslexia many of us will keep on becoming negative self fulfilling prophecies and keep on being marginalised by wider society.

Anyway that's enough of me rattling on

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all. Please feel free to comment. Why not give my blog a share, subscribe and leave a like.

Steve Unique Dyslexic McCue

 

Some of the brilliant Unique Dyslexic Get Creative participant feedback

 

Unique Dyslexics are #fab

My Unique Dyslexic Eye show logo

Hi to all 

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:

• 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
• Fab, Important Valid
• 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.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

Steve McCue