Monday 17 April 2023

Dyslexia is about diversity and difference and not deficits, disorder and deficits

Unique Dyslexic Eye

Hello all, hope you are all felling fab out there,

My research showed only 19% of dyslexic adults were assessed while at school. This is simply not good enough.


We as dyslexic adults need to get together to build a social movement where we can work together. Work together to bring positive changes to the current education system that up to now is still failing too many of us and our children. 

Right now many of us are fighting for positive change from the bottom upwards. We have to influence those who are responsible for developing education policy. This can only be done if we work together and take this to those who make policy. 

There needs to be political will to make the changes to our education system that will enable our dyslexic kids to succeed is school. Right now there is no political will to do this. Only by working together can we influence those who run our education system.

We have to make a much more positive case for supporting our dyslexic kids. We have to move away from an old outdated medical model of dyslexia that basically tells us our brains do not work correctly. That somehow we are not normal. That we are broken in some way. 

What does this say to potential employers about dyslexics? What does this say to our dyslexic kids? Its a medical model that talks about dyslexia in terms of discrepancy, disorder and deficits. 

Its a three D model that's about as 3D as a blank sheet of paper. If puts a focus on dyslexics as being the problem and totally fails to recognise that dyslexics fail because our education system and society is dyslexia unfriendly.

I am not saying dyslexics do not need support at school. What I am saying is we need teachers in every classroom being trained to teach to meet the diversity of learning needs in the class room. To enable teachers to do their job of teaching our dyslexic kids together with their non dyslexic, neuro diverse or disabled peers in a classroom. All together living, learning and playing together.  

Every day I visit Facebook I read real life stories about dyslexic kids and parents battles to get what is a human right to a good education. Stories about dyslexic kids not wanting to go to school. About parents seeing their children crying and frustration and fear about going to school. This is just not good enough at all. 

I believe it is society that disables dyslexics and that's why I promote and support the social model of dyslexia. I am not saying it's a perfect model but it places the responsibility for the failure of our education to meet the learning needs of dyslexic kids where it belongs. 

Not on the shoulders of dyslexic kids and parents. But squarely on the shoulders of those who shape our education system and politicians why are responsible for developing and running an education system that fails so many of us. 

Dyslexics can and do succeed but many do so in spite of their education not because of it. 

#PeaceLoveGroovyness

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

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