Merry HO HO HO! Christmas

My wife Anne and I

 Hi all,

Nollaig Chridheil, which is Scottish Gaelic for Merry Christmas,( I hope ), to you all from my wife Anne and me, Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness

from me and my wife

Funny the different roads we travel during our lives, how we evolve as people.

 

I am a citizen of Planet Earth

Hello to all my Unique Dyslexic blog readers.

Here is a little auto biographical blog from me.

I  qualified as an inclusive education specialist teacher oh wayyy wayyyyy back in 1995. I went to the Bolton Institute of Higher Education and took a years PGCE, Post Graduate Certificate in Education. 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 / of physical disabilities. This meant I could be working with tetraplegic students one day and students with mental health issues the next.

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 taking the course. I would be writing away or answering a question and the teacher would suddenly put one finger towards her nose whilst poking towards me with another finger on her other hand 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.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #Unique Dyslexic McCue

Livin in a neuro diverse World and Universe

 

Livin in a neuro diverse World and Universe

Hello all, hope you are all well?

If society cant handle neuro diversity with neuro diverse people here on Earth. How will society cope with neuro diversity with intelligent live out there in the universe when we we eventually meet it?

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me, 

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

The nature nurture of being dyslexic or neuro diverse

 

my initial design for the Unique Dyslexic logo, I wanted the U to intertwine with the D to show uniqueness and dyslexia go hand in hand

Hi blog readers and social media followers

As a dyslexic I have been thinking more about dyslexia as a life experience. 

I experience and make sense of and understand the world through my dyslexic prism. Being dyslexic through eyes, thought processes, decision making and dyslexics senses. There is not a blob in my head that is dyslexic and the rest isn't, it is much more complicated than that.

All of us have different lives have different life experiences as children and adults which can impact on how we manage our lives as a dyslexic.

It's a nature nurture thing. I was born dyslexic no getting away from that thank gawd that's the nature side of dyslexia. 

Then there is the nurture side. Our experience with family, school, friends etc. The nurture side is ongoing and shapes us and who we are through our lives.

Out dyslexia unfriendly education system can leave many dyslexics with feelings low self esteem, self confident, self worth and even long term mental health issues. But we can all overcome these issues. For me personally relationships with friends, reading sci fi comics and books, becoming a musician and computer game player etc all helped me to overcome theses issues. 

But most importantly I had a dyslexia assessment at age 35. This assessment enabled me to make sense of my inability to succeed at school. It enabled me to realise I was not as thick as a brick at school. That is was our dyslexics a unfriendly education system that failed me no myself. Only a dyslexics can comprehend how liberating the realisation of this can be. 

But the effects of experiences at school can still come to the surface. I can still experience periods of low self esteem and depression etc. I can still scold and berate myself for being an idiot. I can say things about my self to myself that would never say about anyone else. 

My own research showed the vast majority of assessed dyslexics, 71%, leave school without being assessed. But so many dyslexics never receive an dyslexia assessment. Nobody really knows how many un-assessed dyslexic adults are out there. But I think this number is very high. 

It's no wonder that so many of us hate being dyslexic, can feel ashamed of being dyslexic. Many will never know the answers to why they feel how they feel. To why that have struggled all through their lives. 

Question to you all:

How do you feel about being dyslexic?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments section of this blog.

Anyways thats enough for this blog

Peace love and groovyness to you all

Remember dyslexia is about diversity and difference, its what makes us unique. Humanity and nature have thrived because of diversity and difference.

I know it seems nuts to many dyslexics because of their negative experiences at school but love being dyslexic. 

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

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

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

photo above: we must enable dyslexic kids to fly and learn together with their disabled, neuro diverse and non dyslexic peers

We must change how we think about what it means to be dyslexic in a society that disables. We must change how we think and talk about dyslexia.

We have to challenge the current medical discrepancy of dyslexia. It is a model that has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. It is a model that has only served to trap us behind a narrow one dimensional negative stereotype definition of dyslexia. A definition that totally ignores and stifles our potential and strengths.

That is why I support the social model of dyslexia. It talks about dyslexia in terms of diversity and difference and it recognises that it is society that disables us.

#dyslexia is a difference that reflects #diversity. We need to unleash and nurture that potential not remediate or stifle it.

What are your thoughts on this? please comment

Anyway that's enough from me apart to say my #dyslexia blog has had over 375.000 reads. Ta to all who read and contribute to my blog including guest bloggers. Hope you enjoy and share my latest one.

many thanks for reading and your support

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to all my blog followers and readers

Why not visit my Unique Dyslexic Eye podcast page and join fab dyslexia / neuro diverse clan.

Unique Dyslexic Eye Podcast Page

Be seeing you there soon

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Being dyslexic can be?

 

Me sitting in our old studio over 40 years ago.

Hello every one, hope all is well with you all,

Anyone who knows me understands that I am very positive about being dyslexic. However, there are times,even for me, that my dyslexic life can become overwhelming and isolating.

There are times when I would gladly stick a couple of knitting needles up my nose to give myself a full frontal lobotomy. Just to shut my dyslexic brain up and walk away from my dyslexia work altogether. If I had any real sense that's what I should do lol.

Anyway, that's my wee moan over with.

Thanks for reading and a big hi five to all my followers of my dyslexia social media.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

I see and make sense of the world through my unique dyslexic prism.

 

#iamdyslexic😀 and that's #fab 

 ,

Hello all, hope you are all well

#iamdyslexic😎I.I see and make sense of the world through my unique dyslexic prism. 

Nature and humanity thrives because of diversity. Just think of all the fab accomplishments of dyslexics throughout history. #dyslexia is a difference that reflects #diversity and thats fab.

What would be lost if there were such a thing as a cure for dyslexia or diversity? It would not be a cure it would be an amputation. 

If I were a stick of rock I would have the word dyslexic written all through me.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all

from me 

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

There are millions of dyslexic geniuses out there, but?

Dyslexic strengths in the workplace

Good afternoon from me here in Glenrothes, Scotland

Here is a link to a new dyslexia / neuro diversity blog from me

There are millions of dyslexic geniuses out there, but?

Please click on the link below.

https://sdyslexia.blogspot.com/2021/12/there-are-many-dyslexic-geniuses-out.html?spref=tw

Thanks for reading.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

 

Why a dyslexia assessment is crucial for our dyslexic well being

Hi everyone, hope you are all well out there. Below is a link to one of my Unique Dyslexic Podcasts on You Tube.

Hope you enjoy it. Feed back and questions are invited and welcomed.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Develop our creative dyslexic scenius,

 

One of my Unique Dyslexic Eye t shirt designs

 

Good day to you all, hope you are all well

Hi blog readers and followers, hope you have had an enjoyable holiday

Scenius is: ‘a group of creative individuals who make up an ‘ecology of talent’. 

There are many dyslexic geniuses out there but because our education system fails us many never realize that genius. But it is out there because we know 35% of dyslexics are entrepreneurs. 

Dyslexic geniuses that do succeed do so in spite of there experiences in education and not because of it.

If we are ever going to change how society sees dyslexia we must come together and develop our creative dyslexic scenius to do it.  

We need to challenge societies medical model of dyslexia that tell dyslexics that dyslexia is about deficits, discrepancy and disorder. This medical model has nothing positive to say to dyslexics or about dyslexia.

This is why I developed the social model of dyslexia together with social enterprise. The social model of dyslexia tells us dyslexia is about diversity and difference and the social enterprise part basically means we can support ourselves to solve the issues we face in a dyslexic unfriendly society. 

The social model of dyslexia is our model its provides dyslexics with positive and inclusive vision. It tells it like it is, we struggle at school because our education system is dyslexia unfriendly. It is also neuro diverse and disability unfriendly.

Dyslexics have unique minds, we need to come together to create and untilise our dyslexic scenius to benefit the dyslexic community.

#PeaceLoveGroovyness to you all.......please leave a like or join our community and or share my podcasts.

Below is a link to my Unique Dyslexic Eye blog on dyslexic scenius:

Dyslexic scenius podcast

Why not join our Unique Dyslexic Eye Clan and subscribe

#PeaceLoveGroovyness from me 

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue, founder of Unique Dyslexic Eye and Dyslexia Pathways

Early COVID Unique Dyslexic Eye Podcast

Good day to you all

Unique Dyslexic Eye Podcast click the Early COVID podcast link below:

Early COVID podcast

via @YouTube This was recorded quite near the start of lockdown. All my dyslexia work had stopped, as had my HND / HNC course in Broadcasting. I think I had just started my Unique Dyslexic Eye podcasting channel.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

One of my followers asked me a question about how I do to nurture my mental health.

Hello all of you out there in the real world

One of our followers asked me what I was doing to nurture my well being, mental health. If this video I walk about some of the music I have been listening to during COVID. What music have you been listening to? How are you supporting and nurturing your own mental health and well being during COVID?

Apologies for the state of the video. One of my very early ones.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

 

I founded my social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC in 2008.

 

Hello to you all

I founded my social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC in 2008 and we are still going strong. In response to COVID I started a my called Unique Dyslexic Eye podcast.

2020 I passed and HND in Podcasting / Broadcasting. This was to support dyslexia and neuro diverse communities. The show has had over 2000 downloads. Not to shabby I guess for a niche show.

My Steve Unique Dyslexic McCue blog has had over 370.000 views and our aim is to bring that success to our podcasting and broadcasting.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Ok, not a dyslexia post, just a post about on of the top 10 days of my life

 

Genesis reunion gig Oct 2nd 1982

Hello everyone, hope you are all well?

One of the top 10 days of my life.

Genesis reunion Concert at Milton Keynes Bowl '1982, 42 years ago today. Rain, rain and even more rain all day. But it was a fab magic day. Myself and a couple mates rode up on our motor bikes early in the morning.

One of my top 5 days of my life, despite the rain. #TalkTalk were taking off the stage. I say taken off, the crowd gave them a bit of a hard time. I seem to remember beer cans being thrown at the band, full and empty, the singer shouting, "stop throwing them fecking cans". The singer got hit on the bonce by what looked like a full can of beer.. I know, not good, but it got the band the biggest cheer of the set.

The gig started with Peter Gabriel getting out of the coffin while singing... Another huge cheer when Steve Hackett appeared at the end of the show to a rousing cheer. The guys went into my fave Genesis song, I know what I like. The lights on one of my mates bike stopped working, which made for an interesting ride back home.

Have you got a top 10 day of your life you would like to share?

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me,

Steve #Uniquedyslexic McCue

Assistive technology and you?

 

Living in a neuro diverse universe

Hi Blog readers hope you are all well

Dyslexia Pathways CIC and myself invite you to:

Have your say on how easy or difficult your dyslexia assistive technology / software / hardware was to learn and use.

Tell us or how useful, or not, it was to you.

Please send us a review of any software and hardware you use. 

Tell us about the companies where you bought your technology. Were they themselves dyslexia friendly?

Have you any recommendations on assistive technology you have used.

Let us know what dyslexia friendly strategies you use  as well

Send your views and reviews to me via a message on Facebook. 

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can forward your reviews and feedback to me, and I will post and share it on my blog 

Or leave a comment on my blog.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness to you all from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Dyslexia neuro diversity Social model or medical model?

 

Hellay 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 model of dyslexia. It has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics. The medical discrepancy 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?

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness

from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Dyslexia: deficits, disorder and discrepancy? I don't believe so.....

 

Me in the Boom radio station during the my Unique Dyslexic Boom radio broadcast

 Hi readers hope you are all feeling fab

Almost all new ideas are generated by individuals but they are given life by and nurtured by communities and the cultures they create.

If we are ever going to move away from a negative medical model of dyslexia that has nothing positive to say to dyslexics or about dyslexia. We, as dyslexics, need to come together and create a coherent global dyslexic community. A global dyslexic community that has a more positive social model of dyslexia vision. A vision which nurtures and values dyslexic diversity and difference and celebrates all that we have achieved and are still to achieve in the future.

We need to consign the medical model of dyslexia to history where it belongs because it has failed us as dyslexics. The medical model defines us in terms of deficits, disorder and discrepancy. Its a model that has nothing positive to say about dyslexia or to dyslexics.

The social model of dyslexia defines us by what we can do and achieve, it empowers us and it frees us from the negative medical model stereotype that tells us being dyslexic means we are disabled is some way.

That's why I believe that dyslexia is a difference that reflects diversity and that neuro diversity is as important as biodiversity. My organisation Dyslexia Pathways CIC was the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world and we have embraced and promoted the social model of dyslexia.

Why not join us and let's create a global community and culture we are dyslexics need to move forward and enable our dyslexic kids to thrive and succeed.

Anyway many thanks for reading, you are invited to leave comments in the comments section.

 #PeaceLoveGroovyness from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic  McCue

Humanity is not an example of intelligent life

 

I am a citizen of Planet Earth

Hello all. Hope all is well for you all?

Just a short blog from me today. 

Humanity is not an example of intelligent life. We are a species of super parasite. The ultimate parasite. What sort of parasite kills it's host? A stupid species of parasite.

Yeah, not exactly a positive blog today, but hey, cant be positive all the time.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness from me.

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

One of my live dyslexia podcasts

My Unique Dyslexic Eye podcast logo

Hello all, welcome to one of my dyslexia /neuro diversity podcasts

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/uniquedyslexiceye/episodes/My-Unique-Dyslexic-Life-eh42j8/a-a2p11ia

One of my live dyslexia podcasts, Feedback comments and questions are welcomed.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness to you all from me

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue

Blimey how time flies when you are a dyslexia and inclusion specialist lol

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.

Blimey, how time flies, 16 years since I founded my organisation Dyslexia Pathways CIC, 30 years since embarked on my career as a dyslexia and inclusion specialist and 10 years for my Unique Dyslexic campaign. All are still going strong.

Its been hard work, many thanks to all who have supported my work, to many to mention.

#PeaceLoveGrooveyness to you all from me,

Steve #UniqueDyslexic McCue