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