Light it red for dyslexia

Light it red for dyslexia please

Hey ho blog readers I hope you are all well

I have been busy writing stage one application for an Improving Lives Lottery Bid. With the help of my wife an outline of a budget has been done and is ready to go.

I have nearly completed the written part of the bid. Which has been hard work by the way. I have made an appointment with Pat at Equalities Fife to get some support with this.

Not sure if you can see this but below is my dyslexic mind map of our idea. If there is anyone out there who would like to get involved with this huge fab project just e mail me at steve_mccue@hotmail.com

Funding:

I have been run a Donate Social campaign on our Unique Dyslexic page which is still going as well as a chocolate watch in a blast furnace. I know times are difficult for everyone but we are trying to raise £1000 to keep our websites running and to buy assistive tech for training etc.

I have also be paying to keep out web sites up and running out of my own pocket. I would be nice to be able to secure one year of costs for our web sites. It would give me the opportunity to sit down and learn more about developing more accessible web sites. 

Its easy to do just select the link below then the highlighted donate social link as seen in the graphic below and donate. If you can share or promote amongst your contacts that would be fabtastic also.

Below is the link to the page:

 

https://www.facebook.com/Unique-Dyslexic-1431413910440768/

Just select the highlighted donate social button on the left and you can donate to our Paypal account

 Couple things going on next couple of weeks

On November 7th I am going to this event which I am looking forward to.

Scotland's Third Sector Governance Forum is proud to present our fourth conference in celebration of Trustees' Week. This is an opportunity to share Scotland’s collective experience of working as, and with, trustees. Our aims are to highlight the great work that trustees are currently doing, and to present opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.

 

This year's conference will be in the Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline, which is located a 15 minute walk from Dunfermline's Queen Margaret station, and is a fully accessible venue.

 This will be a full-day conference (lunch included), with a programme of events designed to emphasise peer-to-peer learning and support, with more opportunities to meet other delegates, share your stories, and, ultimately, collaborate for a transformational future!

Then on November 11th I am attending a Fife social enterprise conference at the Adam Smith Theatre in Kirkcaldy. I have booked a stall there also so if anyone wants to come along to say hi please do so. I intend to make a little film of the day if I can.

 

anyway that's enough from me today

 

ta for reading

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

Being a dyslexic social entrepreneur certanly has challanged me as I have never been challanged before

graphic showing differences between medical and social models of dyslexia / disability

Hi blog readers hope you are all well. Its been a while since a posted my last new blog.

I have been rather busy. Anne and I managed to get away for our first holiday on our own for a few years. Couldn't really afford it but we both needed the break for a few days. We went to Javea in Spain and it was fab. I have also had a problem with my eyes and general health also which is a drag to say the least lol.

Journey:

When I embarked on my journey as a social entrepreneur by founding Dyslexia Pathways Community Interest Company way back in 2008 I have certainly travelled along a long road or should I say huge ginormous roller coaster ride with very high highs and very low lows.

To make things even harder for myself it had no route map and I really had no idea where is was going to go. All I really knew was I am a qualified dyslexia and inclusion specialist with 13 years experience of working in colleges and 8 years experience of running a dyslexia department. All knew was I didn't want to work within an education setting again as an employed teacher but I wanted to keep on teaching or training within the dyslexia and inclusion fields.

Tee shirts news:

I have secured a small amount of funding to get some of our new #iamdyslexic tee shirts printed. We have a have a number of different fonts that are dyslexia friendly. However, we have decided to go with the design with the dyslex+ie font as designed by Christian Boer. If anyone would like to purchase one let me know. I am struggling with ways to bring them to market. I think tee shirts will be £20 including postage. Let me know if you would like to buy one, which logo you would. your size and gender as well as choice of colour. I have secured a small amount of funding to get a few printed. If we could raise enough money we could also explore opening a more dyslexia friendly accessible on line shop.

As well is the font below.

Photos above show new dyslexia tee shirt logo designs

Dyslexia Awareness Training:

I have completed the four dyslexia awareness training sessions and an now looking at thinking about organising another for the end of November but at another location in Fife. I am going to develop further training packages for next year. If I can find the funding to pay for my time I would like to run them free of charge. The training has been fab loads of positive feedback, the session have been fun and interactive. Its not been about me standing at the front of the room yammering on and on. Its been more about exploring dyslexia and dyslexia issues together as a group.

All who came to the training enjoyed the learning styles inventory activity. The idea is to introduce different learning strategies to participants so they can better meet the need of dyslexic customers, trainees and staff. At school we as dyslexics are given access to a very on size fits all set of learning strategies.  Its a bit like going into a shop and buying an off the peg set of clothes. If you are lucky they may fit very well but mainly its a compromise. Many of which are not dyslexia friendly.

We need to develop a tailor made set of learning strategies for our learning toolbox. Like a tailor made suit that fits perfectly. But these strategies need to change and evolve to suit what a dyslexic is doing. For example a strategy that may have worked in first year at university may not work so well in the third year.  Its one of the reasons why I encourage dyslexics to use self reflective learning on a regular basis. Not sure if I have explained this clearly enough lol.

Dyslexia Screening:

I am going to start getting the word out about our Quickscan dyslexia screening test. I am afraid its going to have to be a paid for service as I cannot secure funding to offer it for free. A licence to sue the software costs £350 a year. If there is anyone out there who would be able to offer funding or knows of any funding to pay my time so that I could offer it for free let me know. I can also offer Studyscan which is a full dyslexia assessment.

Here is a little information about Quickscan:

QuickScan

• This screening test is suitable for people aged 15 and over who speak English as their first language.
• The screening test consists of about 100 simple questions.
• You will be asked what you would do in different situations or how you feel about the way you do various types of activity.
• You will not be asked to solve problems. It is not a threatening 'test'.
• You will be asked to click a button to select your answer to each question.
• The result will not depend on how fast you answer the questions, but most people take between 20 and 40 minutes.
• At the end of the test you will receive a computer generated report, which will highlight any possible indicators of dyslexia and identify whether or not a full and formal dyslexia assessment is recommended.

Other News:

Dyslexia Pathways CIC is now a corporate member of Scottish Equality Disability Forum and I am an individual member which is fab. Although we support and promote the social model of dyslexia dyslexia is considered to be a disability under Equalities legislation so it make sense to me to be a member. I am also an inclusion specialist as well as a dyslexia specialist so again it makes sense.

Here is a little information about the Scottish Equality Disability Forum:

Leading Disability Equality in Scotland

The Scottish Disability Equality Forum (SDEF) works for social inclusion in Scotland.  We are a membership organisation representing individuals with any type of impairment, disability organisations, groups and individuals who share our values. SDEF aims to make sure the voice of people affected by disability is heard and acted upon.

We work with many organisations to influence Scottish Government policies which affect how we live.  We also work with Access Panels across Scotland who provide advice and support to disabled people in their local communities.

Funding:

I have been run a Donate Social campaign on our Unique Dyslexic page which is going as well as a chocolate watch in a blast furnace. I know times are difficult for everyone but we are trying to raise £1000 to keep our websites running and to buy assistive tech for training etc. Its easy to do just select the link below then the highlighted donate social link as seen in the graphic below and donate. If you can share amongst your contacts that would be fabtastic also

https://www.facebook.com/Unique-Dyslexic-1431413910440768/

Graphic above shows Unique Dyslexic Facebook and Donate Social button is highlighted

Anyway apologies for the length of the blog. Oh by the way and before I forget my Dyslexia blog has not had over 50,000 reads. Ta to all who have taken the time to read and follow my dyslexia blog.

Remember:

Dyslexia is a difference that reflects diversity vivaladifference

Peace love and groovyness to all in the dyslexic community, and all other neuro diverse communities and disabled communities. 

Steve Unique Dyslexic McCue's Blog: social model of dyslexia and social enterprise an ...

Steve Unique Dyslexic McCue's Blog: social model of dyslexia and social enterprise an ...: Picture takes out side Cupar Youth Café with Brogan right and Steph left Hello blog readers.......or should I say watchers. I find doin...

Dyslexia: Different Minds, Different Thinking, Unique Solutions: #dyslexia a difference that reflects #diversity

Study shows stronger links between entrepreneurs and dyslexia

Dyslexia Pathways CIC Enabling Dyslexics to Fly

The Dyslexic Mind is a Fabtastic Mind

It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play to their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought.

The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she surveyed - 35 percent - identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority and to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.

"We found that dyslexics who succeed had overcome an awful lot in their lives by developing compensatory skills," Logan said during an interview. "If you tell your friends and acquaintances that you plan to start a business, you'll hear over and over, 'It won't work. It can't be done.' But dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems."

The study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States. Logan called the number who said they were dyslexic "staggering" and said it was significantly higher than the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.

She attributed the greater share in the United States to earlier and more effective intervention by American schools to help dyslexic students deal with their learning problems. Approximately 10 percent of Americans are believed to have dyslexia, experts say.

One reason that dyslexics are drawn to entrepreneurship, Logan said, is that strategies they have used since childhood to offset their weaknesses in written communication and organizational ability - identifying trustworthy people and handing over major responsibilities to them - can be applied to businesses.

"The willingness to delegate authority gives them a significant advantage over non-dyslexic entrepreneurs, who tend to view their business as their baby and like to be in total control," Logan said.

William Dennis Jr., senior research fellow at the Research Foundation of the National Federation of Independent Business, a 400,000-member trade group in Washington, said the study's results "fit into the pattern of what we know about small-business owners."

"Entrepreneurs are hands-on people who push a minimum of paper, do lots of stuff orally instead of reading and writing, and delegate authority, all of which suggests a high verbal facility," Dennis said. "Compare that with corporate managers who read, read, read."

According to Logan, only 1 percent of corporate managers in the United States have dyslexia.

Much has been written about the link between dyslexia and entrepreneurial success. Fortune Magazine, for example, ran a cover story five years ago about dyslexic business leaders, including Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways; Charles Schwab, founder of the discount brokerage that bears his name; John Chambers, chief executive of Cisco; Craig McCaw, the cellular phone pioneer; and Paul Orfalea, founder of the Kinko's copy chain.

Similarly, Rosalie Fink, a professor at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wrote a paper in 1998 on 60 highly accomplished people with dyslexia, from a Nobel laureate to a Harvard oncologist.

But Logan said hers was the first study that she knew of that attempted to measure the percentage of entrepreneurs who had dyslexia. Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation, which financed the research, agreed. He said the findings were surprising but, he noted that there was no previous baseline to measure it against.

Emerson Dickman, president of the International Dyslexia Association in Baltimore and a lawyer in Maywood, New Jersey, said the findings made sense. "Individuals who have difficulty reading and writing tend to deploy other strengths," said Dickman, who has dyslexia. "They rely on mentors, and as a result, become very good at reading other people and delegating duties to them. They become adept at using visual strengths to solve problems."

Orfalea, 60, who left Kinko's - now FedEx Kinko's - seven years ago, and who dabbles in a hodgepodge of business undertakings, is almost boastful about having both dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator," he said. "I think everybody should have dyslexia and ADD."

He attributes his success to his difficulty with reading and writing because it forced him to master verbal communication.

"I didn't have a lot of self confidence as a kid," he said. "And that is for the good. If you have a healthy dose of rejection in your life, you are going to have to figure out how to do it your way."

Danny Kessler, 26, also has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He founded Angels with Attitude, which holds self-defense seminars for women. He is a co-founder of Club E Network (www.clubenetwork.com), which sponsors "networking events," runs an online chat room for entrepreneurs and produces television shows about them.

He said he also had low self-esteem as a child, and now views that as a catapult into the entrepreneurial world. "I told myself I would never be a lawyer or a doctor," he said. "But I wanted to make a lot of money. And I knew business was the only way I was going to do it."

Hope you enjoyed this article and hope you feel more positive for reading it.

regards

Steve McCue

social model of dyslexia and social enterprise an innovative and positive way forward for the dyslexic community

Picture takes out side Cupar Youth Café with Brogan right and Steph left

Hello blog readers.......or should I say watchers. I find doing these vblogs very difficult so much to try and remember. Where is a teleprompter when you need on lol.

Just a little vblog today with some text. The vblog is about 10 minutes long 

Here are some of the photos people have sent me for the #iamdyslexic campaign. If you would like to get involved just send me your photo in like those below. If you have not got the software or don't heave the tech savvy just send me a photo and I will add the banner. steve_mccue@hotmail.com



 

if you want you can copy the banners above yourself and add it to your photo or your own social media

 

 

 

Social media links Please join us on our social media

　

https://www.facebook.com/Unique-Dyslexic-Get-Creative-1431413910440768/?sk=app_415675701824636

 

 

　

https://www.facebook.com/groups/unique.dyslexic/　our facebook group page

 

 

　

 

https://www.facebook.com/stephen.mccue.5　my page

 

 

　

 

https://www.facebook.com/Unique-Dyslexic-Get-Creative-1431413910440768/　kinda like our Unique Dyslexic　campaign come　business page

 

 

　

 

http://www.dyslexiapathways.com/　company web page

 

 

　

 

http://www.uniquedyslexic.com/　our unique dyslexic campaign page

 

 

　

 

http://sdyslexia.blogspot.co.uk/　dyslexia blog page

 

 

　

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVKyJJgQWkYUa93-GdtX3fg　you tube channel

 

 

　

 

https://twitter.com/SteveMcCue1　twitter

 

 

 

　

 

 

https://uk.pinterest.com/raelthing/　Pinterest

 

 

 

　

 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAAdBzacBPEi2aZeiCBELxGTTQBM_mq3HKU4HYPERLINK "https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAAdBzacBPEi2aZeiCBELxGTTQBM_mq3HKU4&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile"&HYPERLINK "https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAAdBzacBPEi2aZeiCBELxGTTQBM_mq3HKU4&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile"trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile　Linked in

Anyway ta for watching. If anyone has a video blog or would like to write a blog about dyslexia especially if you have something positive to say just contact me@

steve_mccuw@hotmail.com



A week of high highs and low lows here for me

Hi blogsters hope you are all fine and dandy out there in social media land

Its been a bit of an up and down week since my last blog.
 
On Sunday I felt very down a couple of negative remarks that I would usually let roll off my back and upset me. At the time I felt like closing everything down from my company Dyslexia Pathways CIC to all my associated social media.
 
Firstly I had been feeling down because I lost three friends to cancer over the past month or so. Fab people who I respected and cared about. It kinda brought back all the upset from when my mum passed away.
 
Secondly money worries have been getting to me as well. When I was a kid my dad was an alcoholic and gambler. He was always drinking and gambling his money away. I remember once we went away on holiday to Scotland. On the day we arrived my dad just disappeared. He came back later and all the holiday money was gone.
 
My mum and dads marriage was a total train wreck. One of the reasons I started working as a milk boy on a milk round was to make sure there was money there. I have always managed to support myself and people I love so these are unsettling times for me.

Who is the specialist?

Much of what I have learned about dyslexia and Neuro diversity I have learned from the students I have worked with. My qualifications say I am a dyslexia and inclusion specialist.
 
However, I would say I am the only specialist in myself as a dyslexic. Only I have lived my life as a dyslexic and have my own life experiences as a dyslexic.
 
All of us in dyslexic and neuro diverse communities are really the only specialist in ourselves? The better we understand ourselves the happier we can be. Not sure if that makes any sense though?


 What makes us happy?

Many dyslexics are unhappy and from their perspective those of us who have a positive dyslexic message must have lost our marbles. Frankly even I think I have lost my marbles at times lol.
 
It is society that disables us and this disabling begins at school that fail us. We can end up leaving school feeling like failures and with little self confidence and self esteem and even mental health issues.
 
But we fail not because we cannot learn or because we are not smart enough but because we are not taught in ways that enable us to learn. So it's not surprising and understandable that there are so many unhappy dyslexics out there who hate being dyslexic and who do not like school.
 
If we are failures it is because society has failed us. We can and do succeed in many different ways. Me personally I am a very happy, positive and confident dyslexic but this was not always so most of the time. When I walked away from school I believed I was just someone who could not learn.
 
We dyslexics can be an enigma to ourselves, our parents and teachers.   Solving that enigma for myself started when I as first assessed as dyslexic. I would say that everything I have achieved in my life would not have been possible if I were not dyslexic both before and after I was assessed.
 
All the negative experiences I have experienced I would not change one of them because that have taken me to a place and time where I am very happy and fulfilled as a person. 

 

 

 
My organisation is running a little campaign #iamdyslexic. The idea is to make we dyslexics more visible, to try and build a global dyslexic community, to show other dyslexics out there they are not isolated and alone and enable us to be dyslexia proud and positive.
 
All you need to do is take a photo holding an #iamdyslexic😎 banner. You can add your name and location if you want to. I will add them to a Pinterest gallery and if I can get enough people to reply maybe do something creative with them.
 
It's open to dyslexics of all ages. There are a couple photos I have been sent to far. I have created a couple banners that you can print off and use or add to your own social media. Please share with your contacts.

Many thanks. If you are from any other neuro diverse community you can get involved with an #iamneurodiverse😎 photo? You do not have to put any other information there but a first name and country would be helpful

above some of the photos people have sent for

 Anyway

many thanks for reading and for sharing my blog if you  feel it worthy of sharing.

PS: received a fab phone call today that brought positive and fabtastic news about new prospective opportunities for myself and Dyslexia Pathways CIC. More news on that to follow.

I am seeking guest bloggers for my blog so if anyone has something to say about dyslexia or neuro diversity let me know.

New dyslexia vblog?

Hi there blog readers hope you are all well. This blog is more of vlog today. Just so much easier to say what I have to say rather than write. By the way I was being attacked by a wasp at the start lol not picking my nose.

above is the link to my vblog

New tee shirts design here. I decided the tee shirt logos I did before were a little over the top, a little expensive to produce. So I went for something a little simpler. As I say in my vlog its about making us more visible. Is about us advocating for a more positive profile of dyslexia. About building a community and social movement and empowering us to self identify. Its often said dyslexia is a hidden disability. I say its about hidden abilities and lost potential. Here is my most recent design:

Any way here is one of my new designs. Once again thank you to Christian Boer for agreeing to let us use his dyslexie font. I used dyslexia friendly fonts and smilies to keep it simple and effective as possible. Also many thanks to Concept Northern for their support. This will soon be available to buy through our Dyslexia Pathways CIC online shop.

Please feel free to give me feedback. All the designs so far have male smilies but I will be adding a female one soon using the hashtag below.


Anyway thanks for reading please get involved in our: