Dyslexia; its about diversity and difference

I designed this 1 in 10 logo for dyslexics and those who support us to raise awareness

Dyslexia is about diversity and difference and definitely not about disorder, disability and discrepancy. 

Yes society disables and this disabling begins day one at Dyslexia unfriendly schools for far to many of us. Unless we dyslexics as a community change they way how we think and talk about dyslexia we will enable society to continue to disable us.  

Unless we change how can we expect society to change how it sees Dyslexia?

From an inclusion perspective there are three models of disability. The charity model say we are poor disabled people who are broken and society needs to give us money because society pity's us. It is a model imposed upon us by society and it is a disempowering model.

There is the medical model that basically says we are disabled, that it is we dyslexics that are the problem, that we are broken is some way and need a cure. It is another model imposed on us by society. This is another disempowering model.

Finally, there is the social model of dyslexia which say Dyslexia is about diversity and difference and it's is society that disables. 

It is our model developed by dyslexics for dyslexics. In my view this is an empowering model. It may not be perfect but its a start.

From my perspective both as a dyslexic and a Dyslexia and inclusion specialist with 29 years of experience working in the fields of dyslexia and inclusion I know what model I choose.

Which model would you choose?

I don't need pity, I am not broken and disabled #IAmDyslexic😎 And that's fab.

You are welcome to comment and send me thoughts on this, and any other, of by dyslexia blog, Comments welcomed from people from all other neuro diverse communities  and well as from people who are disabled.

Peace love and groovyness to you all 

#PeaceLoveAndGroovyness

Please leave a like or share with on your social media if you think my blog has something to say

Thanks for reading

Steve McCue 

Dyslexia: discrepancy, disorder and disability or diversity and difference

One in 10 people in the UK population are dyslexic

Hi blog readers hope you are all feeling as fab as you can in these troubled times

I founded my dyslexia focussed social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC over 10 years ago. It was the first Dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world. 

We have a social model of Dyslexia ethos we see dyslexia in social model of Dyslexia terms. 

Where society sees disability and discrepancy we see diversity and difference. #VivaLaDifference

This video will take you to my You Tube channel
Many thanks for reading and watching. As ever your comments and feedback and invited and welcomed

Dyslexia: discrepancy, disorder and disability or diversity and difference? what are your thoughts on this?

For me dyslexia is about diversity and difference and that's why we say:

#VivaLaDifference

Peace Love and Groovyness to you all.

Steve McCue founder and MD of Dyslexia Pathways CIC world's first dyslexia focussed social enterprise.

Hi blog readers it been a while so without more ado here is my latest blog

Love planet earth

Hi blog readers hope you are all feeling fab

We human beings need to live up to our own dreams and start to solve the real problems we have on planet earth. 

We must work together to solve the problems of hunger, of poverty, of 

global warming and of pollution. These issues will not go away. They will not 

solve themselves.

All these problems are self created but nobody takes any responsibility for them. 

We can only solve them if we as a planet work together to solve them. We must put away our bigotry, our greed, our lust for power and our desires to consume for the sake of consumption. 

#GreedKills and it must stop.

These are human frailties we as a planet, and as the human race can no longer afford to have.  We have now become a danger to ourselves and to the planet. 

Peace, love and groovyness to you all

Steve McCue 2019

PS I know its been a while since I posted a new blog just been too busy. Also been having a few issues with my Blogger blog page which I cannot seem to resolve. If there is anyone out there who could help me out with solving this please that would be fab

social model of dyslexia and social enterpsie a more empowering, inclusive and positive way forward

just a photo of me with my I am dyslexic logo

Good day to all my blog readers

I can only comment on this from a dyslexic perspective. I believe the medical discrepancy model of Dyslexia has gotten us pretty much nowhere. This model say it's we dyslexics that are the problem. It makes no mention of diversity and difference. 

That's why my social enterprise, Dyslexia Pathways CIC, (Community Interest Company,) promotes and support the social model of Dyslexia. 

We see the social model of dyslexia together with social enterprise offers the dyslexic community a more inclusive, positive and empowering way forward. The social model tells us it is society that disables and here is how society does. 

My own research showed only 19% of dyslexic adults were assessed while at school. That the majority of adults assessed as dyslexic were assessed while at university. 

But you have to remember only about 5% of undergraduates are dyslexic while in the UK research shows around 10% of the population are dyslexic. Society disables us in so many ways and this disabling starts from day one at school for many of us and does not stop even at higher education level.

Heart News,

I only realised a couple days ago that I had reached my two year anniversary since my two heart attacks in a week. Two years since I had my two stents fitted. I remember the first time I mowed the grass in our front garden after my hear attacks. It took me ages and totally knackered. I mowed it the other day and it took less that 15 minutes with no rests.

We have also applied for an allotment through our local council and now have an 55 square meter plot on top of our front and back garden. Just planted some potatoes and carrots over the last few day and looking at other possible veggies to grow.

New business plan:

Finally, FINALLY!!!!! with the support of my business mentor and my wife I have completed my next three year business plan sheesh I have sweat blood over this lol.

thanks for reading, please share and like or like and share lol

regards

Steve McCue

Oh and yes once again thanks to all who have enabled my dyslexia blog to achieve over a quarter of a million views.

What is legal can also be morally wrong and no guide to human decency

1 in ten I am dyslexic logo

Hi blog readers hope you are well:


Our governments and laws they create are no guide to human decency and morality:

The Holocaust was legal and people who hid and saved Jewish people were prosecuted as criminals.

Slavery was legal and people who freed slaves were considered to be criminals by the governments of the day.

Segregation and Apartheid was legal and people who fought against it were considered criminals by the governments of apartheid.

Tory government imposed austerity and changes to benefits is responsible for the deaths of 10,000s disabled and vulnerable people. 


Some people are calling this government sponsored social murder. I will only add the companies responsible for running this are making tens of millions of pounds sterling from this despicable process.

If we fail to hold our governments to account when they are morally and spiritually bankrupt.

We risk encouraging those who would create a new

Holocaust. Who would enslave free people and who would segregate seek to repeat these crimes against humanity today and in the future. 


Thanks for reading, I know its not strictly about dyslexia but I think we as dyslexics have a strong sense of justice. Maybe that because we experience injustice throughout our lives. Or maybe its a dyslexic trait?


what do you think?


please share


Thanks for reading


Steve Dyslexic McCue

Nothing hidden about being dyslexic

Our new tee shirts

Hi blog readers I hope you are all feeling fab.

A short blog this time...……………..

Being #dyslexic isn't about hidden disability. It's about a society that cant see our abilities and a Dyslexia unfriendly society that marginalises us .

An education system that's is so focussed on a negative medical / discrepancy model of dyslexia that can't see our abilities. 

Its about a society that cant get its head around the idea that dyslexia is about diversity and difference not discrepancy and disability.

My social enterprise Dyslexia Pathways CIC logo

Many thanks for reading peace love and groovyness Steve McCue

Dyslexia, Its a nature nurture thing. We are the #fab 1 in ten

we are the #fab 1 in ten

Hi blog readers and social media followers

As a dyslexic I have been thinking more and 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.

Our 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 and my wife, reading sci fi comics and books, becoming a musician and computer game player etc all helped me to overcome these issues when I was an assessed dyslexic. 

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 realize I was not as thick as a brick at school. That is was our dyslexic unfriendly education system that failed me not myself. Only a dyslexic can comprehend how liberating the realization of this can be. 

But the effects of experiences at school can still come to the surface even today. 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. More to the point so many dyslexics never receive an dyslexia assessment never find out they are dyslexic. Nobody really knows how many un-assessed dyslexic adults are out there. But I think this number is very high. At least my research suggest it high. 

It's no wonder that so many of us hate being dyslexic, can even feel ashamed of being dyslexic. Many will never know the answers to why they feel how they feel. To why they 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 or on my social media.

Dyslexia is about diversity and difference not about disability and deficits.






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. I know this because I know this from my own life experiences as a dyslexic as well as from listening to life stories from the dyslexics I have worked with. But I love being dyslexic. 

So it's also understandable that so many of us hate being dyslexic.
 


But is it we who have a problem or our dyslexia unfriendly society?


Anyways thats enough for this blog

Peace love and groovyness to you all

Photo from our Unique Dyslexic Get Creative exhibition, taken with the Lord Provost of Fife