Dyslexia - we don't do that face, ever

If you ever want an afternoon where you wish to depress yourself into a black hole of grimness just Google 'dyslexia'  You will see that there are two distinct categories into which you could fall if you are dyslexic; the very slim chance of being like total genius mega-bucks Richard Branson or most likely a serial prison visitor for petty-crime and drugs. Seriously, go do it now.  The teenager is dyslexic, picked up at primary school in Y3 by a great teacher, he's now just started Y10.  Like the common cold there is a wide and varied scale of how this affects people, with my teen it's spelling and writing, so much so he gets a reader and scribe in most of his exams.  The proof is in the pudding as he has done test with no help and he's not even finished the paper and his result was inline with bedrock, with help and he's up in the clouds with a finished paper.  Just proves he knows what he wants and needs to say, his brain and hand just don't work well together.

But we don't do that face, the sort of woeful face, with sad eyes and a down-turned mouth, which is what a lot of the so call industry do that has sprung up to do with dyslexia do. Talk about a half full glass ethos.

I once went to a conference designed to help parents with dyslexic children and it was as it was full of misery-loves-company type people.   The endless talk of 'special schools' or 'not academic children' and 'lifelong issues faced' was enough to make me reach for a crack-pipe.  I left at lunchtime and went to Pret to have a brownie to cheer myself up.  Are there worse things a child could have?  You bet there are.  This down-trodden attitude is no good for anyone, least of all the child.  Yes it's an utter arse-ache at times and he gets thoroughly pissed off with it all.  It's fortunate he lives in 2016 with voice to text tech, iPhone voice memos, shit-hot teachers who email home Power Point presentations from lessons and quite frankly the list of stuff you can get your hands on to help is endless and free (he learnt to type for free for example).  You just need to get off your arse, investigate stuff and do what works for you. But never ever do 'that face' as if your world has ended.  Oh a never to go a dyslexia conference unless there is a Pret nearby. My teens glass is not only half full, but brimming over with fizzy pop.

Here is a great book on the subject with no self-pity crap anywhere to be seen The Dyslexia Advantage