Have things changed much in the real world of dyslexia over the last 20 to 30 years?
Let me tell you a story, my baby brother ( he is over 30 now but is still a baby to me) was an amazing child, so bright, so social and so charming. I remember when he was about 7 and he brought some hens, and promptly looked after them and sold the eggs to his teachers. Now how clever is that!
Anyway he never really got the school thing, and ultimately started skiving off from about the age of 10, by the age of 12 he was pretty much working full time on the farm and would not head to school ( even at gun point he would still have been reluctant).
He was a bright lad ( and obviously still is), but he could not read to save his life, and don't even get me started on his spelling. However he never got a diagnosis, he just dropped out of the system and never had the opportunity to reach his full potential. I am no expert on spelling, but reading his texts or online messages can certainly be a challenge!
So how have things changed over the last 20 or so years, it can be a little easier to get a diagnosis, we know more about dyslexia, there is ( sometimes) more support in school, and perhaps more of these amazing kids get that chance to fly. However on the other end of the scale I still hear of children who are not getting a diagnosis or whose parents have to find the money to pay a fortune for one. I still hear about children who are left stumbling in the abyss ( and we have felt like this has certainly happened to Aidan at times). I still hear those comments and views that dyslexia is an excuse for poor parenting, thick children, lazy children, and not a real condition ( for crying out loud). And now we force children to stay in school for longer, even if they would be better and happier in the world of work.
I know those working in the area of dyslexia are passionate, knowledgable and generally often amazing. So what stops those giant leaps, surely we should be further on now in helping these children.
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