#dyslexia education

[dyslexiahouston]

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[mxmorbidmidnight]

You know those teachers who would have posters in their classrooms like “weird is a superpower” and “in a world where you can be anything, be kind” then would proceed to scream at a neurodivergent child until they cried.

[ukuraichu]

idk if anyone needs this but my DSA mentor showed me this website called goblin tools, it basically makes things for neurodivergent ppl so much easier

it can:

break down to do lists to make them more managable

transform text to different tones to suit the need (this is so useful for me writing a job application yahhooo)

judge the emotions from a text (like reading the tone of things)

estimate how long something will take (timeframe wise)

turn braindumps into a series of actions

create recipes from ingredients

you can also alter the "spicyness" of a task which can make things more/less intense. very awesomesauce

[adhdblues]

I went many years not realising that something was wrong with me.

Many years of thinking that how I feel and how I process things was normal. Everyone experiences similar things, is what I thought.

School was okay. I ended up with good grades in the end - A, A, B for A-levels.

But I didn’t realise that I was struggling to understand textbook language. I didn’t know that comprehension of that type of text could be a learning disability. I just thought I wasn’t good enough.

I never really did any work in class. I was actively involved in discussions. Always had an idea to share, and my teachers seemed to really enjoy those discussions. But putting them on paper was fucking hard.

And the research never really got any deeper than the ‘contents’ page and half of the ‘introduction’ of a book. I had piles and piles of books to look through, they all intrigued me. But they just sat there, in a pile, looking cute.

They sat there as the guilt (of not reading through them) weighed on me more as deadlines got closer.

If we had to take notes in class, I wasn’t able to focus. Notes were mandatory, as per my teachers’ expectations - that’s the only way they’d know whether we are concentrating or not. But, I would leave the classroom feeling like I didn’t learn anything that day, because it was all too fast.

Now I know why.

I knew I was smart (sometimes I truly believed that), and I knew I could understand everything that was communicated to me verbally. But the classroom setting just wasn’t right.

I never thought that I’d be one to have ADHD, or that disability they called dyslexia. It felt so foreign, so out of reach - I shouldn’t even consider it because I don’t need the help, is what I thought.

I needed that help.

I never thought I deserved extra time during exams - even though I never fucking finished my papers. No matter how fast I tried to get through the questions, I always had 3 or 4 or 5 pages left once the time was up.

I was actually never told about such things existing, I didn’t know what ‘accommodations’ were. Not until I saw a handful of classmates sitting in a separate room, taking the exams at a different time to us. But still, no one really talked about it.

I just wish that my school, one of the ‘best British schools in the country’, would take learning disabilities more seriously.

I wish they had taken the time to educate us about such things, instead of telling us off for the eyeliner or nail polish we wore.

Instead of giving us detention for wearing pants tighter than their liking.

Or the assemblies they forced us to sit through, where they would bring in alumni to talk about all the amazing things they had achieved since they left school.

If only I had been told about what learning disabilities were:

- I would have struggled less in GCSE.

- I wouldn’t have had those multiple breakdowns because I thought I was stupid.

- I wouldn’t have thought that I wasn’t good enough.

I was always so intrigued by learning new things. But the classroom setting just wasn’t right. The teachers never came to me to ask why I’m struggling, they came to me to tell me I wasn’t good enough.

My biology teacher said she’d be surprised if I get a C. Out loud. In front of the whole class. As she gave out our mock exam results.

I got an A in biology when the real exam came around. Because I studied my ass off. At home. In my own space.

She did nothing to help me.

My math teacher told the whole class that I got the lowest score in my mock exam. I wasn’t there, but my classmates told me. It was embarrassing. I fucking cried. But now that I look back, it’s because I couldn’t understand textbook language at the speed they wanted me to.

I got an A in that too, when the exam actually mattered.

I never really cared much for mock exams. They didn’t mean anything towards my final grades, or my future. I couldn’t care less and they didn’t deserve the stress I’d have to go through.

I just knew I would study for the real exams. I knew I could pull all-nighters and study better under pressure.

Now I know why.

I would wonder why it was so hard for me to keep up with deadlines. I would think that maybe I just don’t care enough. But I kind of did, because I enjoyed learning. I enjoyed discussing and sharing ideas.

But the school system just wasn’t right.

I look back and wonder what it would have been like if I got the extra help that I needed. If I knew I was dyslexic, maybe my English teacher wouldn’t always make me read out loud to the class “to help with my reading skills”.

That was torture for me and everyone else involved - (I think she enjoyed seeing students struggle though).

I remember I specifically went and asked her to stop making me read out loud. Because I felt ashamed of all the long pauses, when I couldn’t find the line I was on. Or for saying the wrong thing, or pronouncing the words wrong. I was ashamed that everyone had to listen to me struggle, because I thought I was wasting their time.

She asked me to read to the class, that same day.

[aleck-le-mec]

It's wild to me how some able-bodied people only think of disabled culture as a concept and they haven't ever actually experienced it. To me the biggest tell that somebody has never experienced disabled culture is their lack of knowledge about something I call Societal Manufactured Disability Theory.

This theory posits that an aspect of disability is manufactured by societal norms, stigmas and labeling.

People with disabilities like myself will tell you that people do treat you differently based solely upon the fact that you are disabled. When my hand writing is too messy to read do to Dysgraphia people assume I'm not trying hard enough to be neat, and if I'm lazy enough to slack with hand writing I must always be lazy. When I tell people I have Dyslexia they think I'm less intelligent, unable to read or incapable of understanding the written word. When I tell people I have a connective tissue disorder which is an invisible disability they think I'm a liar, scheming to take resources away from "real disabled people".

The societal norm here in America is to push forward, laziness is not an option we see it repeatedly in the rhetoric surrounding young people. News sources constantly talking about how "no one wants to work these days" or "young people are taking everything for granted".

There is a huge stigma around having Dyslexia that most people don't notice. In American society where we have a 79% literacy rate it is expected that you can read, so when you can't or you have trouble people think you have a lower IQ. Dyslexia can be genetic so I'm actually a fourth generation Dyslexic from my dad's side with all of them men being the ones to pass it down. My dad has always said that my great grandfather had no support for his Dyslexia, nobody cared and in fact the term Dyslexia was only coined in 1887. When my dad went to school they attempted to alleviate some of the symptoms of Dyslexia by making him watch his hands as he crawled on the floor, believing that the root of the problem was in a lack of eye coordination. To this day I and many other Dyslexics will avoid talking about our diagnosis because of the stigma behind it. I have had many experiences in my life where as soon as people learn that I am Dyslexic they assume that I can't spell anything or that they need to read everything to me. That's what stigma does, it makes people hide away just so they can live in peace and be respected.

It is extremely common for people with invisible disabilities to be labeled as liars, this is mostly due to a lack of education and representation. The general public's idea of disability is limited, but the truth is that disability is one of the most dynamic aspects of human beings. Invisible and dynamic disabilities make up the majority of disabilities; in fact, 1 out of every 3 Americans is in fact disabled. When people see me, a young, healthy-looking man, they never think I'm disabled. If I tell them I am, they may think I am lying. People generally do not like liars, and having such a label attached to your name can be detrimental to your social integration.

You can see that none of those setbacks I mentioned are symptoms of my disabilities. The perceived deviance, stigma, and labeling are not things you'll find on a medical report. However, they do harm me socially and potentially medically when it comes to stigma; these things disable me. Thus, part of my struggle as a disabled person is manufactured by society itself, in the norms we hold and the way we treat others.

I have come to that conclusion repeatedly, as have almost every other disabled person. It's a conclusion that is often reached in the community as a whole. However, it is in able-bodied culture where these stigmas, labels, and perceived attacks originate. So, if someone is completely averse to accepting the Societal Manufactured Disability Theory, it suggests that they have probably never fully been a part of any aspect of disability culture.

[sualne]

debating whether or not to delete some 700 words and this bit i just,, i need to keep it, it's so stupid

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

a quick reminder to everyone

I have SEVERE LEARNING DISABILITIES

I am literally disabled because of my learning disabilities, I have faced literal descrimnation because of it.

everytime you call us retarded or a retard you are ACTIVLY upholding the systems in which I am trapped in.

I take more offence in being called a retard than anything due to the literal DECADES of systematic abuse and descrimnation from the medical system, every single government resource, and almost all school alternatives.

fuck you greatly if you use these words against us, I have to live in a country where they hate people like me and would rather us dead than to do literally anything to help people like us.

call us what you will, but I will never call anyone retarded because it’s a basic decency reserved for everyone.

I’m a very happy retard, fuck your ableism!

I will happily live and love and learn even if THE LITERAL GOVERNMENT doesn’t want me too.

(yeah being a mid supports autistic with other learning disabilities and disabilities in general that made me unable to attend a school just means I deserve to die. 100% legit I deal with this literally all the time always fuck the Australian government)

so again fuck you all greatly, for using a literal slur against me one that has been used against me since I was a baby.

fuck you all, genuinely.

did I forfeit my rights to be treated as a human being the moment I had a bit of trouble learning things? Because if I did I’d like to break someone’s teeth with a brick.

Edit: the language and lines between what the fuck developmental disabilities and intellectual disability are is confusing as fuck.

I have gotten very confused between the 2 because they are grouped together half the time.

My apologies to everyone for being utterly confused where I fall because it is extremely confusing to figure out, and internationally it varies wildly according to my brief reading.

I did not mean to be mean or anything I just was genuinely going off what I’ve been told most my life lol.

Shout out to my developmentally disabled brethren you are loved

[disabled-dragoon]

"If we stopped putting disability in everything, people wouldn't go around pretending they need a diagnosis."

-The anonymous, admittedly non-disabled, private profile says to the openly disabled person who wished that a comic that began with a sudden dyslexia diagnosis had focused just a little bit more on the impact of the diagnosis itself

[maepersonal]

we are not the same - you oppose using ai to do schoolwork because it’s cheating. I oppose using ai for schoolwork because IT’S FUCKING AI.

[homo-taylorsversion]

Just casually remembering how the American education system really failed me growing up. Even with their "attempts" to help me, it only excluded me and honestly made things worse.

Thanks America!

[theworldoffostering]

I have been super stressed about DS’s IEP. We had his annual meeting a few weeks ago. It was a small meeting—myself, DH, DS, special ed teacher, regular ed teacher, and a principal who served as the LEA. It was a virtual meeting. The principal never turned the camera on. So weird. At any rate, during the meeting it quickly became apparent that DS has not been receiving a bunch of services all year. When I asked why, the special ed teacher said, “I’m not really sure.” Two days later I sent an email following up and asking for compensatory services.

Cue all sorts of drama because now the director of special education for the district is involved and he doesn’t know his job very well (he’s not qualified for the position), and has an ego that is easily wounded. He was straight up very unprofessional in an email to me. It made me realize that I have been fighting this same school district for 20 years! I have about 13 more years to go. I cannot believe some of the things that have been said and done to myself and my kids in these meetings. After the email he sent, I felt completely overwhelmed.

There is no way out. No accountability. The president of the school board here believes board members should stay out of the schools because the employees know how to do their jobs. This guy reports to the superintendent. That’s it. It’s an old boys club and will never change until there are enough people who care about special education to make it change (probably never going to happen).

We have the next meeting tomorrow. I had planned to spend the weekend prepping. Instead we were hit with an awful stomach bug. NB woke up at 3:30 Friday morning with it. Saturday evening it hit Baby. It took down DH and H in the middle of the night Saturday, and me yesterday morning. We are managing okay today, but DH and I have never been sick at the same time and it was horrible. No prepping of anything got done. I didn’t even order groceries for pick up.

[dyslexiahouston]

Get Effective Early Childhood Literacy Programs!

Dyslexia School of Houston provides literacy for Preschoolers to support the development of young children. Our goal is for all children to enter school with the foundational knowledge and skills to be curious, confident, and successful learners. Get in touch with us!

[lilybug-02]

Hey hey! Been thinking about disabilities and how it affects our world and others, so iirc you have dyslexia? How is it for you and others? Ever been ostracized for that? (Hope not)

Not that I can think of. I am very lucky to have been diagnosed with dyslexia early in life and given accommodations like extra time on tests (which I very much need).

Even with wonderful help from my school’s Dyslexic training programs, I am still slower than the average person when it comes to reading and writing.

My dyslexia is mainly noticeable in school. Having to go overtime can be very isolating in a classroom full of people already done with a test/quiz. I am also much slower to finish assignments and emails, which can cause me to get frustrated.

It’s something that you don’t notice until you compare yourself to the “normal” person, so I can get stuck in patches where I use comparison to judge my progress. (Not the most pleasant or helpful experience ngl)

[jesidres]

Knowledge about Public Education

I'm curious, because I've been rather shocked by friends being completely unaware of why teachers decided to strike in their city, or that there was even a teacher shortage.

I'd love it if you'd reblog for a larger sample size.

[dyslexic-dyspraxic]

Whilst there are definitely concessions and support you are given as a neurodivergent student, they don't change the fact that studying under the current teaching methods is hard

Like I was given extra time, a study skills advisor and the chance to have my lectures read over my essay plans, these all helped and they are the reason I got as far as I did but I was still held back

Because what I would benefitted most from is having a person in my field not only teach me how to write essays but review the essays I was gonna submit and tell me how to improve, having flexible deadlines that I could discuss and agree with my assessors, lower expectations when it came to reading lists, better written secondary sources, a greater variety of assessment methods than essay, exam and participation in class (and more even weighting between the three) because none of these work for everyone and there has to be more creative ways to assess someone's capabilities than an essay and exams

And arguably the thing that I would have benefitted most from is doing my degree on a part time schedule whilst not having to work a job, which I am not sure was even an option at the Uni I choose, would have been limited in terms of who can afford that and comes with social stigma, but my degree was hard for me, my severe dyslexia meant there was a limit to how much I could be expected to read in one day and it was incredibly draining to keep up with the reading and writing expectations

But the teaching system is not set up to work like this, there is no way this level of support would have been possible under the current system and that means that there are many potential students who we are just outright failing because we don't offer this support

It's okay if the level of support currently offered still wouldn't be enough for you, Uni is not set up for the neurodivergent and whilst many make it work inspite of this, that doesn't mean it will work for everyone and we still have a right to ask for more

[ask-a-rare-person]

Today is the last day of school and we aren’t doing anything interesting, feel free to ask me questions to cure my boardum. My qualifications and such are in my pinned post!