1. Dyslexia in Post Industrial
Manchester
Roger Broadbent:
Manchester Dyslexic Self Help Group
11th June 2015
Ragged University, Manchester

2. Aim: To Explore Why
Manchester Struggles to
Support Dyslexics.
Areas Covered:
1) Mancunian Overview
2) What is Dyslexia?
3) Dyslexia and Self Esteem.
4) Dyslexia and Education.
5) Fear and Ignorance.
6) Positive forces for inertia.
7) Barriers to Employment.
8) Solutions.

3. Post Industrial
Manchester 2015
Manchester has struggled coming to terms with its new
identity. It is top/bottom of most indicators of social
privation in Europe: alcohol abuse, truancy, dental
hygiene, social disengagement, teenage pregnancy, etc.

4. What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexics are missing 8 strands of DNA.
10% of the population.
4 types: Dyslexia (words), Dyspraxia (movement),
Dysgraphia (handwriting), and Dyscalculia (numbers).
Underlying symptoms: short term memory,
organisation, concentration.

5. Dyslexia and Self Esteem
“Repeated episodes of maltreatment...substantially
contributes to child mortality and morbidity also long
lasting effects on mental health, drug and alcohol abuse,
risky sexual behaviour, obesity, and criminal behaviour,
which persists into adulthood.” The Lancet, Jan 2009.
“the legacy of...abuse; and the sad admission that those
who are the most psychologically damaged, the most in
need of love, often present themselves as the most
unlovable...” James Rhodes, Instrumental (2015).

6. Dyslexic Self Esteem
Constant erosion of self worth from early years
onwards.
“You are stupid and lazy”.
“Why are you always late?”
“Why did you forget to do your homework?”
“You never remember my name”

7. Education and Dyslexia
“Teachers need to bear in mind the importance of how
individual dyslexics react to failure....despair, pain, misery and
depression.” Janice Edwards, “The Scars of Dyslexia” (1995)
“pupils with dyslexia...were more likely to display timid
behaviour, avoid situations of possible stress and continually
ask for help and reassurance...learners with dyslexia experience
teasing and bullying and feelings of exclusion.” Humphrey,
British Journal of Special Education (2002)
“

8. Education and Dyslexia
“The (dyslexic) child’s school marks, moreover,
generally become known to his parents, siblings, and
many of his school mates; and their judgements of him
are likely to be affected by this information.” Rosenberg
& Simmons, National Institute of Mental Health (1971).
“An early diagnosis of dyslexia is essential for creating a
positive self image.” Jonathan Glizzard, Self Esteem

9. Education and Dyslexia
There are 1.2 million children with dyslexia in the UK,
David Imrie, The Guardian, 09/09/13.
Only 2% of dyslexics are diagnosed.
Due to cost constraints schools are encouraged not to diagnose
and parents struggle to persuade schools to get an educational
psychologists assessment.

10. Education and Dyslexia
Hereditary implications: “in the UK, father’s education
level has the biggest impact on the likelihood of low
educational attainment. People are 7.5 times more likely
to have a low educational outcome if their father has a
low level of education, compared with a highly educated
father.”
Hence their should be a 7.5 times greater amount of
resources directed to children in these homes to give
them a fairer chance.

11. Education and Dyslexia
Of 450 parents surveyed for the charity Dyslexia Action, 90% said
that teachers lacked awareness of the condition (July 2012).
Teachers often lose patience with dyslexic children, especially if
undiagnosed.
“Some children may become severely frustrated and may also have
emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.” The Code (DENI 1998).
Pupil frustration leads to need for attention, hence, dyslexic pupils
will adopt typical coping strategies: being the class clown,
appearing disaffected, truanting, getting excluded, getting
pregnant, abuse of drugs/alcohol.

12. Education and Dyslexia
Styles of education, Victorian v Modern/Scandinavian
can have a direct impact upon the 1.2 million dyslexic
school children.
Gove’s changes will lead to: low self esteem due to early
years test/exam failure.
Ken Robinson (TED) called this the “Educational
Death Valley”.
Scandinavian educators focus on individual
development and avoid early years testing. They also pay
their teachers double the salary of UK teachers.

13. Education and Dyslexia
“High quality teaching is vitally important if students with dyslexia
are to make progress with their academic learning, but this needs
to go well beyond multisensory or phonemic awareness
programmes to encompass the needs of the whole child” Burden
and Burdett (2005).
Bullying, dyslexics suffer this at school, university, the workplace,
and socially.
“Dyslexic boy, 16, hanged himself 'after bullying by teachers at his
primary school eight years earlier.” Mail Online (8th July 2011).

14. Fear and Ignorance

15. Fear and Ignorance
Dyslexia is a “Cruel Fiction” invented by “the educational
establishment” to divert blame for illiteracy from “their eclectic and
incomplete methods for instruction”. It should be consigned to the
“dustbin of history.” MP Graham Stringer (Blackley and
Broughton), Manchester Confidential (2009).
“There are incentives in the system: students who can’t read are
given longer in exams, extra aid, free computers, financial
assistance” MP Graham Stringer, The Guardian (13/01/09).
Mr Stringer Manchester City Council leader from 1984 to 1996, and
Manchester MP 1997 to 2010.

16. Fear and Ignorance
Parental fear of the unknown.
Teacher ignorance; PGCE courses leave dyslexia as a
subject to the Special Needs course.
Individuals from deprived areas are thought to be less
academically able and so weaker test scores are not
thought to be linked to dyslexia.
Dyslexia thought to be an “excuse”.
Dyslexic individuals are unaware of their condition.
Rich parents more prepared to fight for their children’s
rights/support.

17. Fear and Ignorance
•Little or no support for dyslexic in the community of Manchester.
•No appetite by Manchester council/government to raise
awareness or fund support.
•This inertia is maintained by lack of will by those in power in
Greater Manchester to look to support elements of the
community who present with complex anti social behaviours.
•

18. Forces Against Change
50% of prisoners are dyslexic (over 50,000 people); 70%
of youth offenders, Cynthia Klien, Increased Criminality.
Financial Forces: legal aid £2 billion, Daily Telegraph
(May 2015); prison service £4 billion (2009); police £14.5
billion, Policy Exchange (2011); probation service,
truancy services, organised crime, drug/alcohol services.
Jobs created by Manchester’s inability to address
dyslexia in a fair and intelligent way: lawyers, police,
family workers, homeless services, etc.

19. Barriers to Employment
1.High levels of unemployment in the dyslexic community, 40%
(Dyslexia Foundation).
2.Post industrial Manchester is not providing the type and
numbers of jobs that it did in the past.
3.School gate to dole queue.
4.Online applications.
5.Job Centre sanctions.

20. Solutions
1.Dyslexics to be treated with the equality and respect
they deserve.
2.Manchester council to have a dyslexia department.
3.A concerted effort throughout the city for all
departments to work together to provide a better future
for the city and its dyslexic community.
4.Schools to be supported to train all staff, teachers,
managers, teaching assistants, and SENCOs, in how to
teach dyslexic/non-dyslexic classes.

21. Solutions
1.Promote educational resilience in the classroom, and strengthen
the bond between school, parents, and external specialists.
2.Include students in designing their own learning plans.
3.Enhance student’s confidence by recognising their strengths.
4.Free assessments for anyone in Greater Manchester who thinks
they may be dyslexic.
5.Free training for all HR managers, and management in general in
the public or private sector.
6.All people brought into the justice system to undergo dyslexia
testing.
7.All pupils to be tested for dyslexia in primary schools.
8.The same level of support given to dyslexic children as is given to
dyslexic students at university.

22. Solutions
13. Simplified spelling, see English Spelling Society.
14. Learn from other countries that deal with dyslexia in
a more positive way.
15.