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Do you? Wonderful, maybe it’s time to book an assessment and get started on your support journey. There’s all kinds of amazing assistive tech out there that can help you, as well as incredible resources tailored for you and your needs.
…oh wait, were you just making a crack about spelling something wrong in a WhatsApp message, or struggling with the intricacies in language of Ulysses or Finnegans Wake? Yeah, that’s not great actually. Dyslexia is a complex thing to have, and it goes so much further than spelling and reading differences – it can have a huge effect on somebody’s life and life quality. People of all ages but especially kids can feel isolated, removed from the world and struggle with some fairly basic everyday communication, and it can lead to lots of negative emotions and mental health problems. It’s not really the same as you spelling ‘sandwich’ as ‘sanbdwich’ when you’re messaging your friend what you’ve had for lunch.
We’re not entirely sure how this one crops up with such alarming regularity even in 2022, but here we go: responding to somebody young saying ‘Hey, I’m dyslexic!’ with ‘You don’t look it!’ is genuinely insulting. Not only are you implying that all people with dyslexia share some common aesthetic characteristics (they don’t), you’re also implying that you can ‘pick out’ somebody with dyslexia based on these characteristics, and essentially that they’re in some way or by connotation negative. It’s really not too far from saying ‘Wow, but you look normal?’
It could also mean that they don't find you behave like how they imagine a stereotypical dyslexic person to when you're reading and writing (struggling, spelling things out, hesitant reading), which is equally as problematic as it congratulates masking-type behaviours, and seems to children that you're approving of them not seeming like they have reading problems. It may additionally isolate children and young people whose dyslexia doesn't manifest typically, such as those who experience a more auditory or visual-creative side.
There isn’t a ‘dyslexic look’, aesthetic or behavioural - in terms of behaviour, everybody's dyslexia manifests differently, and whilst there are some commonalities, we can't ever make a solid set of behavioural symptoms that apply to everyone. But children, especially young ones, pick up ideas very quickly, and when they’re incorrect ones like 'there's a dyslexic look' we need to be on the ball.
For a lot of people who aren’t clued in when it comes to dyslexia, it feels natural that if you don’t know much about it to ask the people in your life who do have it just what it looks and feels like. But flapping a book in somebody’s face and asking to watch them struggle is the ultimate no-no – asking somebody with dyslexia to read in front of you puts them on the spot and the whole setup can feel humiliating, especially if you’re sat there watching them.
Also it’s often a bit more complicated than can. Perhaps they can, if they’ve got their assistive tech setup with them and they’re feeling comfortable- but they might not be able to then and there. Perhaps they can if they’re having a good mental health day and feel able to take on the task, but also perhaps they’re not having a good mental health day, and don’t feel up to it emotionally. Also consider that they might not want to: reading takes a lot of effort sometimes if you’ve got literacy differences, and who wants to sit there and essentially perform for somebody’s interest?
Even if it’s said as a joke- and we appreciate, a lot of people will say this as a joke- it’s not actually super funny. Exams are stressful for everybody, but when you’ve got literacy differences they might be absolutely terrifying – if it isn’t decoding the question and trying to formulate a response, worrying about your spelling skills and sentence structure, it’s having to do it all timed. Some people with dyslexia are fine with exams and relish the challenge, but some aren’t.
Indicating that even in jest that it’s all for a little extra nudge in the direction of a higher grade is pretty insulting, especially if you’re one of those people with dyslexia who do really struggle with writing – that assistive tech you’re using might feel like your only chance of having a fair shot at the exam, and starting off on a level footing with your peers.
