Dr Stephen J Macdonald Tackling the impact of hidden disabilities (i.e. dyslexia) on young people’s life chances Prevention is better than ‘Cure’

Introduction UK Economy Cost of Undiagnosed Dyslexia Different Ways of Thinking about Dyslexia Removing Barriers Prevention of Social Exclusion for People with Dyslexia

Dyslexia Action: Economic cost The annual cost is £34 per taxpayer The daily cost of £2.75m (i.e. welfare state support: long-term unemployed; overrepresentation in the prison system and problems with homelessness, etc.) The estimated UK economic costs are between £1bn–2.5bn per year, as a result of undiagnosed dyslexia/literacy difficulties (DA/ ECCT) Dyslexia Action suggests it would initial cost of £36m to train a teacher in primary schools to support children with hidden disabilities

The Social Model of Disability: A Brief History Disability Politics and Activism (wheelchair users) (Finkelstein, V. and Hunt, P. 1970s) Defining the Social Model in Academia (Oliver, M. 1980s) The Rise of Disability Studies (Barnes, C. 1990s) Fragmentation of the Social Model of Disability (Shakespeare, T., Goodley, D., etc., 2000s) The Social Model and Dyslexia (Riddick, B. 2001)

Medical Model Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry Impairment: any loss or abnormality of psychological or physiological function. A deviation from a statistical ‘norm’ in an individuals biomedical status Disability: any restriction or lack (resulting from impairment) of the ability to perform an activity in the manner, or within the range considered normal, for a human being. Functional limitation expresses itself as a reality in everyday life Tasks, skills, and behaviour (Semple et. al. 2013:90)

The Social Model of Disability People with impairments are systematically excluded from direct involvement with the economy, education and citizenship In our view, it is society which disables physically impaired people. Disability is something imposed on top of the impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society ‘Disability’ relates only to social barriers which restrict people with impairments Impairment is a persons physical/neurological difference or life-course transition (UPIAS 1976; Oliver 2009: 42-43)

Disabling Barriers and Dyslexia HS: Are your difficulties in understanding people mainly due to a hearing problem? SM: Are your difficulties in understanding people mainly due to their inability to communicate with you? HS: Is your inability to learn to ‘read’ and ‘write’ due to symptoms of dyslexia? SM: What is it about the UK’s education system that has made it difficult for you to engage with literacy to the level you would like? (adapted from Barnes and Mercer 2010)

Macdonald ( ) Dyslexia and Social Class: the entire group experienced issues of alienation within education, however, it was middle-class participants who had access to resources (specialist teaching and enabling technology), who achieved educational ‘success’ and accessed diverse types of employments Crime Study: educational disengagement seemed to have an impact on adult life chances in the form of unemployment and poverty Digital Exclusion Study: structural barriers, such as poverty, skills/knowledge and inaccessibility, which prevented disabled people from using a range of digital technologies Homelessness Study: dyslexia participants were more likely to have addiction problems, mental health issues, self-harm and reported increased suicide attempts

Dyslexia and Social Class: Macdonald (2009) & Deacon (2017) updated The average age of diagnosis in the professional category was 15 years. This was closely followed by the intermediate group at 19 years. By comparison, the average age of diagnosis in the working category was 35 years for the non-offender group and 26 years for the offender group (combined mean = 32 years).

Digital Inclusion: Macdonald and Clayton (2013) 42 per cent of people with impairments (n=127) reported never having used digital technology. This is compared to 28 per cent (n=140) (P<.00). Disability and Domains of Social Exclusion The data revealed that 66 per cent (N=95) of disabled people did not consider that digital technologies improved their educational experience (P<.00). Whereas 64 per cent of non- disabled respondents felt that DT did in fact improve access to education. 73 per cent (N=102) of this group reported that they felt technology had not improved their life chances in relation to employment and income (P<.00).

Dyslexia, Social Exclusion and Homelessness (Macdonald & Deacon, ) 15.3% of participants reported having dyslexia. This figure is higher than the prevalence in the UK’s general population which is estimated at between 4% and 10% (Semple et al. 2013). Hence, data in this survey seems to indicate that people with dyslexia are between 5% and 11% overrepresented within this homeless sample.

Disabling Barriers Inadequate access to dyslexia diagnosis Lack of recognition of dyslexia within the health and social services Lack of recognition within the education system Inadequate special educational needs teaching A lack of access to assistive technologies (i.e. PC tablets; laptop/notepads, read/write and dictate software) Stigmatising attitudes associated with dyslexia Lack of adjustments within contemporary employment

Moving Forward The Social (Relational) Model of Neurodiversity

Conclusion: ‘ Dyslexia Beyond the Barriers’ We need access to FREE diagnosis not though private ‘healthcare or charities’; and outside of the educational system We, and our children, need access to assistive technologies throughout our educational journeys and into employment We need to challenge social myths about the capacity and abilities of people with dyslexia The economic cost to support every child with dyslexia in England and Wales we have estimated at £250m (an estimated saving of £750m)