Gavin Stringer MP is a Cupid Stunt

Yup, as you may have guessed from the title of this blog, I'm moderately dyslexic. Well at least I thought I was until I read what Mr Gavin Stringer MP had to say today. Normally I post links to my sources, but I'm not posting any links to this Wupid stanker's comments because his blatherings are not worthy.

Now when I was at school in the 60's and 70's Dyslexia didn't exist (at least as far as I was concerned). The fact I didn't say a word till I was 4 years old was initially attributed to deafness due to premature birth. Eventually a hearing test established that I was fine in that respect. I was just thick and awkward. From the age of 4, when I started at school, I was always bottom of the class. I could never memorise my times tables. I couldn't spell words. I couldn't read books. By the time I was 10 I had a reading age of 5. My mother kept all of our schoolwork books. I showed my kids some of them and they laughed. They couldn't believe how bad it was for a 9 year old (my son was 7 at the time). When I was at primary school we'd get a Gold Star for every time we got all of the questions right in spelling and maths tests. At the end of the year, parents evening came. I had zero. Mind you I had more black marks than anyone else. We got these for being naughty, not doing homework, getting zero in tests. My Dad sat me down and said "Don't worry son, your teacher explained. You are just thick". I'm the youngest of 6 children. My eldest twin brothers are very bright. One of them works as a Rocket Scientist (or did till he retired). The other speaks fluent Latin and ancient Greek (as well as a host of other languages).
My eldest sister went to a private school and qualified as a teacher. Middle one went to a grammar school and became an artist, then a Nurse, The youngest of the girls got a scholarship to a private school and became a barrister.

As for me. My primary school advised my folks to save their money. I was sent to the local Comprehensive School for Boys. My dad thought maybe I'd be good at sport. Sad thing was, I'm pretty rubbish at that. Not through want of trying, just poor eye/hand/foot coordination. I was extremely good at one thing though. Making trouble. I was lucky to find myself in a class full of other troublemakers.

At the age of 14, all of a sudden something remarkable happened. I went to see the Ramones at the Roundhouse and discovered punk rock. All of a sudden, life had a meaning. I started reading books. I started to try a bit at school. I found that if I methodically checked over my work, I'd spot the mistakes and correct them. It took a bit longer, but I'd get there. I found out I wasn't actually that thick.

I found that if I read underground literature, it was a great inspiration for songs. I found that it seemed to impress the sort of girls I liked. I found that I could play the guitar if I tried hard. I changed schools and left with 9 O Levels and 3 A levels. I'd set up a studio by then and had a source of income. With the advent of IT, I found that I had great problem solving skills.

When I was 26 I was chatting to someone and told them some of this. They suggested that maybe I was dyslexic. I was assessed and hey presto, it all became clear. Now by this point, I was pretty successful. Without any help, I'd developed "coping strategies". I still get my wife to fill in forms. The number of times I've ticked the box for Female or suffering terminal illnesses etc when doing it is quite a source of mirth. She cannot understand how I can be so good at some things and yet unable to successfully tick six boxes on a form. I've spoken to other parents who have dyslexic kids. I try and assure them that it is a problem but there are ways around it. Mr Stringer objects to dyslexics having extra time in exams. Doesn't it occur to him that a dyslexic brain requires a coping strategy. This means tasks take longer. He advocates a specific method of teaching reading. Maybe it will solve all of the ills of the world, but knowing my own brain, I doubt it. For me, words only have meaning in context of objects. The noise words in between are a big problem.

I recently wrote a whole blog about a certain local politician, that I had to scrap because when I checked what he said, my brain had filtered out the "not's" and "donts". You see my brain is rather good at deciding what it thinks a person will say and filling in the rest. That is why I check everything 3 times before I finish it. On the third reading, I generally fill all the gaps.

I know quite a few dyslexics. Most are pretty good with big picture problems. Most have greater observational skills than the average person. Most notice mannerisms and other such things which seem to pass most people by.

In the 1960's I was viewed as Thick. I was in the remedial reading group at primary school. It made the whole experience horrible. I'd see things and come up with great ideas, but they'd be ignored. Sometimes the teachers would say "thats a great idea" and then get another group of kids to implement it. I latched on to punk rock as it was a movement for outsiders. It encapsulated all of the rage that I felt. All of a sudden the brightest, smartest kids were not ruling the roost. I had an outlet for my anger in my song lyrics and my music. People started to listen to what I had to say. I found I was good with people.

I thought we'd moved on from the 60's. I thought that it was universally accepted that Dyslexia had a profound effect on people. I thought that the "He's just thick" mentality had been consigned to the dustbin of history. I'd love to set down with Mr Gavin Stringer and tell him what I think of his ignorant blatherings. I'm not some poor hard done by victim of society. I'm very successful in my chosen fields. I'm comfortably off, I've had holidays in the USA and Australia in the last two years. I run a great business, I hope I write a decent blog, my family are great, I play in a great band with great musicians. I'm glad I'm dyslexic, because I think it has made me better at the things I want to do. It makes me love angry music such as the early Pistols and Clash with a passion. If I wasn't so angry, I'd have achieved nothing worth achieving. I like to think my anger keeps me honest and gives me integrity. I think it makes me see through the fog and get to the point. It's made me tough. I was ridiculed for the first 13 years of my life, so I can take just about anything. I've been called worse, picked on, beaten up, humiliated. If you are born in August, you are generally one of the smaller members of your class, which really doesn't help. If you were born 6 weeks early, you should really have been in the year below. Mind you, when you get to 15 and suddenly find you are the tallest and biggest, it makes it all the better.

I don't suppose our Cupid Stunt of a friend, Mr Gavin Stringer really cares though. He's read a few articles, talked to a few people, seen a few programs on TV. This makes him an expert on the subject. If you know anyone with Dyslexic kids who are upset by his comments, tell them to ignore this buffoon. Trust your kids. Support them, they'll turn out fine if they are given the support and the chances they deserve.

Oh and I'll break a life long taboo. If you live in Manchester Blackley, please vote Tory or Lib Dem at the next election and get rid of this idiot. He's a disgrace and I'm saying that as a lifelong Labour supporter.