MP speaks about his acute dyslexia
Alex.Barker | 29 Oct 2019
With all the goings on in Westminster recently you can be forgiven for not having noticed the Tweet from Labour MP for Hove and Portslade Peter Kyle about having acute dyslexia. In the post which has been retweeted over 3,000 times Peter explains how having acute dyslexia has made his life as an MP that much harder because people are very keen to point out his 'mistakes' and he often gets the spelling of certain words wrong. Most of the responses received have been really positive and supportive with lots of people writing they have exactly the same problems, and it becomes quite tiring for them when their mistakes are pointed out.
I want to say something about living with acute dyslexia because Twitter can be a pretty unforgiving place for people with unseen challenges.
— Peter Kyle MP (@peterkyle) October 27, 2019
Every day I get picked up on something I write. Mostly it’s kindly or humorous which is appreciated.
Sometimes it’s sneering or brutal
It is wrongly assumed that if you have dyslexia, you will have either particularly low or high intelligence. What is true is that with the right support people with dyslexia can really shine and reach the heights of names such as Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson and Steven Spielberg. Technology is a real game changer and enables people to achieve their goals at home, at work and in education. From voice recognition on an iPhone to text-to-speech software on a Windows desktop, there is a wide range of technology which can help you if you have dyslexia. As employers strive to have a more 'inclusive' workforce, there's also a greater understanding of what needs to be done to support employees with diverse abilities.
AbilityNet's Head of Inclusion, Robin Christopherson commented, "There’s a wide range of solutions that help people with dyslexia read, create content and be organised. These are often as simple as exploring the best font and colour combinations (including coloured overlays for printed materials), to browser plug-ins to make the internet speak to you, to specialist apps to assist with spelling and grammar. Standard spell-checkers may not suggest the correct spelling of the (very logically spelt) word ‘Fizix’, say, but there’s software out there to help. Ask us about your specific needs."
Many accessibility functions are available across devices and are simply out-of-the box features which need to be enabled. My Computer My Way is your guide to every accessibility feature on every major smartphone, tablet and computer. If you want to speak to our Advice and Information Team about the changes you could make on your devices specifically you can call 0800 269 545 during UK office hours.
Further Reading
Read our factsheet on dyslexia and technology
Visit My Computer My Way for information about the accessibility features on your devices
How DSA can help students with dyslexia
