Understanding the educational, social and emotional effects of dyslexia is a challenge. Channel Four has done something special in helping the wider public to understand. Read on to find out more.

A little while ago a friend of mine who is a dyslexia assessor told me that she was involved in a TV show that she could not tell me anything about other than it was about dyslexia. My friend magnificently kept the secret until Channel Four announced their documentary, The Write Offs.

The Write Offs is a documentary that focuses on the lives of a number of participants who are dyslexic and who have had to find their way in life struggling with reading and writing. The main cause of which for the participants being dyslexia.

TV presenter, Sandi Toksvig kindly lead the participants through challenges that highlighted how difficult life could be when struggling with reading and writing.

A really moving point in the show for me was when Craig was faced with doing a test in exam conditions and he had to leave the room due to the sheer anxiety he was experiencing. Craig is a stay at home dad who gets his daughter to help him to read children’s books. When Sandi spoke with him outside of the exam room he shared how this experience put him back in the classroom when he was a child and how stressful a time that was.

Another participant, mentioned, during the travelling challenge, how he would play up at school so that he would not suffer the embarrassment of not being able to read.

During the period of filming, all of the participants engaged with dyslexia tutors to help them develop their literacy skills and this became evident in examples such as when Tommy, 66, who wrote a letter to all those that had supported him throughout his career thanking them. For some, this may seem a simple task, but for Tommy this was his ‘dream’ to be able to achieve this, and he did. Tommy’s tutor was Georgina Smith, Leek based dyslexia assessor and tutor, as well as a good friend of mine. I felt hugely proud to see my friend taking part in what I believe is a fantastic vehicle to raise awareness and understanding about dyslexia.

The program also featured Vivienne and I would like to share a Facebook post with you from Lizzie at Aspire2Inspire Dyslexia who had been working with Vivienne and who put her forward for the programme.

In the programme, Vivienne talked about how important it was to talk about the challenges of living with dyslexia.

Is using technology to read cheating?

One aspect of the lives of these participants that I thought was awkwardly positioned in the programme was the use of technology.

During the cooking challenge involving Prue Leith from the Great British Bake Off, Craig decided to use an app on his mobile phone to read out the text in a recipe that he was following. Sandi spotted this and gently and in a good humoured way took the phone off him. I know that the programme was highlighting the challenges of dyslexia, but I couldn’t help but think that the programme positioned the use of technology as cheating when in reality assistive technology often closes the gap on attainment. Given that everyone uses technology these days to function throughout the day, dyslexic or not (think calendar apps, smart speakers etc) I would have liked to have seen a more positive stance on the use of technology to support dyslexic challenges.

Concluding thoughts.

The Write Offs from Channel Four is great, in my view. It highlights the extreme end of the spectrum disorder that is called dyslexia and clearly demonstrates what it can be like to be dyslexic and how dyslexia is independent of intelligence. The courage of the participants was touching and I could feel emotions welling up inside. Obviously a TV company is going to tug at the heartstrings to build engagement with their programme, but towards the end of the show, for me, I was focusing more on the courage and determination of the participants rather than their dyslexia. I am totally hooked on this programme and wish that this was more than a two part series as there is so much to explore. You can see the next episode on Channel Four next Tuesday evening or watch both episodes on demand.

Find out more about The Write Offs on Channel Four by clicking here.

October is International Dyslexia Awareness Month.

Equally, the timing of this programme is great as we are getting close to October which is International Dyslexia Awareness Month and here in the UK I am getting behind the Go Red campaign to raise further awareness about dyslexia.

John Hicks is a Cambridge, UK based Parenting and Neurodiversity coach who works with young people, adults and parents to understand and address the emotional needs that arise as a result of experiencing dyslexia. John regularly supports clients with issues surrounding confidence, self-esteem and parenting.

Want to know more? Click the button to contact John.

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