{"id":4036,"date":"2014-11-06T09:14:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T09:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2026-03-30T10:43:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:43:50","slug":"kids-dyslexia-wearing-proudly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/kids-dyslexia-wearing-proudly\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids With Dyslexia Are \u2018Wearing It Proudly\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aussie students set a brave example for their peers by embracing both the good and bad sides of being dyslexic.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"boy-dyslexia-empower\"

Owning dyslexia empowers students, experts say. Photo: Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSometimes being dyslexic makes me feel angry because I feel so dumb,\u201d says Will Mitchell.<\/p>\n

Then nine years old, he is speaking bravely to 49 of his school mates in Lancaster in rural Victoria.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not dumb, my brain just works differently,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Will\u2019s slideshow explains the difficulties of dyslexia, when sometimes instructions get mixed up in his head, words blend together on the page, and math and spelling is tiring. He also celebrates the positives \u2013 his creativity, hobbies, and \u201creally good mates\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"will-mitchell-dyslexia\"

Will Mitchell chose to tell his school about his dyslexia. Photo: Supplied<\/p><\/div>\n

At the end of the school day, Will returns home to tell his mum with a grin: \u201cI think I did a really good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo Mitchell says her son\u2019s presentation a year ago has encouraged other parents and children at the school to acknowledge their dyslexia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone can really move on or get on with their life unless they own it and make the most of it. It\u2019s not a disability. You can look at it as a gift,\u201d Mrs Mitchell says.<\/p>\n

The Australian Dyslexia Association (ADA) says it is heartened by stories of children who publicly own and discuss dyslexia, and hopes others will do the same.<\/p>\n

ADA president Jodi Clements tells The New Daily: \u201cWe want the child to own it. We need the parents to open it up and not hide it under the carpet, which has happened in the past. We want the schools to be open to it so these children can make those presentations in class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Clements is also concerned about the children \u201csuffering in silence\u201d because of a lack of understanding on the part of their parents and teachers.<\/p>\n

Research suggests that children who openly identify as dyslexic and discuss it with their class are able to put in place positive coping strategies. Those whose dyslexia goes undiagnosed or who are not met with the same level of understanding can develop negative strategies, such as becoming the class clown, being very quiet and shy, or avoiding their school work, Ms Clements says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a child\u2019s dyslexia is open and accepted and talked about, those children go on and develop more self-esteem or are able to rebuild broken self-esteem,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

ADA estimates that at least 2.3 million or 10 per cent of Australians have dyslexia, and that as many as one in six students in every classroom are affected by specific learning disorders.<\/p>\n

The Australian Government has a goal to rank in the top five in numeracy and literacy internationally by 2025.<\/p>\n

Defy Dyslexia, an advocacy group, says this goal is unachievable unless the federal and state governments do more to help school children who require special assistance.<\/p>\n

Defy Dyslexia co-founder Tracey Lucock says acceptance is key. Her own son, Bailey, benefited from embracing both the \u201clabel\u201d and the \u201cexplanation\u201d of dyslexia, which helped him make sense of his behaviour at school.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe understood that he wasn\u2019t just dumb, which he had been telling himself when he was struggling and fighting with us at home about homework. We were able to frame it for him,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Last year in grade 3, Bailey chose to make a presentation, not on his favourite sport of rugby or any of his other hobbies, but on dyslexia because he wanted to help his classmates understand.<\/p>\n

Defy Dyslexia has helped to set up The D Club, a group that helps dyslexic children meet each other, engage with mentors and \u201cwear it proudly\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir dyslexia has been all-encompassing, but once they own it they can move on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Dyslexia Awareness Week is in its second year and is held from October 19-25.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aussie students set a brave example for their peers by embracing both the good and bad sides of being dyslexic. \u201cSometimes being dyslexic makes me feel angry because I feel so dumb,\u201d says Will Mitchell. Then nine years old, he is speaking bravely to 49 of his school mates in...
Continue reading...<\/a>","protected":false},"author":266,"featured_media":15662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dyslexia-news-and-research"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/266"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4036"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5946,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4036\/revisions\/5946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}