Tori Hannah Walker

The basic idea:

I intend to create a piece of work using eye recognition software to emulate the reading difficulties of dyslexics. I will in this piece of work be focusing mainly on dyslexia and the relationship dyslexics have with the written word, the work is an exploration in perception. It will aim to give insight in to the disconnection between the form of written language and the shapes perceived. The work will also explore the diverse way stories can be misread and the heightened imagination some dyslexics possess.

 

 

Dyslexia is not seen as a disability but as a learning difficulty and a cry of the lazy and uneducatable. The specific term learning difficulty leads to assumptions that it only effects sufferers when they are in education, and that it isn’t an all day everyday condition. These, among others are reason for employers to ignore the equal opportunities sign on their door, citing that the job states a good written communication(even for design jobs). Dyslexia is not seen by employers as part of the equality act of 2010 and I have been turned down by numerous jobs because of this, yet it is a beneficial ability for design and marketing jobs, being able to see things in an extremely different light.

 

 

(the specific parts of the equality act of 2010 pertaining to dyslexia: A disabled person is defined as having "a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities." Substantial is defined as ‘more than trivial’.

 

 

 

Disability has a broad meaning. It is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability tocarry out normal day-to-day activities.‘Substantial’ means more than minor or trivial. ‘Impairment’ covers, for example, long-term medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes, and fluctuating or progressive conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or motor neurone disease. A mental impairment includes mental health conditions (such as bipolar disorder or depression), learning difficulties (such as dyslexia) and learning disabilities (such as autism and Down’s syndrome).)The issue I have with this wording dictates that I need someone to stamp substantial dyslexia on a form, or question whether because I am a high functioning high IQ dyslexic, I should be allowed in a category with those who struggle with more serious issues such as breathing.I intend it to Challenge the cultural perception of dyslexia as a disadvantage and I aspire to further the view of dyslexia as a different form of perception, almost a world of surreptitious understanding.