Local Association Board Case Studies
Contents
Lyn Brown – North East Representative
Tell us a bit about yourself – whereabouts are you from, what kind of job do you do?
Very much still a scouser still living in Newcastle after arriving to do a drama degree at Northumbria University. I am currently chairing The Trustees at Dyslexia Northeast. SEND and equality have become my specialist subject.
What’s your personal connection to dyslexia?
Twelve years ago, I was taking our four-year-old to specialist speech and language sessions. Our 8-year-old had been recently diagnosed as dyslexic and we were aware our youngest, a 2-year-old, was struggling to make phonetic connections.
The surprising bit was finding out I was; I had first heard of dyslexia 19 years earlier, at that time 50% of my life, for those 19 years I had a passing interest in finding out about dyslexia, I had taught dyslexics and tried to advocate for them. Yet I didn’t understand I was. I’ve learnt since it’s not an unusual story for somebody who went to school in the 70’s and 80’s.
How did you get involved with the Local Association Board?
Kath Lawson representing North Yorkshire and The Northeast had called not long after I became chair of trustees to update about news from the Local Association Board. She was knowledgeable and friendly, and asked if I would be interested in being a rep. We are the only affiliated group in the Northeast and as meetings are held virtually it made perfect sense.
What does your work with the Local Association Board involve?
Mainly I’ve spent a year finding connections to the many areas of work covered by the British Dyslexia Association. It’s both reassuring and alarming dyslexics across England and Wales are experiencing similar highs and lows. I bring news of The Northeast and we are in a much better position to promote campaigns of British Dyslexia Association and other dyslexic advocates.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of the Local Association Board?
The kindness of reps willing to share expertise in hope of better futures. You can’t make change alone.
Anything else you’d like to tell us about your Local Association Board experience?
More a request and a reason why you should join in particularly if you are from The Northeast. Right now, it matters about talking about failure; sometimes when asked I tell people my talent is not minding getting it wrong. Some misunderstand this as low self-esteem, when the reality is I’ve never worried about being me.
Twelve years ago, when I realised it had taken me 19 years to find out I was dyslexic, it was a hopeful time. The Rose review was about to be published, I knew then and still do, inclusive education and inclusive society was the future, but it wasn’t everywhere. Dyslexics are easy to include as we are everywhere; we only need reasonable adjustments. I knew it might not be an overnight change, but I had to try.
I see it as a failure of the last 12 years that expertise and understanding can grow so much, I’ve learnt so much, yet my own children’s school is not able to support well. Most dyslexics still leave school without an assessment. Your employer may pay for an assessment, but if you are unemployed without the means to pay there is no easy route to diagnosis or support.
It will need more than me to represent The Northeast, more than the Northeast. It is about what you can do at your workplace, or community in the future. You will be able to access fantastic expertise, meet friendly people, with ideas to change.