Duane Hicks
Flint House here is turning on red lights this Monday (Oct. 22) as part of “Mark it Read” for dyslexia–a national campaign designed to raise awareness and support for the 10-20 percent of Canadian children living with the condition.
The Scott Street restaurant will light up from closing time on Saturday (because it’s not open Sunday) through to Monday, when Flint House will donate all proceeds from all of its sales to Dyslexia Canada, noted owner Duane Cridland, who is good friends with Stuart Bruce, a member of the board of directors of Dyslexia Canada.
Buildings and monuments across Canada–from the Olympic Stadium in Montreal to the Calgary Tower–are being lit red throughout October, which is International Dyslexia Awareness Month.
The slogan “Mark it Read” is a play on a few things.
First, it refers to the difficulty that language can cause for some people with dyslexia. Secondly, it refers to the progression that children who are identified with dyslexia early and provided proper support can see.
They go from seeing papers marked with red to papers marked correctly.
It also is the accomplishment of a child actually being able to say “I read that.”
“For school-aged children that are struggling with this often-hereditary disability, the teacher’s red pen striking through their assignments is a reminder of their inability to keep up with their peers,” said Keith Gray, chair of Dyslexia Canada.
“Our goal with the ‘Mark it Read’ campaign is to support these children and drive positive change in the classroom that will help level the playing field for children with dyslexia,” he added.
Cridland said he’s keenly interested in dyslexia, and over the past few months has been surprised to learn how many families and individuals have found out they have been affected by dyslexia.
“I believe there’s too many stories of kids left behind in classrooms because they’re just not hard-wired to learn the way ‘ordinary’ kids do in a classroom,” he remarked.
“I think it’s a real issue,” he added. “Other parts of the world have looked at it in different ways. All we’re trying to do is raise some awareness.”
Cridland said he comes to the subject of dyslexia from a biased point of view, admitting he struggled throughout school and was happy to graduate in Grade 12 and “never go near school again.”
“I would be very careful to say that over the next period of time I am going to find out if I have dyslexia,” he noted.
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading and writing, according to Dyslexia Canada.
People with dyslexia have trouble reading accurately and fluently, and also may have trouble with spelling and writing.
Dyslexia Canada is on a mission to establish legislation in each Canadian province to identity children early and ensure mandatory remediation in schools.
Early identification is key to supporting children with dyslexia and is why Dyslexia Canada is advocating for mandatory screening for every child by Grade 1.
Children at risk for reading failure can be reliably identified even before kindergarten.
Struggling readers who do not receive early intervention tend to fall further behind their peers and have heightened chances of suffering from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
As well, many will not complete school.
The public is urged to take part in the “Mark It Read” campaign by sharing their dyslexia stories on Facebook or Twitter and using the hashtag #markitread.
Likewise, local businesses can light their windows and doors red for one day or otherwise support the campaign.
For more information on “Mark it Read,” visit www.dyslexiacanada.org/mark-it-read
“If anyone wants to get involved, that would be fantastic,” Cridland enthused.
