Neurodiversity Celebration Week
This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024.
I’m always a bit skeptical of themed days or weeks. For example, why do we need to have a dedicated day to tell someone we love them (I’m looking at you valentines…)?
But last year, I tuned into a seminar as part of NCW which, I have to confess, much to my surprise was absolutely brilliant. I was doing a project for my MA about inclusivity in the classroom and, bingo, after a random email from the DFSA (which I never ever read normally), I discovered an online panel discussion on the very topic. I found all the panellists fascinating, drawing on both their expertise and indeed their own experiences. But there was one who stood out to me and has inspired me throughout my work ever since.
Rosie Stone from Dekko Comics shared his amazing story of how after struggling with dyslexia at school, he decided to draw his own comics as a way to help him revise for his exams. He smashed them. He then decided to turn this into a business and help others who struggled. His positivity and creativity to finding a solution to a problem I find so inspiring. I was lucky to then interview Rosie as part of my project and he was overwhelmingly supportive. His “20 minute” interview (which went on way longer than an hour) was filled with advice and I love how he does not see dyslexia as a weakness. This, turning what might be seen as a negative into a positive, is what really runs through my work when working with educators. I see inclusivity as vital but also a natural thing of beauty in design.
This leads me nicely to one of my favourite campaigns which coincided with when I was developing my own “dyslexia friendly” Arabic typeface, Tabseet. Dyslexia Scotland ran a campaign called “There’s Nothing Comic About Dyslexia” which highlighted the importance and even the potential beauty in the typeface Comic Sans. Now, this is not me saying I love Comic Sans. I don’t. But there is a reason it’s used in many classrooms. It works. And it’s accessible. The unique qualities of every glyph make it easier for most children to read - obviously there is not a one size fits all but this typeface does give you a good fitting for most.
“BY SPEAKING OUT THROUGH THE VOICE OF COMIC SANS, A FONT THAT FACED PREJUDICE OF ITS OWN FOR OVER 28 YEARS, WE, AT DYSLEXIA SCOTLAND, AIM TO REMIND EVERYONE OF THE DIRE NEED FOR DESIGN THAT IS MORE INCLUSIVE.”
So this blog post isn’t about telling everyone to use Comic Sans for everything. It’s not at all. But I would encourage you to look at the campaign and see how genuinely they have made it a supercool typeface. And if you’re still dubious that there is a need for “dyslexia friendly” typefaces, I encourage you to look at this project by Daniel Britton…
Neurodiversity Celebration Week runs 18th - 24th March 2024.
