Meseret Kumulchew, Starbucks and Dyslexia Awareness

Today the well known coffee chain, Starbucks lost a court battle against Meseret Kumulchew for discrimination due to dyslexia.
Ms Kumulchew was an employee of the cafe chain and was accused of falsifying documents when in fact she was making errors because of her dyslexia.

It is estimated that one in ten people have dyslexia and yet we still see situations where people with this condition experience at best misunderstanding and at worst discrimination.

So whilst this story doesn't directly relate to children with dyslexia that are studying, it does throw up a question about how well known or how aware people are about dyslexia and as parents what should we do to raise awareness with our schools, colleges, friends and relatives?  It is surely a very important lesson for schools to ensure that future employees of companies are more aware of this condition by bringing strategies into schooling that affect more than just the diagnosed?  Many dyslexic children do not get assessed or diagnosed and are treated as low to average achieving children.

There are some great charities such as the British Dyslexia Association and Dyslexia Action that work tirelessly to raise awareness.

October this year we will experience Dyslexia Awareness Week where there will be events happening across the country to raise awareness of this extremely common condition.

How will you get involved?  We have all got plenty of time to start planning...