Dyslexia
The Original Whirly
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, UK
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I know someone who's dyslexic who's now working on a PhD! She had problems at school, but with extra help in the early days, learning coping strategies, and lots of determination, she seems to have overcome most of the difficulties.
There are indeed lots of levels of dyslexia, and some people are better at dealing with it than others. You can't generalise. It depends on the individual. The label often doesn't help, because then we start talking about disability and making judgements and completely muddying the waters. I'd say treat this student like any other, giving him extra help with what he finds difficult, and see what happens. The chances are he can read and write to some extent, just not easily. So he can work on the exams, and he might have to work harder than most other people. So what? We all have things we struggle with.
Unless things prove to be more complicated than this I'd leave well alone and not contact any authorities right now.
There are indeed lots of levels of dyslexia, and some people are better at dealing with it than others. You can't generalise. It depends on the individual. The label often doesn't help, because then we start talking about disability and making judgements and completely muddying the waters. I'd say treat this student like any other, giving him extra help with what he finds difficult, and see what happens. The chances are he can read and write to some extent, just not easily. So he can work on the exams, and he might have to work harder than most other people. So what? We all have things we struggle with.
Unless things prove to be more complicated than this I'd leave well alone and not contact any authorities right now.
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Any disability, perceived or actual, with which a prospective pilot is handicapped should surely be a matter for the medical department of the CAA concerned. It should be up to the state to determine whether or not someone is dyslexic-in such a case-and then to set the guidelines under which they might hold a relevant licence or have a restriction put upon it.(Such as 2 crew' - yes, why not, even for a PPL-the man can still enjoy his flying.) So yes, the man can fly with an instructor, trying to learn to fly, but he should go through a filtering process at the time of his Student Pilot Licence medical, before he goes solo.
It is surely not the business of a flying school or an instructor to enter in to this realm other than by making suggestion to prospective pilot that he contact medical section.
Hard as it is sounding..if an illiterate wandered in to your flight school, wanting to learn to fly-you would tell him to go and learn how to read and write and then come back.
It is surely not the business of a flying school or an instructor to enter in to this realm other than by making suggestion to prospective pilot that he contact medical section.
Hard as it is sounding..if an illiterate wandered in to your flight school, wanting to learn to fly-you would tell him to go and learn how to read and write and then come back.
The last time I heard the question asked the answer was a resounding NO on safety grounds.
Any disability, perceived or actual, with which a prospective pilot is handicapped should surely be a matter for the medical department of the CAA concerned.
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Strathaven Airfield
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Leaving aside dyslexia - although I have had a student who is a GP who is dyslexic - does someone really have to be fully literate to be able to fly?
You don't have to be to drive.
Literacy does not mean being able to read Chinese, Greek or Arabic characters!
Some illiterate people can handle road signs, shop names etc but just can't read a book - or possibly an exam question.
To my mind, as long as they know which side of a line feature to fly on: a) the left; b) the right; c) over the top of. then I don't care if they have to be read the question or have someone else write down the answer!
If you know anyone with disabilities, you'll realise there are many many ways of coping.
I'd rather a pilot who phoned the AIS freephone but couldn't read Notams or work the website (can anyone?) than fly with a Professor of English who just never bothered checking anything.
You can listen to an ATIS to get TAFs and METARs rather than reading them - again, why are they still in code? Make life simple and there'd be fewer mistakes.
Many web pages (actually, all, according to law) should be accessible to voice reading to help blind people - but actually good for others with poor reading skills.
And then navigation. An exam where there is no account of GPS or online flight planners: ie doesn't reflect the real world. And don't talk about writing things down to open cockpit flyers! If you have to write it down, it is a bad message! (and once Edinburgh ATC gave me 16 things to read back in one transmission!!!)
So, perhaps if you have literacy troubles you might be limited to microlights, SSEAs and SEPs in day VFR/VMC.
Perhaps you'll choose to have your spouse or clubmember help you with planning.
Perhaps you'll keep away from complex airspace at first.
Perhaps you'll get a radio licence and learn how to use D&D.
Perhaps you'll not become a commercial pilot.
Or perhaps, like that dyslexic Richard Branson, you might end up owning the airline!
You don't have to be to drive.
Literacy does not mean being able to read Chinese, Greek or Arabic characters!
Some illiterate people can handle road signs, shop names etc but just can't read a book - or possibly an exam question.
To my mind, as long as they know which side of a line feature to fly on: a) the left; b) the right; c) over the top of. then I don't care if they have to be read the question or have someone else write down the answer!
If you know anyone with disabilities, you'll realise there are many many ways of coping.
I'd rather a pilot who phoned the AIS freephone but couldn't read Notams or work the website (can anyone?) than fly with a Professor of English who just never bothered checking anything.
You can listen to an ATIS to get TAFs and METARs rather than reading them - again, why are they still in code? Make life simple and there'd be fewer mistakes.
Many web pages (actually, all, according to law) should be accessible to voice reading to help blind people - but actually good for others with poor reading skills.
And then navigation. An exam where there is no account of GPS or online flight planners: ie doesn't reflect the real world. And don't talk about writing things down to open cockpit flyers! If you have to write it down, it is a bad message! (and once Edinburgh ATC gave me 16 things to read back in one transmission!!!)
So, perhaps if you have literacy troubles you might be limited to microlights, SSEAs and SEPs in day VFR/VMC.
Perhaps you'll choose to have your spouse or clubmember help you with planning.
Perhaps you'll keep away from complex airspace at first.
Perhaps you'll get a radio licence and learn how to use D&D.
Perhaps you'll not become a commercial pilot.
Or perhaps, like that dyslexic Richard Branson, you might end up owning the airline!
Join Date: Mar 2002
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This response is applicable regardless of the disability.
The primary question is one of safety. Will the person when qualified be able to operate unaided safely as a Solo Student / PPL in the system?
If the answer is no then the next question has to be - Is there any reasonable thing that can be done which when applied to the case would change the answer to the above question to Yes?
There are many pilots who the initial answer to the first question is no but when either they are required to use a modified aircraft / atrificial limb attachment or in other cases they are limited to flight in dual controlled aircraft with another qualified pilot the answer changes.
My initial thoughts regarding this and similar cases is that the person could have whatever aids they required to demonstrate the required standard. However, what ever aids were required to demonstrate the required standard would then be required at all stages and the licence would be endorsed so that those aids were always required to be used once the PPL had been obtained.
So being more specific, based on the question, this person will need some "aids" to demonstrate the required standards. Is it reasonable that the person could operate "solo" and as a PPL with these aids available and able to provide the required aid at all times?
Is not being able to do MDR / or use a Wizz Wheel a disability and should the CAA permit programmed calculators to be used to overcome such a disability?
Regards,
DFC
The primary question is one of safety. Will the person when qualified be able to operate unaided safely as a Solo Student / PPL in the system?
If the answer is no then the next question has to be - Is there any reasonable thing that can be done which when applied to the case would change the answer to the above question to Yes?
There are many pilots who the initial answer to the first question is no but when either they are required to use a modified aircraft / atrificial limb attachment or in other cases they are limited to flight in dual controlled aircraft with another qualified pilot the answer changes.
My initial thoughts regarding this and similar cases is that the person could have whatever aids they required to demonstrate the required standard. However, what ever aids were required to demonstrate the required standard would then be required at all stages and the licence would be endorsed so that those aids were always required to be used once the PPL had been obtained.
So being more specific, based on the question, this person will need some "aids" to demonstrate the required standards. Is it reasonable that the person could operate "solo" and as a PPL with these aids available and able to provide the required aid at all times?
Is not being able to do MDR / or use a Wizz Wheel a disability and should the CAA permit programmed calculators to be used to overcome such a disability?
Regards,
DFC
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Euroland
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I have been thinking about this question.
In regard to this specific case, I would consider that an application to use something like the Franklin Speaking Wordmaster to assist the person in reading the questions on the exam paper could be permitted by the Authority.
The Franklin Speaking Wordmaster is an electronic device that contains a thesaurus. When the user types in a word this is pronounced by the device and it is displayed on the screen.
The advantage of permitting this when compared to permitting a reader is that following qualification the person can continue to use the device to for example read notams pre-flight etc.
Regards,
DFC
In regard to this specific case, I would consider that an application to use something like the Franklin Speaking Wordmaster to assist the person in reading the questions on the exam paper could be permitted by the Authority.
The Franklin Speaking Wordmaster is an electronic device that contains a thesaurus. When the user types in a word this is pronounced by the device and it is displayed on the screen.
The advantage of permitting this when compared to permitting a reader is that following qualification the person can continue to use the device to for example read notams pre-flight etc.
Regards,
DFC
