--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're much better at dealing with…" description: "\"We're much better at dealing with dyslexia today than in 50th, but reading difficulties are still a problem in the U.K. I believe there's currently som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maggie-o-farrell-9276_believe_we-re-much-better-at-dealing-with-dyslex_1376010.jpg" --- # We're much better at dealing with dyslexia today than in… ![“We're much better at dealing with dyslexia today than in 50th, but reading difficulties are still a problem in the U.K. I believe there's currently something like eleven thousand functionally illiterate adults in the U.K.” quote by Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maggie-o-farrell-9276_believe_we-re-much-better-at-dealing-with-dyslex_1376010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maggie-o-farrell-9276_believe_we-re-much-better-at-dealing-with-dyslex_1376010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baf/maggie-o-farrell-9276_believe_we-re-much-better-at-dealing-with-dyslex_1376010.jpg) > “We're much better at dealing with dyslexia today than in 50th, but reading difficulties are still a problem in the U.K. I believe there's currently something like eleven thousand functionally illiterate adults in the U.K.” [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despite progress, many adults in the UK still struggle with functional illiteracy, affecting daily life. **In simple terms:** Reading difficulties remain common. Key Takeaway Support adult literacy programs. Themes education literacy social inequality policy Mood concerned determined Type social policy When to use this quote - employment - healthcare access - civic participation - family life Key Concepts functional illiteracy systemic barriers adult learning Questions to Reflect On - How can society better support adult learners? - What policies could reduce functional illiteracy? A Different Perspective Addressing root causes like poor early education is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dyslexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexia/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [Sixty-six percent is the literacy rate in the Arab world. We have 58 million illiterate among adults in our part of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mozah-bint-nasser-al-missned/sixty-six-percent-is-the-literacy-rate-in-the-arab-world-we-have-58/) [Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mozah-bint-nasser-al-missned/) > [The problem is not scientifically illiterate kids; it is scientifically illiterate adults. Kids are born curious about the natural world. They are always turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-problem-is-not-scientifically-illiterate-kids-it-is/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [There is still in many schools complete misapprehension that children with reading difficulties are stupid. It is so easy to teach a child that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-french/there-is-still-in-many-schools-complete-misapprehension-that-children/) [Jackie French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-french/) > [All the time I was plowing through books on dyslexia, I found myself asking: what if, what if? What if you were a kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/all-the-time-i-was-plowing-through-books-on-dyslexia-i-found-myself/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [While I was writing the book, one of my children was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a very tiny word for a wide-ranging neurological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/while-i-was-writing-the-book-one-of-my-children-was-diagnosed-with/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [ Somebody said, 'Hey, there is a lull in your career. Why don't you write books about your \[dyslexia\]?' We are currently writing our 34th… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-winkler/somebody-said-hey-there-is-a-lull-in-your-career-why-don-t-you-write/) [Henry Winkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-winkler/) > [I have made number mistakes - I have such bad number dyslexia that I can look at a number and see the wrong one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-smith/i-have-made-number-mistakes-i-have-such-bad-number-dyslexia-that-i/) [Sherwood Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-smith/) > [“You can't get dyslexia from pussy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/you-can-t-get-dyslexia-from-pussy/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [Hooked on Phonics worked for me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/hooked-on-phonics-worked-for-me/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [I was trouble - and always in trouble. Aged eight I still couldn't read. In fact, I was dyslexic and short-sighted. Despite sitting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-was-trouble-and-always-in-trouble-aged-eight-i-still-couldn-t-read/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Perhaps my early problems with dyslexia made me more intuitive: when someone sends me a written proposal, rather than dwelling on detailed facts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/perhaps-my-early-problems-with-dyslexia-made-me-more-intuitive-when/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [If anybody has walked down the road and someone says turn left and you take a right that's a form of dyslexia. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-boorman/if-anybody-has-walked-down-the-road-and-someone-says-turn-left-and/) [Charley Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-boorman/) > [I want people to know that you can have dyslexia and still reach your goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-ryan/i-want-people-to-know-that-you-can-have-dyslexia-and-still-reach-your/) [Rex Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-ryan/) > [There is a talent in dyslexia - it can help you see things creatively. So I wouldn't change a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-william-middleton/there-is-a-talent-in-dyslexia-it-can-help-you-see-things-creatively/) [James William Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-william-middleton/) > [A lot of people say they are dyslexic; some have to realize that they are just stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/a-lot-of-people-say-they-are-dyslexic-some-have-to-realize-that-they/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) ## More by Maggie O'Farrell > [She wanted to say, no. She wanted to say, I have a son, there is a child, this cannot happen. Because you know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-wanted-to-say-no-she-wanted-to-say-i-have-a-son-there-is-a-child/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Two and a half thousand left-handed people are killed every year using things made for right-handed people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/two-and-a-half-thousand-left-handed-people-are-killed-every-year/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I don't believe in fate. I don't believe in cushioning your insecurities with a system of belief that tells you 'Don't worry. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-i-don-t-believe-in-cushioning-your/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I met a retired police detective. And he said to me that the interesting thing about heatwaves, from a police perspective, is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-met-a-retired-police-detective-and-he-said-to-me-that-the/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [While I was writing the book, one of my children was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a very tiny word for a wide-ranging neurological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/while-i-was-writing-the-book-one-of-my-children-was-diagnosed-with/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [“Why is it that twenty-four hours in the company of your family is capable of reducing you to a teenager?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/why-is-it-that-twenty-four-hours-in-the-company-of-your-family-is/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I think it's dangerous to have lots of time on your hands as a writer. Time to pursue every little alleyway, to follow every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-think-it-s-dangerous-to-have-lots-of-time-on-your-hands-as-a-writer/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I think all families have these secrets, and it's sometimes the strangest things that bring them out. That was part of my interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-think-all-families-have-these-secrets-and-it-s-sometimes-the/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [My husband, William Sutcliffe, the writer, is my first reader and in many ways my most important. That initial reading of the manuscript is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/my-husband-william-sutcliffe-the-writer-is-my-first-reader-and-in/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [She liked the way his smile took a long time to arrive and just as long to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-liked-the-way-his-smile-took-a-long-time-to-arrive-and-just-as/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [“That's because they're of the past. All photos of the past look melancholy and wistful precisely because they capture something that's gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/that-s-because-they-re-of-the-past-all-photos-of-the-past-look/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [We always planned to move back to the Republic but it never happened, I'm not sure why. My dad is one of those immigrants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/we-always-planned-to-move-back-to-the-republic-but-it-never-happened/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I was interested in the ripples of feminism passing through Britain and Ireland in the mid-Seventies - how the reverberations of the feminist political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-was-interested-in-the-ripples-of-feminism-passing-through-britain/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Listen. The trees in this story are stirring, trembling, readjusting themselves. A breeze is coming in gusts off the sea, and it is almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/listen-the-trees-in-this-story-are-stirring-trembling-readjusting/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [In the first night of the Arvon Foundation course, Elspeth Barker said something about the newspaper along the lines of - and I'm paraphrasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/in-the-first-night-of-the-arvon-foundation-course-elspeth-barker-said/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) [Explore all 74 Maggie O'Farrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. 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