BBC Documentaries

Farther and Sun: A Dyslexic Road Trip (2018x231)

: 30, 2018

Could dyslexia be a gift? Or can it only ever be a disability? Documentary maker Richard Macer sets off on a road trip with his dyslexic son Arthur to find the answer. En route, they meet Richard Branson and Eddie Izzard, and many other successful dyslexic people. Dyslexia is a difficulty with reading and writing that affects one in ten people. It causes misery to many schoolchildren, and it can lead to greater problems later in life. Fifty per cent of prisoners are thought to be dyslexic, but at the same time, many successful people are also dyslexic, and businesses like Google, Nasa and GCHQ see the benefit in a neuro-diverse workforce. Richard and Arthur are looking for an answer to this conundrum and interview academics, scientists and designers. But there is a personal narrative too. Richard struggled at school just like his son, and now 40 years on, he is assessed for dyslexia. Will the result give him closure on a lifetime of feeling different? And if he is dyslexic, does that mean his son has inherited a gift or a curse?