Dr Ross Cooper is dyslexic and has worked for the last 32 years as a qualified teacher in special schools, further education and as a teacher educator in universities. Prior to this, he gained a Phd from London University’s Institute of Education in the Sociology of Education, exploring how social reproduction is facilitated through teaching and learning processes. For the last 8 years he has been Course Director of the MA in Adult Dyslexia, Diagnosis and Support at London South Bank University.
For the last 15 years he has been developing the Social Model of Disability in relation to dyslexia and neurodiversity, publishing articles in professional journals and a chapter on dyslexia in David Pollak’s book, Neurodiversity in HE (2009). This has culminated in the development of the Bagatelle Model of specific learning differences and the Holist Manifesto, presented at the 1st Disability Identity conference at LSE.
He has developed software that explores cognitive styles and screening for dyslexia. Since 2008, he has been researching and leading the national roll out of SuperReading courses, which double reading effectiveness within 10 weeks. He has provided presentations at conferences in various regions of the UK as well as Tokyo, Vienna and Reggio Emilia. He gave the Annual Disability Lecture at Cambridge University in March 2010.
He has 4 dyslexic/dyspraxic/dyscalculic children who have helped inform his own understanding of neurodiversity. He is Chair of AchieveAbility, a Director of SASC (SpLD Assessment Standards Committee) and Outsider Software Ltd, and, until July 2011, an Assistant Director of LLU+, London Southbank University.