A Pioneer in Context: T R Miles and the Bangor Dyslexia Unit. (3rd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Evans, R. J. W.
• Is Part Of: Oxford review of education. Volume 46:Number 4(2020)
• Page Start: 439
• Page End: 453
• Publication Date: 2020-07-03
• Subjects: Dyslexia -- history -- Wales -- education -- disability; Education -- Periodicals; 370
• DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2020.1759521
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-4985

Abstract

ABSTRACT: T R ('Tim') Miles (1923–2008) was one of the most important pioneers of dyslexia research and treatment in the UK. He worked with dyslexics from the time of his appointment to a lectureship at Bangor in 1949 and later, with his wife, established the Dyslexia Centre there. Miles' professional role and theoretical contribution are reasonably well documented, not least through his own autobiographical account of them. I aim to reappraise his work in the field, against a wider set of circumstances. Tim was a great all-rounder: a noted sportsman and musician, and a committed Quaker who published books on the philosophy of religion and its experiential claims. Moreover, he operated in a Welsh environment which needs explication, one where bilingualism became increasingly a matter of public debate and contestation: an issue of obvious relevance to the study of dyslexia. Miles, who famously expanded the scope of our understanding and definition of 'dyslexia', himself deserves a broader appreciation.