DETERMINED dad Kevin Macleod appeared on TV last week on a programme that helps individuals with literacy and numeracy problems.
Kevin (28) from Thrashbush in Airdrie was one of six brave people chosen to appear on the STV programme – It’s Never Too Late.
Each week presenter Tam Cowan meets with an individual who has difficulties with reading, writing or counting and spends time with them to see how they cope from day-to-day with things most people take for granted.
Focussing on improving on his reading and spelling, Kevin wants to be able to read his 18-month-old daughter Darci bedtime stories and help her with her home work as she gets older. The doting dad’s task on the programme was to build a dreamcatcher mobile for his daughter with a personal message on it.
His literacy problems started at school when he fell behind with his work after moving from Glasgow to Manchester. His fiancée, Kirsty (23), noticed an advertisement for the programme and decided to put his name forward. When they initially got together as a couple in November 2006 it didn’t take too long before she noticed that her partner had a problem with spelling – a hand-written Christmas card had the letter 'e' erroneously added to the end of some words, while it was missing from the end of other words that should have had it.
Kirsty then started to notice other errors in shopping lists and text messages, with words such as please missing the 'e' at the end.
Kevin said: “Kirsty never told me she had put me forward, I just got up one day and STV were in touch. I met with Heather from the programme and from 50 or 60 people I made it down to the final 10.
“Eventually I got a call saying I was in the final 6.”
It’s estimated that as many as one in five adults living in Scotland has problems, with as many as 800,000 having low skills in one or more of these areas. It’s hoped that the programme will inspire others with similar problems to seek help and change their lives for the better.
Kevin is now receiving one-to-one help from a tutor and has already noticed the benefits, he said: “When the opportunity came along I grabbed it with both hands and it’s been one of the best experiences of my life. The biggest issue for me was my spelling but my handwriting is neater now too.”
Currently working nightshift at ASDA in Coatbridge he is hoping to apply for promotion on the company’s Stepping Stones initiative for employees, he continued: “Before I got help I learned to live with it and avoided things. I had never filled in a form in my life and asked other people to do them for me, making excuses like – your handwriting is neater than mine.”
Presenter Tam Cowan said: “I’m thrilled to present this inspirational new series for STV, which is quite a different project for me.
“I think this programme has been a truly rewarding experience for everyone involved, and hopefully one that will reach out to viewers and encourage them to tackle their own issues”.
It’s Never Too Late is sponsored by the Big Plus, the campaign which promotes the availability of free help for people with literacy and numeracy problems across Scotland. More information on the Big Plus can be found at www.thebigplus.com or (Freephone) 0808 100 1080.
