11/10/2021
Furacão players entered the field with the names of their shirts written with the letter changed to show what the process of reading a dyslexic is.
This Saturday, October 9th, Havan realized an inclusive campaign on World Dyslexia Day, in partner with Athletico Paranaense and FUNCAP (Fundação Athletico Paranaense). The date is celebrated on October 10th and the retailer chose the match between Athletico and Bahia, at Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba (PR), to alert the public about the learning disorder that affects between 5% and 17% of the population. Dyslexia is the most commom disorder in classrooms.
Among the main symptoms of dyslexia is the difficulty of decoding the written stimulus or the graphic symbol. The brain of a dyslexic person have difficult to order the letters and form words, affecting the reading and the writing. So that’s why Havan, in partnership with Athletico and FUNCAP, changed the letters of the athlete’s names on the game shirts, with the objective of showing the reading is done by a dyslexic, thus evidencing the difficulties of people with the disorder.
All the campaign was kept secret until the game started, aiming for the public to be surprised by the exchanged writing and to question themselves about what was happening. “We wanted the public to put themselves in the shoes of those who have dyslexia and understand a little more about this disorder that affects so many people. Soccer is a national passion and we believe that is an excellent way of awareness. We were very happy with the repercussion and warning about this important matter”, emphasizes the MKT Institutional coordinator, Ana Maria Leal da Veiga.
Havan’s owner, Luciano Hang, is dyslexical and have learned to read only with 12 years old. Not knowing that he had the disorder – in fact, he didn’t even know about the existence of dyslexia -, he had to develop a techqnique for reading and writing on his own. Having lived through these difficulties, he affirms how fundamental information and adequate follow-up are for this and many other disorders. “We need to understand that no one is stupid for not learning with the same technique as everyone else. The human is being of particularities and this details need to be considered. With this action, we wanted to make it clear that a person with dyslexia or some other disorder needs to be welcomed and monitored by trained professionals. As sooner the parents realize these particularities, better the children’s development will be and the lesser the reflexes in their life”, he emphasizes.
More awareness
In parallel with the action performed in the game, a serie of dyslexia awareness videos were released on Havan’s YouTube Channel. According to psychopedagogue, Ana Paula Silva, there will be four videos focusing on addressing symptoms, treatment and demystifying the disorder. “Creativity is a striking trait among dyslexics, parents are advised to encourage the child to draw, paint, play musical instruments and play sports. Stimulation with visual activities is also very important. Dyslexia treatment is a job that requires patience, as it is gradual, but the results soon appear and togheter with family, school and therapies, dyslexics can have a very succesfull school life. That’s why it’s so important to talk about it”, concludes.