A few days ago I assessed myself!
Well, not actually myself but it was a 21-year-old who could have been me before I understood I had dyslexia. Her profile and things she found difficult were all so familiar. It was very emotional and made me realise how far I have come.
Let me give you some examples:
- Passed her GCSE’s but flunked her A Levels and didn’t get on the university course she wanted.
- Knows it takes her a while to read so selects books really carefully.
- To understand texts, she reads things 7-10 times.
- Doesn’t have a social life because she is always studying.
- Forgets to turn up to appointments because she gets the date wrong and is then really embarrassed.
- Can’t manage time and generally hands assignments in immediately so she doesn’t miss a deadline.
- Is really conscientious and worries that she has never done enough or should have done more.
- Has never attained an A despite sometimes drafting something 5 times and staying up all night.
- So anxious and in a constant state of fight or flight in case she misunderstands something.
- Too scared to ask for help as she doesn’t want to look stupid.
- Misses busses and trains all the time because she has not read the timetable correctly.
- Dedicated to building a career in the thing she loves and so pushing herself through an academic course. A course where every day she gets criticised and despite the 110% effort only ever scrapes a pass.
- Has learnt that she needs to watch and listen and ask questions because this is how she learns best.
- Has a thirst and a want to learn that is painful to watch because learning is not easy or natural.
- Can never find what she needs quickly – loosing keys and phones and paperwork because she doesn’t have a natural ability to be organised. THIS is the hidden bit of dyslexia. The bit that no one understands!
Dyslexia spills into everything and it doesn’t go away when you finish school. In fact, you are just faced with a whole different range of barriers to climb over. Empathy is possible if you have not experienced something. But understanding because you have lived and breathed it too is a whole other level of support!
As this person told me their story, never have I felt more grateful that I was brave enough to get my diagnosis, and to set up Another Way Round. This person left feeling she was no longer alone, understanding she is in fact not stupid but simply dyslexic, knowing she is clever because her brain had found a way to still achieve despite the barriers she was faced with.
Dyslexia affects at least 1 in 10 people!
Do you want to know more about dyslexia and what it REALLY is? Get in touch via our contact page and don’t forget to read my book.