Dyslexia

My journey on discovering I was Dyslexic

and ways in how I overcame this difficulty

During the design and construction of my website I have tried to keep it as dyslexia friendly as possible. I appreicate that a conditon called 'Irlen Syndrome' which commonly, but not always, goes alongside dyslexia can add to the difficulty in reading. Irlen Syndrome is also known as visual stress and can make reading quite difficult, such as if there is a glaringly bright white screen or piece of paper shining back at you. For those who would like a more accurate description of this, its the equivalent of looking at a motorway road sign in the height of summer with the sun shining on the pearlescent reflective background, giving an instant headache or intense pain behind the eyes. Also where possible, I have taken into consideration the font I have used, including the colour of text and size as these can have a negative impact on the reader if it's not right or not adequately suited.

I have taken great consideration in the design and set up of my website so that it is accessible to all. I would say that the USP of my blog compared to others is that not only do I share my recommendations of really good books, but also I want to encourage those who are put off from reading due to experiencing some kind of difficulty. I want to share my passion of reading and writing and would like everyone to also enjoy these too.

My journey of being officially diagnosed as dyslexic wasnt until way into my adulthood, although my parents and I had always suspected it when I was at school. Back in the 80's and 90's the education system wasn't so switched on to what is now referred to as Specific Learning Difficulties, or SpLDs for short.

It was during my first exam at university, in my first year, that I knew something was deeply wrong. I was frantically trying to write as quickly as I could everything that was coming into my head, regurgitating it all over many sheets of A4 paper. And then half way through the exam, I had to write the word 'patent' - a nice and simple word. Nothing too difficult there, spelling okay, except I wrote it as something like this "patenentanenenant", until it covered one complete line right across my page. I sat there for a moment and started to panic, asking myself what the hell had just happened? This then caused a falling domino effect, distracting me so much in the middle of my exam, I couldn't concentrate. I then started panicking, watching each flick of the second hand flicking around the clock, I was losing precious time that I could not get back. The long and short of it is I passed the exam and got a "B", which I was very happy with as I had put so much effort into the preparation, but I was left with an underlying worry that something wasn't right.

My university was amazing. They were very student focused and committed to a postive student experience, as well as being very warming to mature students too. They had a self-referal system so if you suspected you may have a SpLD, you could ask to be assessed. I went along and filled out all the forms and booked my appointment. I went along on 13th February 2013 and I remember it like yesterday. The assessment lasted nearly 3 hours and was completely exhausting, but I have to say, one of the most fun and enjoyable assessments I have ever sat. It transpired that I had lived my life up until that point with both dyslexia and dyscalculia (problems with maths and numbers, which I always knew as I had, as I'd always struggled with maths, unless it was simple equation that a primary school child could do.) My university then went about giving me extra support in all my lectures and exams, of which I will be forever grateful for and was so helpful. This consisted of things such as (because I am an extremely slow writer and with messy writing), I was allowed extra time in exams and access to the use of a computer, so the marker could actually read what it was I was writing/typing. I would personally suggest anyone who suspects that they, or someone they know has a SpLD, to be tested as there is support out there.

I also want to share the things I have learnt along the way which have helped me to not necessarily overcome dyslexia, but how I adapted myself to make reading and writing easer and enjoyable, to the point I have written a book which I am about to pitch to agents, as well as articles for both legal and nursing journals.

I must apologise now, before I forget in case there is anywhere on my site you happen to find a word incorrectly spelt, or a sentence which is not grammatically correct. Dyslexia comes in all shapes and forms and isn't just the cliche of 'words jumping about the page' or 'cannot process the words in the correct order'. For example, my dyslexia is in the form of sequencing, comprehension, understanding and short term memory. Therefore, I can read information twenty plus times and I will think it is saying something completely different. Or my brain won't process things in the correct order. Another example is if someone asks me to immediately repeat something, I will instantly forget what it is they have asked me to say. Also, if someone is telling me something, say if I was in a lecture theatre at university, due to my brain not being able to keep up with the speed of the lecturer, (as another related issue I have is very slow writing). I would miss out key words or facts, (always being the vital elements that I needed to know, which were being taught), so I would then interpret what I was being told completely wrong and would have everything taken out of context. This I have found is such an annoying trait, because this isn't something you can improve on.

My way in how I overcame this, was I would use a dictaphone to record the entire lecture (obviously with the lecturers permission), for me to then go over again in slow time at home and without any distractions. I found that when repeating this lecture, I had scarily missed many, many essential pieces of information. It was as if I had been distracted when writing my notes because how could anyone miss such information? And worse still, I couldn't even recollect hearing huge chunks of the lecture. However, I found that this method of painstakingly repeating every single lecture at home, listening back over what my dictaphone had recorded, not only helped me graduate with a 2:1, but more importantly, helped me to understand the subject matter I was learning and helped facilitate me in completing my homework.

As breifly mentioned above, another element of my dyslexia is noise distraction. Now to someone who doesnt suffer from this condition, if they heard say a song come on the radio when reading, or the low buzz of the TV in the background when looking at a letter, noise wouldn't necessarily be a distraction (unless it was blaring at full volume). For someone like myself, how it affects my condition is that if I was reading and a car alarm went off, or a dog was barking non-stop, or my phone was ringing, I wouldn't be able to then concentrate on what it was I was reading. Even if I stopped until the distraction ceased, my mind would then focus on the distraction previously, like my mind was on a visual and audio loop. And I can say that when studying for my exams at university, this was something I dreaded every summer. Some people find listening to relaxing classical music in the background relaxes them, espeically for when studying or needing to focus on something, however, for me, I might as well be right in the centre of a rave. I need complete silence.

When I became a parent, the last thing I thought would be that my child would also be diagnosed with the same two conditions. However, with me having them I was able to keep a close eye on him. It was the teachers who initially flagged it up, something that I had suspected, but didn't necessarily want to jump straight in with because when children are young, it might not necessarily be dyslexia or dyscalculia, hence why some assessors are reluctant to make a diagnosis at this age; as it may just be part of all children learn at different speeds.

His teachers broached the subject with great compassion and kindess, full of understanding, saying it was becoming more apparant that my son would need to be assessed. This went ahead and the diagnoses were made. My husband said that his whole world had imploded on him, but I had a cheery and upbeat approach. Some may ask why, especially when your child has just been given these diagnoses? Several reasons. Our son has been diagnosed at such a young age, all the neccessary building blocks can be put in place for him to help support him through his education - he wouldn't be left behind, like how I was and experience an uphill struggle all his life, like me. Also, I know what living with these conditions are like, so I will be able to guide our son along his educational journey, suggesting ways of overcoming any potential struggles. Then if or when he struggles with something at school, we will know why. It won't be an unanswered question, that's troubling us all.

What blew me away the most about all of this, was how engaged our son's teachers were, especially to have picked up on this straight away; something I will be forever grateful for as I never had that when a young child at school. I was the child in class always deemed by the teachers as being 'thick' and 'stupid' - whilst they may not have outrightly said or expressed these terms, that's exactly how I felt when I was never chosen to do leading things in class and was always put in the bottom set (our high school deemed your intellectual capability by having sets 1 - 5. Set one for the brightest children and set 5 for those were there was literally no hope.) But this was back in the 80s/90s and schools have come a long way since then.

I'll finish on this note. With my passion for reading, I am a member of many book groups. One day last year, someone just happened to mention that they struggle with reading - this was an adult. Another member suggested a book called "Toe-byToe" written by Keda and Harry Cowling. This book is transformational. I decided to buy this book from my local bookshop "Warwick Books" (their webpage is on my 'Links Page') and began using it with my son earlier on this year to help with his reading. The results was just mind blowing, literally. Toe by Toe is a step by step guide (extremely easy to understand and follow, suitable for anyone), in coaching you how to teach your child to read. This book is also used for adults who English isn't their mother tongue, and for adults who have never been able to read and write. We have been using Toe by Toe every day since lockdown started - my son is only in primary school - his reading is now that of a child in the year above. Upon his return to school last month, once lockdown was lifted, one of his teachers pulled me and his father to one side and said they could not believe the remarkable difference in our sons reading. We were totally blown away.

My inspirational quote is to 'never give up with reading'. I discovered my passion for reading once I had finally found a book I enjoyed. My mantra is 'if I don't like a book - I put it down and pick another one up and read that one instead'. In doing so, I have learnt the different kind of writing styles that are out there, the difference between a good and bad story by the use or overuse of 'show' and 'tell'. There are so many wonderful books out there, so don't be put off if you dont like a particular book you are reading, just simply try another one. Afterall, 'knowledge comes from reading and knowledge is the key to success!'