Things that have happened to me because of my dyslexia

Lots of things have happened to me because I’m dyslexic, it is one of the key things that has shaped my life and the directions I have taken. Some of these things have been incredibly positive, others have been ‘character building’. I’m trying to blog a little more about it because it’s important to talk and helps build community and understanding. So here is a short list of things that have happened to me because of my dyslexia.

• I failed my AS Psychology with a U.
• I was moved out of my GCSE maths class and told I could spend the time in the art department (I really didn’t mind this one).
• When I was in 6th form I was asked to go into one of my teacher’s year 7 classes. I was asked to spell several words out loud including Leicester and Wales in front of the class. The teacher then turned to them and said ‘don’t worry, you don’t need to be clever to get into this sixth form’.
• A well meaning teacher used to keep me after school to spend time completing spelling books for those aged 5–6 when I was 16.
• I once read out orgasm instead of organism in a biology class in year 8.
• One of my teachers wrote a goodbye message in my school leaving book where he deliberately spelt every word wrong.

• I developed my tenacity and I work really hard. I put in the extra hours it takes for me to do the admin, the reading, the double checking and the planning.
• Reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy with my Dad is still one of my proudest achievements, I imagine it was pretty slow and at times painful for him!
• I worked out creative ways to learn and approach problems. Including making a paper mache brain in my first year of my Psychology degree to help me try and remember the areas of the brain (and how to spell them).
• I am where I am now because I’ve had to take a different approach to work. I’ve concentrated on building relationships, thinking a little outside the box, building creativity into my approaches, and bringing people along for the ride.
• I was elected as the National Union of Students Disabled Students Officer and led the campaign to stop the scrapping of the Disabled Students Allowance in 2014. Working with over 3000 students to share with their MPs in their own words and own ways why this support was so vital to their learning. That year we had the early day motion with the most signatures on it and stopped the removal of the support.
• Curated an exhibition at the People’s History Museum for the 25th Anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act where 500 disabled people were involved in the creation of every aspect of the display — from sewing the hexagon squares in the banner below below to researching; writing poetry to drawing cartoons; photography to story telling.
• Being introduced to disability politics and understanding the systematic oppression of disabled people has shaped my values and work over my career. My work in participatory grantmaking is a direct result of that — ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’.
• I’ve had some of the most reaffirming conversations about my dyslexic with other dyslexics. I’ve developed an understanding of how important it is to talk to people with shared experiences and found a community of people to chat to about something deeply personal, sometimes upsetting and often hilarious.

I can highly advocate for getting yourself a dyslexic Bestie. When I sent this blog to mine she responded with some of her own experiences. I am sharing her responses below:

This made me a little emotional actually, it’s so weird reading something that makes you think ‘yeh that happened to me and I never talk about it and no one really gets it either’.

The knocking of your self confidence around intelligence, based on normative understandings of intelligence is something that takes a LOT of self belief, support and determination to push back on. It takes time and space to build an understanding of your own abilities that doesn’t sit within the dominant ‘intelligence’ framework. The lack of self confidence still raises its head on a weekly basis when there’s ‘quick turnarounds’, no time given to comprehend a big document you’ve just been sent, or you’re asked to remember facts and figures off the top of your head.

Getting a ‘U’ happened to me as well in year 9 — my parents got called into my secondary school and were told I wouldn’t pass my GCSEs. They only bought my parents in because my dad was a teacher, they probably wouldn’t have bothered for other kids. The fact that the school didn’t even question that ONE test that focused on numbers and shapes didn’t dictate how intelligent I am is pretty rubbish. If my parents hadn’t supported me around dyslexia I think I would have failed some of my GCSEs around languages, maths, science etc. There is also a huge class disparity here if you don’t have the time, resources, connections or money to advocate for and bring in extra support.

I would say the most positive thing about my dyslexia is thinking differently and outside of the box. I can easily see the big picture and think ‘strategically’ even though I can’t spell that word! The other positive is building friendships with other dyslexics, and having people who just completely understand. It’s like a special club.