All about me - Part 3

After my third session of dyslexia teacher training I could no longer avoid the idea that I was dyslexic. I wasn't because I was uncomfortable with the label, I just didn't want to claim something that wasn't true. However once I accepted it, so many of my experiences at school, university and as a teacher made sense. It was like having all the pieces of a jigsaw and finally realising what picture they make together. Knowing I am dyslexic has been a real eye opener for me and I personally have found it empowering.  Situations that I would avoid or be embarrassed about I am more prepared to work round. I am more accepting of myself and get less frustrated about the things I find difficult.

I give myself more time for written tasks, I know I have to proofread everything thing 2 or 3 times and I am not surprised when I find I have written 'of' instead of 'for' or 'swim' instead of 'swimming' or my favourite  'to' instead of 'the'.  Spell checkers are no help with these sort of mistakes!

I know that if someone gives me directions or a message I have to write it down straight away because I will forget or get confused about the sequence. I carry a notebook everywhere. If I am going somewhere new, printing out a map is essential.  It also means if I do need to ask for directions some one can show me on the map and I don't have to try to process verbal instructions.

I have my mobile number saved in my phone, I can't remember it. The numbers I do remember like pin numbers are because they have a pattern or meaning to them.  I also remember the physical sequence on a key pad but not the digits themselves.

I try to avoid reading aloud as I am not fluent and I stumble over my words.  This is the one thing I haven't really found a solution to.  When I can, I practice reading the text to myself first, but it doesn't really help as the words still come out wrong when I read aloud.  I also find hard to read names or long polysyllabic words. Dinosaurs are a nightmare, luckily children love to tell you what they are and this lets me off the hook.

While I don't tell everyone I meet that I am dyslexic, it is a relief to be able to explain when I am struggling with a situation or task many adults think is very straightforward.