By Margo Fourman
Table of Contents
What is Dyslexia
The British Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as a “learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling”.
Is that really what matters? Living with dyslexia is a lot more than that.
Is that really what matters? Living with dyslexia is a lot more than that.
By Margo Fourman
Table of Contents
Life can be a roller coaster ride
If you’re dyslexic, life can be a roller coaster ride…
Sometimes you feel ‘top of the world’ because you’re dyslexic, proud and fearless.
You can solve problems others miss.
You can find quicker, easier, better ways of doing things.
You see connections others don’t.
Sometimes you feel ‘top of the world’ because you’re dyslexic, proud and fearless.
You can solve problems others miss.
You can find quicker, easier, better ways of doing things.
You see connections others don’t.
But then there are the times…
For me it is the moments when I forgot something that I should have remembered.
I forgot something that everyone else on the planet would have remembered, but not me.
The moments when I know I put something somewhere safe, but I have no idea where.
The helpful tips that work for others just don’t seem to cut it.. Leave yourself a note… Tie a knot in your hanky, make a list…
Those are the moments when, if I’m honest, I wish I had a different brain.
For a fleeting moment, I wish I wasn’t dyslexic.
Then I remember, dyslexia is one of the very best bits of who I am. What I want to get over is those irritations and challenges that other people think should be easy and automatic.
For me it is the moments when I forgot something that I should have remembered.
I forgot something that everyone else on the planet would have remembered, but not me.
The moments when I know I put something somewhere safe, but I have no idea where.
The helpful tips that work for others just don’t seem to cut it.. Leave yourself a note… Tie a knot in your hanky, make a list…
Those are the moments when, if I’m honest, I wish I had a different brain.
For a fleeting moment, I wish I wasn’t dyslexic.
Then I remember, dyslexia is one of the very best bits of who I am. What I want to get over is those irritations and challenges that other people think should be easy and automatic.
What gets in your way?
Are those challenges an unavoidable part of dyslexia or are they something that can change?
Because guess what?
Every dyslexic experiences slightly different challenges.
There are some common experiences, like losing things, forgetting things, missing things, not noticing things.
But we are all very different. More different from each other than from the normal population.
So is it dyslexia that we want to get over?
Or is it the specific challenges that our dyslexia, our personal dyslexia, leaves for us?
If you are dyslexic you will always be dyslexic but those challenges are not an inevitable part of being dyslexic. Not all dyslexics experience them and they can be modified.
It is important to identify and understand what exactly is getting in the way because it’s not just dyslexia.
if you’re not seeing the words right, Is it your eyes, not your dyslexia?
if you’re not hearing the instructions, is it your ears, not just your dyslexia?
If you’re not taking in what people are saying to you, is your brain taking longer to process those sounds into words?
Even that can change with the right input.
Because guess what?
Every dyslexic experiences slightly different challenges.
There are some common experiences, like losing things, forgetting things, missing things, not noticing things.
But we are all very different. More different from each other than from the normal population.
So is it dyslexia that we want to get over?
Or is it the specific challenges that our dyslexia, our personal dyslexia, leaves for us?
If you are dyslexic you will always be dyslexic but those challenges are not an inevitable part of being dyslexic. Not all dyslexics experience them and they can be modified.
It is important to identify and understand what exactly is getting in the way because it’s not just dyslexia.
if you’re not seeing the words right, Is it your eyes, not your dyslexia?
if you’re not hearing the instructions, is it your ears, not just your dyslexia?
If you’re not taking in what people are saying to you, is your brain taking longer to process those sounds into words?
Even that can change with the right input.
