Talks and Thoughts

Dyslexia Creates

A project I worked on in 2019 was on behalf of one of my clients the British Dyslexia Association called Dyslexia Creates. The event was held at the V&A in London, the speakers were inspirational, but there was a common thought amongst us all that they were talking to the converted and that we have to spread our message wider and to keep challenging the norm.

I shared my timeline on my personal dyslexia journey at the drinks reception afterwards, advocating for change in education and employment.

Age 5: Started Primary School

Throughout primary school, I received extensive support: Giving up my Saturday mornings for tutoring sessions, extra after-school maths, placement in additional support classes, and even one-on-one assistance from additional learning support.

At some point, it was discovered that although I am right-handed, I am left-eye dominant—a characteristic, I was told, that’s common among people with dyslexia. This made me “cross-lateral,” a condition where mixed dominance across sensory inputs, like eye-hand coordination, can impact how the brain processes information.

Cross laterality can create challenges in sensory processing, as the brain has to work harder to integrate information across the body’s midline. For example, reading and writing, which require coordinated eye and hand movement, can feel disjointed, making it harder to focus and process language seamlessly. In my case, they tried to address this by having me wear an eye patch over my left eye to encourage dominance in my right eye, hoping it would improve my sensory processing. Ironically, this intervention didn’t have the intended effect, as my left eye remains dominant to this day, I for one have never really had any issue with eye-hand coordination, I can catch a ball with my left just as easy as I can my right, so if anything, it’s probably a positive.

Age 7 : A Specialist Dyslexia School – Edington & Shapwick – Assessed me.

Throughout this time, I also took countless Schonell Reading tests. These tests are designed to measure a student’s reading age by assessing their ability to recognise and understand words of increasing difficulty. Each test required me to read a series of words aloud, and my performance was used to calculate a reading age, which was compared to my chronological age. While these assessments aimed to track my progress, they often highlighted the persistent gap in my reading abilities. The Schonell tests became a regular part of my routine, with each result used to adjust my learning support, but also as a reminder of the ongoing challenge that dyslexia presented.

My primary school also took part in Richmond Tests, popular in 1980s and 1990s and designed to gauge a child’s reading and comprehension abilities. They often required reading and comprehending a huge passage of text within a set time frame and answers were multiple-choice. But due to the time pressures and my reading ability, the test became more about how quickly I could randomly pick answers and scribble them out, as finishing the test was more important to me then getting it right. I certainly didnt want to be that child who didn’t finish within the allotted time. 

In a KS2 maths question in class, I remember being asked something similar to: A group of friends want to go to a theme park. If there are 4 seats in the car and 7 people, how many trips does it take the driver to take the passengers to their destination ?”  I answered “One,” since some of my friends’ parents had cars like Volvos Estates and LandRover Discovery’s which comprised of having a couple of secret seats in the boot, and a middle seat. This sparked a debate between my teacher and the teaching assistant, who acknowledged that my answer was creative but ultimately was marked it incorrect. But yet another example of dyslexia naturally bringing unique perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking using real world solutions.

I have never been tested for Dyscalculia, ( but it would be later suggested by a Maths Teacher at Edington and Shapwick School) simply down to struggling to grasp basic number concepts, like the size or value of numbers, or understanding how numbers relate to each other. For example, during y2/y3 I struggled to grasp even the simplest of times table, the 10’s. It was only when I made the connection that it was as simple as 1,2,3,4,5, etc down one column and a bunch of 0’s on the other I was then able to see the pattern. I would then be able to learn other times tables by pattern recognition, but I’ve never been able to recite them out loud. 

Frustrated with my challenges, at the age of 10, I was encouraged by my parents to even write a letter to Downing Street, pleading for help with my education. My family received a response, but unfortunately, it was only general advice was given in return. Despite not ever becoming a “Polce lady” I have had the privilege of working within the blue light community  – a Fire & Rescue Service based in the UK.

When SATs came around I received a predictable “underage U” grade. A grade that refers to students who do not meet the minimum required performance standards, often because they are not working at the appropriate level for their age group or key stage.

Richmond tests
Richmond tests

Age 10, I discovered a love for sports, especially badminton. While I’ve faced significant challenges due to my dyslexia academically, it hasn’t stopped me from competing competitively—even representing my county or club in sport.

One of my biggest struggles in badminton has always been keeping score and remembering which side I’m supposed to be on during service. This is down to my short-term memory issues, meaning that I can easily lose track of the score and forget who served last, even if it’s been mentioned to me seconds before.

Before the days of internet banking, I ran into similar challenges with club payments. Whenever I needed to write out a cheque for expenses, I would often get flustered, especially when it had to be done quickly or I was being watched. Dyslexia can make it difficult to process information under pressure, so I would often misspell words or get the numbers in the wrong order—issues that stem from both memory and processing challenges, and potentially Dyscalculia. As a result, I’d usually ask our club treasurer to write out the cheques for me to avoid mistakes. 

Despite these obstacles, my love for sports has kept me motivated and an outlet for me.

Age 12 – Secondary School.

The transition from primary to secondary school can be challenging for any child, but for me it brought a new level of difficulty. In primary school, the structure was simpler, and I was usually with the same teacher and classmates, which helped me feel supported. For example, I can recall a school lunch money situation with one friend who has now become a teacher in her own right, showing me instead of counting I could used shape recognition instead – two heptagon shapes and one large circle, would equate to 50p – this type of supportive interaction stopped as soon as I started secondary school, as come despite being in a tutor group with friends we all went our separate ways come class. 

Suddenly, I had to navigate multiple classrooms, different teachers, and different classmates. I was often put into class’ with really disruptive students away from my peer group. My challenges were often misunderstood by teachers. I’d get asked to leave the class for not paying attention or even causing “disruption” myself leading to frequent detentions.

One particular day it just became all too much for me. I was simply just trying to cope and fit into an unsupportive system set up for neurotypical, academic individuals. So it was no surprised I ended up moving schools for the 4th time by the time I was 13. 

 Edington & Shapwick School.

Despite being half way through year 8 in my previous school, I was so far behind academically, it was thought best that I re-took a year, so that’s what I did. I re-started in yr7, in a new Boarding School 150miles away from my family. One of the biggest benefits was the smaller class sizes, I went from being in a typical class size of  27–30 other students, down to just 5 or 7. This shift was transformative. With fewer students in each class, the teachers could give you the individualised attention needed, adapting lessons to pace and ensuring I personally fully understood the material before moving on. Another difference was that there were very few girls in the school. For a while, I was the only girl in my whole year group, but why? Various studies in psychology and education suggest that Boys are more likely to act out or be disruptive in class, which can draw teachers’ attention to potential learning challenges like dyslexia. Girls, on the other hand, may internalise their struggles or compensate by working harder, which can make their dyslexia less noticeable. This is one of the reasons why women and girls are often overlooked or undiagnosed, or diagnosed later on in life, contributing to the gender disparity in dyslexia diagnosis we know today. By the time I had left the school this number had picked up, there was around 15 girls to 95 boys.

Edington & Shapwick provided education for pupils with specific learning difficulties (SpLD), including dyslexia and dyspraxia. Using methods that played to our strengths, like hands-on activities and multisensory learning, rather than the traditional text-heavy methods that had been so challenging in mainstream school. In smaller groups, I felt more comfortable asking questions without the fear of judgment, and the supportive environment helped me regain my confidence in my abilities.

The school felt like one massive extended family, you were all there because you had similar challenges, but collectively these never stood out as “different” as everyone was the same, and the teachers treated you as such, nothing was “dumbed down” you were never made to feel stupid.

Teachers almost seemed to adopted a peer-to-peer communication style in lessons, an approach that emphasise mutual respect and collaboration, creating a more supportive and empowering environment for learning. I can’t emphasise how important this was when dealing with me and other students who had learning differences and need additional support. 

We had long days, not your usual 9-3pm, my days also now included “prep” a form of supervised homework, and this seemed to work well for all of us. 

What surprised me the most is I did actually quite like learning, as I was learning my way, a way that I could comprehend. 

 Age 16

For one reason or another I had decided I didn’t want to do my final year of school and I wanted to leave in y10. Despite efforts to convince me otherwise from both my parents and teachers’, I felt personally I had caught up enough and wanted to be back within my own age group. So my teachers’ despite not supporting the decision did the very best they could for me and I took 4 GCSE early.

Unlike today, Tony Blair’s Labour Government at the time stated that there was no formal requirement for students to achieve GCSEs in both English and Maths in order to leave school, which was a benefit to me, as it meant I could concentrate on one of the other. The year before, my school made it into the papers for passing 7 students in GSCE Maths 18 months ahead of schedule, so deep down I was probably hoping I would have the same success. 

However, despite my belief in my ability to catch up academically, I failed maths and I didn’t take English!

Collage – Btec Graphic Design Course

I was now faced with my next challenge which was trying to enrol onto a course that required a C or above in Maths or English, and by not having either it was proposed I did Foundation course instead, I thought that was my dreams over. However, an ultimatum was suggest to be allowed on the course I wanted, which was I had to re-take Maths along side Btec course, so thats what I did. 

Initially I went into lunchtime Maths classes provided by the college which was exactly like being in a comprehensive, completely disruptive, I think one lesson, someone had thrown a chair across the room.   I lasted 3 sessions before getting back in touch with the school I had just left and asked for support. 

Working back with Edington & Shapwick school, I studied after college, I resat GCSE Maths medium paper, and eventually passed with a D, as mentioned my course required a C grade and above, but at this stage, I had already completed a year of the course, so it was only really for my own benefit and determination, that just before my 18th Birthday I resat for the 3rd time, but this time it was Maths higher paper and I passed with a C. I’ve got to give thanks to one of the teachers Alf Thompson from the School, who I only paid in home grown tomatoes, and the occasional chicken egg. 

With the GCSE side of things over I could really concentrate on my college design work, but quickly fell into the usual of needing additional support for my written work, essays and my evaluations. Again this support was taken in my own time in order for me to catch up, I reluctantly attended additional support tutoring by the college, the support I had from the college wasnt suitable for me so I tackled things alone. I really can’t emphasize enough on how important “peer-to-peer communication style was for me during this time. During this time, I had also done my 3rd and last Ed Psychologist assessment at aged 17 my reading age was around 12yrs of age and my spelling 9yr.9months

I’ve got to give a special thanks to Anthony Felton and Professor Sarah Clark MA(Ed) for being inspirational tutors, recognising the support required and really unleashing my potential and for baring with me. 

Learning to Drive

Living in a small village I couldn’t wait to drive, and had done some minor driving in fields beforehand and remember feeling driving seemed quite natural to me. My instructor however would call me a parrot, as I would constantly repeat everything he would tell me to do – thinking about this now, I’m sure this would be down to my short term memory and making sure I had understood him correctly.

When it came to taking my test, I was more then ready so I booked my theory and rather upsettingly I failed. It would then transpire to be months before I could officially get behind the wheel of a car.  I rebooked, and admitted I was dyslexic, showed the relevant paper work and was told I could have ‘special accommodations’ (Reasonable Adjustments) which allowed instructions through a headset read to me on the screen. I failed again.

By the 3rd attempt I had instructions through a headset and double time and finally passed.

I passed first time on practical.

I would encourage anyone who is over the age of 17 and dyslexic to not wait, and take their theory as soon as possible. The British Dyslexia Association has further advice on driving. https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/adults/learning-to-drive

University – BA (Hons) Graphic design – Accept Unconditional Offer

I had my sights set on a specific art college, which later gained university status. Attending such a prestigious institution felt like a big deal, especially since I would be the first person from either side of my family to go to university. To prepare, I knew I had to get informed and fully understand what it would entail. One memorable step in this journey was getting reacquainted with the Cornish weather. I drove myself and a good friend of mine down to Cornwall during a thunderstorm to attend their open day and see the end-of-year show for their design course.

I wrote up my personal statement and several iterations later I sent it off along with my application. 

I received an unconditional offer from my first choice of university. I was going back to Cornwall at one of the best universities around and I couldnt of been more happier. 

 

 

Additional support acquired for writen work.

1st year – was suggested I wasn’t going to pass my first year due to not annotating my work enough, parents had to send down previous college work as proof that I was capable of annotating my ideas.

2nd year – Was told I had industry experience (due to my farther being in the design industry) , and so it was surgested my time was better spent catching up on course work (…. then going out and getting a placement. )

3rd year – Got told I wouldn’t survive in the design industry as I couldn’t conform. got given a dissertation tutor who had no patience with me and who was used to dealing with MA students instead. 2 further Additional supports tutors which were paid for privately (one of which was the same teacher from school) for dissertation, plus friends got me over the line. (Thanks Suzi Hull and Jo Westwood !) Was given extra time for my written work (despite being told this wasn’t normal practice) but decided against taking it as it would of taken time off my practical (the bit I was good at) Graduated in a recession…

Age 18 University – BA Graphic design – Accept Unconditional offer

Additional support acquired for writen work.

1st year – was suggested I wasn’t going to pass my first year due to not annotating my work enough, parents had to send down previous college work as proof that I was capable of annotating my ideas.

2nd year – Was told I had industry experience (due to my farther being in the design industry) , and so it was surgested my time was better spent catching up on course work (…. then going out and getting a placement. )

3rd year – Got told I wouldn’t survive in the design industry as I couldn’t conform. got given a dissertation tutor who had no patience with me and who was used to dealing with MA students instead. 2 further Additional supports tutors which were paid for privately (one of which was the same teacher from school) for dissertation, plus friends got me over the line. (Thanks Suzi Hull and Jo Westwood !) Was given extra time for my written work (despite being told this wasn’t normal practice) but decided against taking it as it would of taken time off my practical (the bit I was good at) Graduated in a recession…

Age 21-28 Past Employment x 3 – Told to: Just use a spell check. That apparently I’m putting it on, that I’m not that bad, I’m not any different most of the designer in the industry, proof read this document again, why am I wearing “sunglasses” in doors. being asked dyslexia only effects reading a writing doesn’t?.

Age 28+ – Set up my own company. worked with numerous SME’s and Charities including the British Dyslexia Association. working with the BDA, I created the look and feel for the “Smart Award” which is intended to give organisations keen to make their dyslexic colleagues feel valued and achieve their potential, a pathway that is practical, straightforward and cost effective. I also worked with on an Erasmus Project. “Dyslexia at work” The project aims to increase access to employment for people with dyslexia throughout Europe through shared knowledge, research and good practices at work.

Age 31 Started working alongside Avon Fire & Rescue Service – Couldn’t of asked for a better team around me. Colleagues recognise strengths and bridge gaps where there are potential challenges.

Age 35 + Current employment- Dyslexia friendly ✅

Thanks to everyone who’s been so amazingly brilliant in helping me get through tasks that you find easy. and thanks to the British Dyslexia Association in those initial years to find the right support for me.

*I’ve spell checked this to the best of my ability!

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