How dyslexia effects me and why Version 1 working with Dyslexia Association Ireland is encouraging.
I have never really accepted I was dyslexic, despite diagnosis until I started working at Version 1. It was just something I dealt with. So, when Version 1 announced they were partnering with Dyslexia Association of Ireland to build SimpliText, a web application designed to simplify complex documents for individuals with learning disabilities. It meant a lot that my employer was embracing difference within its staff.
When I was 18 I was diagnosed with Dyslexia, towards the end of my A-levels. This happened after having struggled with written work for a lot of my education. I was criticized a lot by my teachers and not once did anyone think about Dyslexia. My mum was dyslexic and pushed to get me tested. I was very stubborn at this age and decided that I didn’t need to be treated any differently to others. However recently I have started to listen and understand the ways it affects me.
It is a common mis conception about Dyslexia that it is just words and letters jumping around the page. Whilst this is one potential trait of Dyslexia. It is but one that can manifest. Considering Version 1’s new partnership with Dyslexia Association of Ireland I thought It would be beneficial to share how Dyslexia effects me and shine a light on what dyslexia actually means for me especially in the workplace and how great it is to see my Employer working with Dyslexia Association of Ireland.
One of the areas I struggle with is meetings. Dyselxia isn’t just about reading and writing. It is the way someone processes language. When people are talking my brain is fraction of a second behind everyone else. This means I can be quite in meetings because it Is taking a lot of my brain capacity to keep up with the flow of conversation. One thing that really helps with this is providing pre-reading material to the meeting. If a context is given I will make the effort to read up prior to the meeting.
This got me thinking about information and different ways it can be presented. Speech is the first one that comes to mind. I always wandered how people were quick to react to comments from other people in groups. I realised again It was taking me slightly longer to process the words being said. This manifests more in larger groups as in general 1:1 the other party waits for a response, also I can utilize my tactics of saying my thinking out loud.
Another issue I have is forgetting words for things I know very well. This is great when working in technology where terminology is important to be understood correctly. However it can turn into a fun game of guess what Jonathan is thinking. Another aspect of how this manifest is with names. I can know someone’s name very well but for some reason my brain will just forget and put something else there. I apologize if ever get your name wrong even after having spoken to you for 4 days in a row.
The final manifestation I would like to point out regarding dyslexia is my brain lag, As I like to call it. Often someone will say something and I will respond with: ‘excuse me’, ‘sorry, I didn’t hear that’. But before the other person has responded I have starting replying to the previous statement. I don’t mean to be rude. My brain had just caught up with me.
I have been very negative up until now. But there are many attributes to dyslexia which are a benefit. When I was a kid I liked to take things apart and work out how they worked. I liked the challenge of putting It back together. It is thinking like this that has led me to be working in technology. I am sure most of my audience can understand how this thinking is beneficial within technology. One thing I have recently learnt is that dyslexics thrive in environments that allows simultaneous thinking. Linking ideas that aren’t necessarily connected linearly. So having things broken apart you can see all the links are recreate it.
Another positive I believe manifests itself with me. Is that of how I use my memory. Dyslexics tend to remember stuff in a story format. Having narrative reasoning for why something happened or how a decision is made. Instead of just remembering the raw facts and figures. I often find myself repeating the actions that happened within the work place leading to a decision. As this is how my memory has rembered the ‘why’.
I hope this has shone some light into the mind of a dyslexic. You may have noticed a lot of grammatical and spelling errors in this. But instead of using the spell checker to ensure everything was correct, I opted to leave it in to demonstrate another of the challenges dyslexics deal with.
Version 1 is also donating to help assess people with Dyslexia. This is really encouraging, especially considering my journey. With no teacher ever thinking I was dyslexic. I am sure I am not on the only one who has fallen through the cracks. I believe diagnosis is the first step, but giving people the tools to understand what that means and the tools to overcome the challenges. One of which could well be SimpliText.
About the Author:
Jonathan Weston is a Java Developer at Version 1.
