The Struggles Of A Dyslexic Student
I am a third-year English university student who has dyslexia.
My dyslexia is something that I very rarely write about, mainly because ironically, it is one of the harder words to spell for those that have it. Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that impacts an individual’s reading, writing and spelling ability and for those affected, it is a hindrance that will last a lifetime. There are numerous myths and misconceptions that dyslexic people cannot read or write at all and that dyslexia is a measure of low intelligence. However, I am here to inform you that dyslexia is not quite so straightforward.
Dyslexia for many evokes a depiction of the class clown sitting at the back misbehaving and disrupting lessons because they lack the intellectual capacity to participate. Yet in most cases, this is not accurate and fails to account for the struggles of more introverted students, like myself, who keep their counsel in an attempt to avoid shining light on their learning difficulty. Although dyslexia has undoubtedly made my life more challenging, it has equally instilled in me a hunger to prove those who told me not to pursue higher education, such as university, wrong. During my years of adolescence, I intended to silently struggle through my school years, however as I grew up and saw my friends leave for university, I wanted nothing more than to join them and with some perseverance and support, I have found myself in a position to obtain an English degree making me a walking, talking contradiction.
I’m perfectly aware that uploading this to an online publishing platform such as Medium, it is unlikely that there will be many individuals with learning difficulties reading this, however I do think it is important to encourage those suffering with dyslexia and similar learning difficulties to seek support and strive to achieve in higher education. The UK’s educational system is transfixed by the traditional methods of teaching, and although reading is an incredibly important skill in improving writing style and spelling, as well as developing one of the most integral life skills, it is slightly naive to assume that all students should be encouraged to learn in the same way by burying their head in a pile of textbooks in preparation for a continuous cycle of examinations.
It can be incredibly difficult at a young age to be open about having a learning difficulty in fear of being labelled as ‘stupid’ or the shame of being the last one to leave the exam hall, as a result of your allocated extra time. However, I know first-hand that speaking up and getting additional support has outweighed the negatives of doing so. However, I still find it staggering that even today, when I tell people I’m dyslexic they are shocked as if to suggest that being dyslexic would change my personality.
Many adults will live their lives blissfully unaware that they have struggled with dyslexia and before being diagnosed, it can be incredibly infuriating to not understand why your brain does not work within the conventional constructs of academia. University has changed my life and although the copious amount of reading has been difficult to manage, the life lessons and experiences have been far more rewarding. It can be an incredibly daunting prospect to be in your teens anxious because you struggle to spell or read and is something that can be intimidating when thinking forward to either further education or the workplace.
Therefore, whether you suffer with dyslexia yourself or know someone who does, encourage them to get the support because once diagnosed, I found myself in a position where I was provided with numerous different strategies to aid me in my studies and although I did not know it at the time, these tools and techniques would help me not only at university but also looking forward into the workplace. Therefore, I can only hope that by sharing something very few people know about me, others will be informed to either get help for themselves or support those who do.
