Dyslexia Awareness Week 2024

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2024 (DAW24) will take place from 7 – 13 October inclusive. This year’s theme is “What’s Your Story?”

DAW24 has three key messages:

Every story is different – showcasing the diversity of the dyslexic community and highlighting that everyone’s experience of dyslexia is unique. 10% of the population are dyslexic – that’s over 6.7 million stories to tell.

A strong opening sets the scene – raising awareness of the importance of early identification and intervention to ensure that every person with dyslexia can flourish.

It’s never too late to change your story – highlighting how the BDA can provide support and signposting to help dyslexic people begin a new chapter.

Our students have been sharing their own stories with us

Jamie’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed?
• I was diagnosed while College I was advised to take the test so that I could get extra funding to help with the university at the time.
• How did you feel?
• I was aware that I had some form of disability as I struggled at school so I kind of knew all the time that I was dyslexic.

There’s always a middle to a story.

• Whilst at University how has your Dyslexia impacted you and how have you overcome these challenges?
• One of the scariest things going to university is the work, which can be daunting. However, I found with help via programs such as Read and Write and Grammarly and the support of the support team.
• I found by tackling the assignment a little each week I was able to cope with the body of written work and achieved a 1st Class Honours Degree.

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• Please don't be afraid to get tested because once you have the results adjustments can be put in place for you. For example, extensions on assignments and specialist equipment such as computer software and readers as well as the supportive team at Teesside University.
• Lastly, I wish you well the best of luck in whatever journey you take and know that being dyslexic is not a barrier to achieve your dreams.

Ami’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed?, How did you feel?
• I wasn’t diagnosed with Dyslexia until I was 35 years old, initially feelings were how on earth have I gone through most of my working life, and no one has picked this up. I felt alone let down by previous educators I had been with from being a child right through until came to study and work at Teesside. I always felt certain things took me longer to understand and process information, however I just came to accept this was me, but I never linked it to the possibility of having dyslexia. I now know that this is quite common for people who aren’t diagnosed, I have created strategies in my mind to cope with areas I struggled with. I had all these worries like will I be able to do my job, how will this affect my career, how will people now view me as a person and my credibility as a lecturer.

There’s always a middle to a story.

• From a work perspective it still takes me longer to complete my academic work, however I have accessed so much support from my dyslexia specialist tutor I feel like I am not alone anymore and having someone who understands dyslexia and how that affects me, the experience I get is individualised to me. I always try to have a positive mindset, and instead of all the negative thoughts I had initially I decided to not let dyslexia control me but I learned to manage

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• I feel that my dyslexia strengths allow me to be more empathetic and think about things in a different way. I would suggest that anyone going through the same situation would write down some symptoms that they have and get tested as it is always worth doing, to give you peace of mind and to help you on your academic journey and in life in general to understand how your brain works and ways that you can get around these challenges, as it is possible to do so.

Liam’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed? How did you feel?
• I felt validated. My whole life I tried to hide the fact that my spelling was bad, by selecting words that were easier to spell, this often made my writing make less sense or seem unnecessarily long at times. I was also shocked to find out that dyslexia is multi-faceted, not only affecting things such as spelling but that it also could affect how I processed data, or even the fact that I have always struggled to understand people with accents. Overall, getting diagnosed allow me to be kinder to myself in situations where dyslexia affected me.

There’s always a middle to a story.

• Whilst at University how has your Dyslexia impacted you and how have you overcome these challenges?
• I struggle to hear in crowded areas, I found out this was also because of my specific learning difficulty/dyslexia, this impacted me when I was on placement as it would always be in a loud room. The university supported me by giving me a quite area where I could work, without making me feel separated from my peers. I have also struggled understanding some lecturers that have had strong accents, I have found that communicating with friends and asking them to help me in these situations has really helped. At first I was worried that they would think I was being rude about the lecturers, but after explaining my situation they were really understanding and made me feel okay about it.

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• I always find creative ways to combat my shortcomings. I think people with dyslexia are often like this. Because they are not always able to do things the same way as everyone else, they often find a way that works better for them. This is something that they may not have done if it were not for their dyslexia. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not capable, always be ready to show someone that just because you may not be able to show your intelligence in the standard/accepted ways, that does not mean you are not just as smart or even smarter than everyone else. Always ask for help if you need it, and always offer help when your outside the box thinking can make their lives as amazing as yours. .

Jonathan’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed? How did you feel?
• In my 30s on an access course with a lecturer who noticed I used coping strategies and safety behaviours to manage my inability to read and put sentences together, and I was always repeating myself. I was masking to cover being seen as dyslexic. I’ll never forget that day as it was a blessing; the lecturer’s wife assessed people for dyslexia, and she assessed me. That’s when my life changed completely, hence the reason why I’m here. I’ve gone from an access course to doing a degree, two master’s and now a doctorate. I started academia late, in my late 30s and that diagnosis had a massive impact on me.

There’s always a middle to a story.

• Whilst at University how has your Dyslexia impacted you and how have you overcome these challenges?
• It slows me down a lot and I struggle to focus and concentrate. I struggle to write essays as I repeat myself and it’s frustrating and promotes anxiety. If I struggle in a lecture, I use coping strategies to calm down. Recording lectures helped me, speaking to lecturers and telling them I’m dyslexic worked for me. Having access to a tutor like yourself has helped with the formation of my work. You put me at my ease, you do your job very well, and it’s been a pleasure working with you. Having coping strategies, for example, walking/stroking my dog, calms me down and taking regular short breaks away from my work. I like listening to Adele in the background as a distraction as it helps my brain process information and write my essays as well as thinking about other tasks I must do.

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• It’s made me more self-aware of it being okay to struggle and I can go at my own speed to slow things down and process information. I have a disability, and I need to slow down, even if it frustrates other people, as I’m processing. It got me to a point where I can share that I’m dyslexic and I told my best mate, and he didn’t believe me because I manage it well, but I now have the confidence and am able to tell people. Show off that you’ve got dyslexia. My friend’s son was struggling with dyslexia, and I told him I feel like a superhero and that I can do anything I want with my dyslexia if I tell people I have dyslexia. It’s not my fault, I’m the most important person. Tell people that you have dyslexia, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, the more you talk about it the more help you’ll find, the more you acknowledge and face it, the easier it becomes.

Mary’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed?, How did you feel?
• I struggled during school and college feeling very overwhelmed and stressed when doing assessments and studying and I did not know why I struggled so much as my friends didn't seem to. I was passing my subjects so my parents just thought that I was being hard on myself but I knew that the way that I was struggling was not just me being hard on myself, I just didn't know what it was.

There’s always a middle to a story.

• Going to university at 24 opened up an opportunity for me to get tested and more information was available to me than ever before, when I did my access course I explained my struggles and they suggested to look into it more at university as the facilities would be a lot better, so I did.
  Upon getting my diagnosis I felt that everything made more sense and I now understood why I struggled so much in the past and I felt a sense of relief that there was actually a reason that studying was so difficult for me. I was excited to try new techniques and ways to help reduce my stress and make studying become a less stressful experience.
  Whilst at university it has been difficult listening to lectures, reading journals and writing essays as my processing speed is slow. Being able to record lectures has helped me as I can go back over them as taking notes in person was almost impossible for me due to my processing. Writing essays and reading journals is still difficult however lea

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• I feel that my dyslexia strengths allow me to be more empathetic and think about things in a different way. I would suggest that anyone going through the same situation would write down some symptoms that they have and get tested as it is always worth doing, to give you peace of mind and to help you on your academic journey and in life in general to understand how your brain works and ways that you can get around these challenges, as it is possible to do so.

Sarah’s story
Stories always have a beginning….

• When were you diagnosed?, How did you feel?
• I officially found out I was dyslexic when I was 26 after a couple of months starting my undergraduate course after one of my lecturers suggested I get tested having picked up some nuances in my writing. As a child I remember I had extra lessons to help with my reading and writing, but I was never tested for dyslexia as I was not struggling with schoolwork (I was in the top set) and I was a girl. But, looking back I hated school as it was really hard work and at the time going to university seemed to be an extension of the battle that I didn’t want fight anymore. So, the signs were always there, but I learnt tricks and coping mechanisms that I was unaware of to get by.
  Not being diagnosed at an early age meant that when I was assessed at university, it had a profound impact on me as suddenly after 26 years I was ‘labelled’ as disabled. I also found the assessment process really hard, and I did breakdown a few times doing it, as all my tricks and coping mechanisms were stripped away, and I felt very exposed and vulnerable. It took a bit of time for me to come to terms that I was now ‘disabled’ and that everything I had done up to that point, which was a struggle, didn’t need to have been so hard and I could have been supported up to this point of my life. In a way it was a period of grief and trying to redefine my identity. .

There’s always a middle to a story.

• At university my dyslexia (and dyspraxia) impacted me in multiple ways. Assignments were always an area that required a strategic approach and detailed planning. It is important to note that every dyslexic approaches university work differently, for me I preferred exams and essays for assignments as I could manage the output process much more easily than if it was a group presentation (as I could control the variables). As a result of this, in group presentations I often took a leadership role (I am very aware that this is an unusual approach, but this aligned with my previous career). I tried to be open with the people I was working with of my diagnosis and explaining how I work best which would be beneficial to the mutual outcome. Also, I wasn’t shy to ask a lecturer for the slides before a lecture so I could write notes on the printouts. Additionally, to prepare for assignments I worked through my planning strategies with my specialist study skills and strategy tutor, developing a timetable to achieve deadlines and not leave it all to the last minute. I also learnt how to proofread and to identify trends in my writing (I love to get fixated with a word/phrase/writing style).
  One of the biggest challenges I faced was with the volume of reading. For me reading on a screen is really challenging and I do not get on with reading eBooks, I prefer print. A physical item allows me to easily re-read, jot notes down and doesn’t tire my eyes out more than they are already. Printing out my own work helps me to detach from the work and read it as should be written and not how I think it should be. And this is a technique that I still use today.

Continuing your story

• What do you feel are your Dyslexia strengths? What would you say to someone else to inspire their Dyslexia journey?
• I think that my dyslexic strengths are that I look at situations, opportunities and problems from a different angle and often can find a solution that others may not have considered. I think my dyslexia provides me with resilience and determination that others may not have as they have not been disabled by society.
  I would say to anyone with dyslexia, own it, embrace it, and use it to your advantage. You can do anything (I have a PhD in social sciences and had to write over 85,000 words in my thesis, if I can do it so can you!). .

These are just a few of the personal stories our students have shared with us.

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