I’ve just been reading a newspaper report on a family that is”riddled with Dyslexia”. As I myself was diagnosed as dyslexic at around the age of 7, I felt a very strong association with the problems that we listed in the report.

Talking about it more on twitter it soon became clear that other people felt that being dyslexic had an affect on their self confidence.

All too often the first sign of the condition is to be told that you are “lazy” or “easily distracted” and of course the world famous “could do better”. These kinds of reports should be screaming alarm bells that there is some kind of struggle going on that needs a little extra care and attention.

Before being diagnosed, I had a reading age of someone two years younger than myself. After diagnoses, some extra tuition from a dyslexia aware teacher and the results were outstanding. My reading age and writing shot ahead. From then on whenever I felt my confidence being tested with things like writing a report, an essay or doing an exam, I always made sure that not only did people know that I was dyslexic but also to remind myself that I was.

By reminding myself that I had an issue with reading and writing, I was allowing myself to be a bit more gentle with my own self criticism. It’s all to easy to remember those harsh words as a kid and begin to wonder, “am I really just lazy or stupid?”.

The fact is that it’s just much harder, so by reminding myself of the problem, I recall some of the tips and tricks that I’ve learnt over the years to just make things a little easier. Suddenly things don’t seem so hard and even become enjoyable!

By accepting your own limitations and working with them rather than fighting against them can make a significant difference to any situation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7882313/Annabel-Heseltine-My-family-is-riddled-with-dyslexia.html