Hi all

[Greenwell]

I am a 57 year old man , I have been dyslexic all my life just got a diagnosis a few weeks ago not sure how I feel about it. It explains my past work experiences , and life style choices , the biggest relief is that I am not a dumbo , thick or lacking in the ways that people seem to have made me feel . I am looking forward to my future now ,with a greater understanding about my self .

[Kanani]

Well done to you Greenwell!

I was diagnosed at a similar age, and a great weight lifted off my shoulders. At first I was a bit disorientated. I had to take time to step back, reassess how I worked, and why it was ok for me. When I felt comfortable I told my close friends, and it made complete sense to them and it has made our friendships deeper. I told my boss because it helped her understand why I worked differently to others.

If you are like me, I suggest you take your time to let it settle. I got some help with a dyslexia-aware counselor. This was really useful as she helped unpick strategies I had that were not really helpful, and I gained a lot of confidence. It took probably 2 years before I really understood how the dyslexia affected me. Now I can anticipate the difficulties I might have and do something about it before it creates real problems, and relax. Still learning, and it gets better all the time!

Very best wishes.

Kanani

[MagsAbr]

I am a 55 year old female, diagnosed at 16 however back then no one really understood what it meant. I thought it meant i'm bad at spelling and had to learn spelling every night. I was given extra time in my o'levels but that was not very well handled by the school who thought that it would be better for me to start my exam in a separate room and then join with the rest of the class later on. this was extra time to check my spelling - not to do the exam.

it is all very different now, although I do think there is still a lack of understanding.

I have manged to get by all my life, have always accepted those long standing habits that of course I am a bit slow, so I will need to put in extra lime and effort to get things finished. has come to a head in the last few years - partly due to increased awareness of dyslexia and meeting other dyslexic people, but more because of the increased amount of paper work required at work and the tight timescales to do things in. I am always having to finish work at home.

after a considerable amount of nagging from a dyslexic work colleague I have just had an access to work assessment to see what might help me. They have recommended equipment and training which they think could make my work easier. but there have been some really simple changes that I have been able to implement myself. one of them being to change the font - bigger and clearer. I personally like Arial although I know that is not the one usually recommended for dyslexia. I have also set up a template with multicoloured background so I can quickly recognise sections of a document by colour. I am not sure if it is much quicker but it is defiantly easier.

also I am trying to break some of those longstanding habits of disguising my difficulties.

I know it takes me longer to do things, but it is no good rushing to keep up with others because it just leads to mistakes.

my goal for next week will be to use the phrase. (would you mind spelling that I'm dyslexic?) which will save me a lot of time looking up spelling afterwards, especially when I can't quite decipher what I was trying to write/type.

any way my point is small changes can make a big difference - take what advice is available and perhaps consider an access to work assessment if you are having difficulties at work. (if you have been in post more that 6 weeks your employer may have to pay for equipment, but some employers do. mine agreed to.

[Giosang]

Hello! You are going to have a very interesting time learning about what being dyslexic actually is and how it affects you personally, and I welcome you to our world! You are in very good company: dyslexiaonline.com/basics/f... I'm sure you've come across Dyslexia Action and many other sites. Good luck - keep in touch here.

[UaLiathain]

75% of dyslexics don't know it because of al the misconceptions about dyslexia. I was about your age too when I figured out why I was "scatter-brained" and "weird." I was very depressed until I read Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide. It talks about how the dyslexic brain is in fact some ways superior to the normal brain. It also comes in an audio book. If nothing else check out the Dyslexic Advantage channel on YouTube. They have conferences where famous dyslexics come and talk about how dyslexia actually helped them. They have taped their talks.

Also there are no trolls in this chat room that I've found. So you are among friends.