Is there any help out there for an adult with moderate dyslexia, who finds social situation and work situations very difficult?

[helsbels1969]

I am not in reciept of any benefits as I have been told my partner and I have enough to live, my partner works part-time and only brings home just over £600 a month, (thats £150 a week to live on), I am struggling to find work myself, I feel I am slumping into a deep depression. Friends and others do not seem to understand how difficult it is for me, I don't always understand conversations or other verbal instructions. How would I cope in a work situation? I can't seem to get any help anywhere, and its driving me mad. Please help if you can, before I really do go mad

I don't struggle with dat to day things at home, but when I go out on my own I find it very difficult, I just want to shy away from everyone.

I am at a lose of what else i can do, especially as people are not listening to me!

[Jayne1972]

There is an adult support group for adults with dyslexia where I live. it may be worth seeing if there is one in your area. its good to meet others wirth similar difficulties and u can learn how others use strategies to help them.

[helsbels1969 in reply to Jayne1972]

Thank you Jayne I will look into this.

[RATTER15]

I know exactly how you feel, I have the same problems, I am however lucky enough to be working in a job I love. (looking after people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour) I really hope you get the help and advice you need.

[helsbels1969 in reply to RATTER15]

Thank you for the reply.

Please tell me how you got into this job? This is the sort of job I would like to do, but Im not sure how to go about it.

[mathewlisett]

Theres 2 things here.

1. you have stated somethign of which i believe you are currently suffering with which may actually be more to do with it than dyslexia.

DEPRESSION.

many elements of depression can seem like dyslexia, some of which you have stated, ive been dealing with depression on off severly to manic for over a decade. but i was also diagnosed with severe dyslexia as a kid.

with some elements of depression, the brain tends to switch off and also not be able to process information , makes you feel tired, negative, fatigued for no reason, you cant read or write or even type properly. vision slightly goes or the words audiably and visioally make not be understood. all are signs of depression but also dyslexia for those that dont understand it or whats going on and also those that dont have the professional hgelp around to guide you.

my advice would be to seek help from the doctor first before seeking help for dyslexia.

2. and this bit is to do with how much you live on, this is friendly advice from a person who sorted out their bills to a point we wnt from spending over £50 a week on elec, to just £15

if you would like some free advice that will likely not involve forms etc, give me a shout.

[unio06 in reply to mathewlisett]

I am pretty good at things like that but I would like advice incase I can do better or even see if I can do things differently xx

[mathewlisett in reply to unio06]

help in which area, as you are not clear

[unio06 in reply to mathewlisett]

2 part of your comments above. Advice on how you got your electrical cost down and other ways to deal with bills and what other advice you can give and avoiding paper work as much as possible xx

[mathewlisett in reply to unio06]

get in touch mathewlisett @ yahoo.co.uk

[unio06 in reply to mathewlisett]

Thankyou x

[helsbels1969 in reply to mathewlisett]

Thank you for your reply. I agree I am also suffering with depression, I seem locked inside myself and I dont knoe what way to turn.

If it is ok I would like to email you for some advice.

Thank you so much for answering my question

[mathewlisett in reply to helsbels1969]

Not heard from you at all since your last email (and my further emails to you to see how you are), nearly been a month

[spellbound in reply to helsbels1969]

hi, just wanted to add to this. i have also suffered with depression and anixty i am now having therapy. many people with dyslexia do have depression. have a look at this website beingdyslexic.co.uk its amazing a bit like facebook just for us special people it really helped me. you can also get advice on there from professionals

[unio06]

I am attending a dyslexia and dispraxia course in serbiton. It's a woman only college it's called hillcroft. People from all over come. Mabel you could det advice from them if it's to far xx

[helsbels1969 in reply to unio06]

Thank you I am looking into this now!

[Dyslexichick]

I have similar problems and am also currently looking for work. I've also had an ongoing problem with anxiety, esp. not thinking I was good enough to do things. Do you think you could do some voluntary work to get you back into the swing of things? I volunteer at a charity shop and a primary school and its really helped my confidence. I would maybe visit your GP if you feel you are suffering from depression, I went and was given Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which really helped.

Good luck with everything.

[helsbels1969 in reply to Dyslexichick]

Thank you for answering.

I never thought of doing volunteer work, I will seek into it, thanks.

I am waiting for therapy for my depression.

[Kate_DA]

Hi helsbels1969

I am really sorry to hear you are feeling so down, there is some good advice above so hopefully some of that may help. Please do contact your local dyslexia action centre as they may be able to point you in the direction of a local support group, or even just arrange to go in for a chat with someone there dyslexiaaction.org.uk/Page/...

I think the secret to finding work that you are good at is playing to your strengths (which you DO have, you just may need help figuring out where these lie), like Ratter15 has done. Good luck!!

[helsbels1969 in reply to Kate_DA]

Thank you Kate, sometimes I just need a shove in the right direction

This has helped and all of the above answers, I didnt realise how many nice, genuine, kind people there are out there.

Will I be able to talk to someone at a local dyslexia action? I have moderate dyslexia, I am fine with my reading and writing, as I have been to college and uni, but I do suffer with anxiety due to my dyslexia, as I find new social situation very difficult. I do not always understand someones conversation, or the words they speak.

Is my dyslexia serve enough?

[mathewlisett in reply to helsbels1969]

I doubt unless they hold a profession and are able to diagnose dyslexia itself, are even able to state wither or not your own dyslexia is on the severe level. nobody can tell that just be a persons written word because being severe can also include co ordination, the way we read, speak, see things. many many reasons and ways.

[paddingtonbear]

If you can't find a local support group how about starting one? I would also seek help from your GP and look for courses which are free, they can help build confidence. Good Luck.

[helsbels1969 in reply to paddingtonbear]

Ive been wanting to start up a dyslexia group, but I'm really not sure who I should contact about this, as I have contacted the local council, but they haven't got back to me.

[mathewlisett in reply to helsbels1969]

Strange , but the people you would expect to know about dyslexia considering its legally and medically viewed as a "disability" that they would know about it and the information to hand, how ever even the job centers dont even know its a disability or under its act.

[Sophie_DA]

Hi Helsbels, it's really fantastic that you're interested in starting up your own dyslexia support group. If you'd like you can email me at [e-mail] to discuss how to make this a reality!

[helsbels1969 in reply to Sophie_DA]

Thank you Sophie, I have sent you an email.

[digits]

Dear helsbels 1969,

Please start reading about other persons like us who have been successful in spite of the fact that they were not good at social situations, elementary maths, and following verbal directions. Try to find the books or video taped lectures of Temple Grandin. She is an autistic woman who could not even get her high school geometry, yet now she designs the best, most humane cattle-processing facilities in the world! Two of her books are titled: "Thinking in Pictures", and "Animals in Translation."

Another real eye-opener is "In the Mind's Eye" by Thomas G. West, Parthenon Books 1997. In it he reveals that several of the world's greatest thinkers were dyslexic, with the form of dyslexia called dyscalculia. They could not get their secondary school maths, yet they contributed great advancements in the worlds of math and science. These are persons like Einstein, Edison, Tesla, Maxwell, Faraday, Poincare.

I also was not successful in school or in regular jobs, yet my IQ test showed that I am very bright. I gave myself a real boost by joining Mensa, the high IQ society. Many Mensans are like us. It is not like being at a Snob HIll Tea Party. They are real people who have suffered just as we have! Find who your soulmates are, helsbels. Ignore the others.

Cheers! digits

[digits]

Dear helsbels 1969,

I have another response to your problems with work. I could never find work that suited me, and the worst jobs for me were the very ones that everyone thought I should be glad to have, like teaching, or working in a government office.

What saved me was that I learned how to use the temp agencies. I learned to lie and say I did not have a college degree and I never mentioned that I had taught school. This freed me for all sorts of interesting jobs! They were not jobs my friends and family were proud of, but they were good for me. They were fun!

Along with dyslexia, I have ADD and Asperger's, and I require lots and lots of physical activity to stay healthy and sane. I have driven taxi, worked in plant nurseries, delivered telephone books, worked the night shift in a nursing home in the total care ward, been a janitor, gardener, landscaper, motel maid, worked light assembly. Many times we had so much fun on our jobs, singing, joking, laughing. These people did not care how I was dressed, or what a cheap lunch I brought in my paper bag each day, or that my hair was not in the best style.

Our bosses were glad to have good, hard, willing workers and the work was so routine, that we did not have to listen to a lot of instructions everyday. I was employed while people with degrees were collecting unemployment.

Best of all was what it did for my self-esteem! I was in so many different situations and businesses, using different machines and tools that I had never even heard of, it was quite a change from being the failure I had felt myself in school!

The worst times in my life, the times when depression became dangerously strong in my life, were when I forced myself to stay in a job I hated. It is better to be poor and eat tuna out of a can than to be that miserable.

Be brave, helsbels, and try to get work you have never done before, but that has some element of fun for you. We spend too many hours at work to sped them in misery!

Cheers! digits

[neddesh]

I can absolutely understand where you are coming from. I have dyslexia and my brother has it worse than I do. i also have a friend who was in a similar position to yours. He was about to lose his job because his employer didn't understand his condition.

All 3 of us have had what I would call a Miricle Cure for all that you mentioned - BUT.... you might have to save up for it. It is an 11hr treatment done over a course of 1-10 weeks (you can say how you'd like it done - as this would help with the payments) and costs 135.00 for each of the 11 sessions.

Don't feel like this is much help to you in your current financial situation tho.

My friend was faced with the choice of either losing his job or spending the 1485.00 to keep it even tho it was hard to afford. Mercifully he has no regrets - read his comments on the website of the company who run the treatment lasdbrighteningfuturescentr... - his name is Dave (4th from top).

Not sure if this helps. As you infer once once our challenges are sorted it makes it so much easier to find and keep work.