Life with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia

Please N.B. There is a more reader friendly version of this post at the bottom (shorter, bullet pointed) as well as an infographic. 

There are some translations of the short version (Mandarin Chinese, Hindi and Spanish for the moment) also at the bottom.

Okay, so I'm going to try and give you a little insight into what it's like living with moderate-severe dyslexia and dysgraphia.

My specific problems with these conditions will not be the same as somebody else's, so the only way to find out what someone is struggling with is to ask them.  But I can tell you about my issues.

I should probably start by telling you what on earth dysgraphia is because I imagine most of you haven't heard of it.  So it's a learning difference where basically the hand and the brain do not communicate.  For me this leads to pain when writing or typing because I press down too hard on my wrists (and when writing, grip my pen too hard).  It means I have difficulty expressing my thoughts through written word.  And it means that I have the worlds worst handwriting (I was called the spider writer at school by my teachers).  Little did we know that all those doctors with terribly written prescriptions in the past probably just had dysgraphia!😆  Strangely, contrary to what is normally the case, I find it much easier to express myself by writing things out than by typing.

Dyslexia - So most of you will probably have some idea of what this is.  For me, my specific problems are that I struggle with spelling.  I can spell words, but I have to actively think about how each word is spelt, which takes up a lot of energy.  I have a terrible short term memory.  I'm like a goldfish😆.  I'm really not that old, but I'll go into a room to get something and by the time I've got there, totally forgotten what I went in for.  Or I'll put my phone down to get some bits together before going out, then totally forget where I put my phone.  Both practically daily occurrences.  It's a wonder I remember my name and where I live - old age has nothing on me! 😆.  But my biggest challenge is my reading speed.  I have a reading speed of less than a 10 year old.  I am in fact functionally illiterate (but I do hold a masters degree from a Russell group university.  So kids, just in case you think you cannot do things with such conditions, that's rubbish.  All you need is determination).  This is really ironic, because one mainstay of my job if proofreading 😆.  Weirdly though, it does actually make me better at this than your average Joe Bloggs.  This is because I've had to learn every single word out there.  I do not 'read' words - I've learnt them.  And because I'm off put easily, when something is wrong, it sticks out like a sore thumb.  I'm also not slower because for me, I only have to read a document once to check it because things stick out to me, whereas someone who naturally speeds through something has to probably read it several times and may still miss things.  However, the work IS pretty exhausting.  But perhaps a learning here is that the best person to check that document or report you need checking for errors is the one you'd least expect - your dyslexic colleague.

I'll leave it there, but if you have any questions or comments, please ask away.

Reader friendly

- Dyslexia and Dysgraphia differs for everyone. To know what someone struggles with - ask them (politely and sensitively)

- What is dysgraphia? - A learning difference where the hand and the brain do not communicate.  Can lead to things like pain when writing or typing, having difficulty expressing thoughts through written word, and having bad handwriting.

- I struggle with short term memory, spelling, but most of all, reading (functionally illiterate).  I do hold a masters degree though, so do not believe this should hold anyone back.

- A big part of my job is proofreading.  My poor reading makes me better at this than average readers.

- This is because I have had to LEARN every word out there, rather than 'read' in the traditional sense.

- So errors stand out to me whilst for others, they'd have to read something many times to spot them.

Mandarin Chinese

- Shī dú zhèng hé shū xiě zhàng'ài yīn měi gè rén ér yǒu suǒ bùtóng. Yào liǎojiě yī gè rén zài nǎxiē fāngmiàn yǒu kùnnán — qǐng lǐmào qiě mǐngǎn de wèn tāmen.

- Shénme shì shū xiě zhàng'ài? — Zhè shì yī zhǒng xuéxí fāngmiàn de chāyì, qí zhōng shǒu hé dà nǎo zhījiān de xìnxī gōutōng kěnéng cúnzài kùnnán. Zhè kěnéng dǎozhì xiě zì huò dǎ zì shí chūxiàn téngtòng, nán yǐ tōngguò shūmiàn yǔyán biǎodá zìjǐ de xiǎngfǎ, yǐjí zìjǐ de zìjì bǐjiào nán rèn.

- Wǒ zài duǎnqī jìyì, pīnxiě fāngmiàn yǒu kùnnán, dàn zuì yánzhòng de shì yuèdú kùnnán (gōngnéng xìng shī dú). Bùguò wǒ yě ná dào le shuòshì xuéwèi, suǒyǐ bù yīnggāi rènwéi zhèxiē kùnnán huì zǔzhǐ rènhé rén qiánjìn.

- Wǒ gōngzuò de yī gè zhòngyào bùfèn shì jiàoduì. Wǒ yuèdú fāngmiàn de kùnnán, fǎn'ér ràng wǒ zài zhǎo cuòwù fāngmiàn bǐ yībān de yuèdú zhě gèng yǒu yōushì.

- Zhè shì yīnwèi wǒ bìxū xuéhuì měi yī gè dāncí, ér bùshì yòng chuántǒng de fāngshì qù “yuèdú”.

- Yīncǐ, cuòwù huì hěn kuài zài wǒ yǎn lǐ tūchū lái, ér duì qítā rén láishuō, tāmen kěnéng xūyào bǎ yī duàn wénzì yuèdú hǎo jǐ biàn cái néng fāxiàn zhèxiē cuòwù.

Hindi

- Dyslexia aur Dysgraphia har vyakti mein alag hota hai. Yeh jaanne ke liye ki kisi vyakti ko kis cheez mein dikkat hoti hai — unse vinamrata aur samvedansheelta se poochhein.

- Dysgraphia kya hai? — Yeh ek learning difference hai jismein haath aur dimaag ke beech sahi tarah se communication nahin ho pata. Iski wajah se likhne ya typing karte samay dard hona, likhit shabdon ke zariye apne vichaar vyakt karne mein kathinai hona, aur handwriting kharaab hona jaise lakshan ho sakte hain.

- Mujhe short-term memory aur spelling mein dikkat hoti hai, lekin sabse zyada reading mein (main functional roop se padhne mein bahut asamarth hoon). Phir bhi mere paas Master's degree hai, isliye mera maanna hai ki inmein se kisi bhi dikkat ko kisi vyakti ko aage badhne se nahin rokna chahiye.

- Mere kaam ka ek bada hissa proofreading hai. Meri reading ki dikkat mujhe proofreading mein saamanya readers ki tulna mein behtar banati hai.

- Aisa isliye hai kyunki mujhe har shabd ko SEEKHNA pada hai, na ki paramparik tareeke se use "padhna".

- Isliye galtiyan mujhe turant nazar aa jaati hain, jabki doosre logon ko unhe dekhne ke liye kisi cheez ko kai baar padhna pad sakta hai.

Spanish

- La dislexia y la disgrafía son diferentes para cada persona. Para saber con qué dificultades tiene que lidiar alguien, pregúntale (de manera educada y sensible).

- ¿Qué es la disgrafía? — Es una diferencia de aprendizaje en la que las manos y el cerebro tienen dificultades para comunicarse entre sí. Puede provocar cosas como dolor al escribir o teclear, dificultad para expresar pensamientos mediante la palabra escrita y una mala caligrafía.

- Tengo dificultades con la memoria a corto plazo y la ortografía, pero sobre todo con la lectura (soy funcionalmente analfabeta). Sin embargo, tengo un título de máster, así que no creo que estas dificultades deban impedir que nadie alcance sus objetivos.

- Una parte importante de mi trabajo consiste en la corrección de textos. Mis dificultades para leer hacen que sea mejor en esto que los lectores promedio.

- Esto se debe a que he tenido que APRENDER cada palabra que existe, en lugar de simplemente "leerla" de la manera tradicional.

- Por eso, los errores me llaman la atención inmediatamente, mientras que otras personas tendrían que leer algo varias veces para detectarlos.