My Dyslexia Story – How Neurodivergene Has Been Positive For Me

I’ve known that I was dyslexic for as long as I can remember. I was diagnosed in primary school, where my biggest challenges were spelling tests. I got another official diagnosis when I was at university, around 19 years old. 

Although dyslexia can be seen as a disability, I like to think of it as a learning difference. My brain just works differently. I have recently discovered that dyslexia is a neurodivergent condition, just like autism or ADHD. Many people have multiple neurodivergent conditions, and upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that they overlap, sharing some common characteristics. This led me to jump down a bit of a rabbit hole and try to understand my dyslexia a bit more, as it’s something I had paid little attention to since university, until now. 

Growing up, I always thought that dyslexia meant I couldn’t spell or read well. But it’s much more than that. It can cause processing delays, hinder word recall, and impact speech – all of which sound negative. However, there are many positive aspects to dyslexia as well. 

Many people with dyslexia have gone on to achieve remarkable things in the world. There are many notable public figures with dyslexia, including Albert Einstein, George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs. Which goes to show that this learning difference doesn’t have to hold you back. A dyslexic brain can be amazing. 

Still, today, most young children are embarrassed about being dyslexic. And I get it – when the stereotype is that you’re a bit dim and can’t spell, it can be a hard pill to swallow (and spell). The thing is that my dyslexia caused me issues during school, but once I was an adult, things got easier. This is purely because the education system caters towards those who are neurotypical. Although things are changing and teachers are gaining a deeper understanding, it’s still challenging for children. 

Let’s focus on some of those and how I’ve been able to utilise them to my advantage in life. 

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a form of neurodivergence. This means that people with dyslexia process information differently from individuals without dyslexia. Dyslexia affects reading, spelling, writing, and sometimes speech. It’s not about intelligence but how the brain processes information. This learning difficulty shows early in life and is often inherited (my mum and brother also have it!), and it often appears alongside other conditions like ADHD, autism and dyscalculia.

In the UK, 1 million young people in education face dyslexia challenges daily. However, we now know that people with dyslexia possess unique strengths due to the way their brains process information and language. Some of the world’s greatest thinkers are dyslexics, thanks to their exceptional use of imagination and ability to solve complex problems. 

The Many Strengths of Dyslexics

Problem-solving skills 

People with dyslexia solve problems differently from neurotypical people. They think outside the box and find innovative routes to solutions. They excel in technical tasks and are innovative thinkers, as their brains process information differently, leading to creative outcomes.

In various settings, from school to the workplace, individuals with dyslexia can excel when properly nurtured. They can see the bigger picture and consider multiple perspectives. This skill enables them to excel in jobs that require analytical thinking and creativity, such as graphic design or strategic planning in business environments.

Here’s a fun fact: dyslexics make brilliant spies! The GCHQ, or the Government Communications Headquarters (the UK’s intelligence, cyber, and security agency), actively seeks out dyslexic employees because of their strengths in pattern recognition when dealing with big data, in seeing the bigger picture when considering complex future scenarios, and in finding solutions to novel and challenging problems. 

Strong spatial reasoning abilities

Dyslexic individuals see the world in unique ways, including having good spatial reasoning ability, which is the ability to visualise shapes from different angles, cut in half, or even visualise 2D shapes as 3D ones. Their brains are particularly adept at interpreting space and shapes, making them skilled at envisioning how things can come together. 

This means they can handle complex ideas or designs easily and are well-suited for careers in art, design, architecture, and engineering, as they can visualise concepts before starting their work.

Creativity and innovative thinking

People with dyslexia are great in creative fields such as the arts, design, and entrepreneurship. Their fantastic view of the world increases their innovative thinking. This creativity enables them to solve unique problems and generate creative ideas.

High levels of empathy

Dyslexic people often experience high levels of empathy. They understand the challenges of dealing with negative emotions, such as anxiety and frustration. This understanding enables them to excel at seeing things from another person’s perspective.

This ability to empathise helps dyslexic individuals form strong relationships. They easily make friends and offer support, using their own struggles as a way to connect and help others more effectively.

Resilience and adaptability

Resilient people often have dyslexia. This is due to struggles they’ve had in their learning journey, so they become good at finding new ways to solve problems.

Strong interpersonal skills

Dyslexic individuals bring a unique perspective to social interactions, making them great conversationalists and empathisers. Their ability to understand others’ emotions makes it easier for them to navigate complex communication challenges. These inherent qualities enable dyslexics to form meaningful connections in both personal and professional settings, ultimately contributing positively to their lives and careers.

Common career paths for dyslexic individuals

Many individuals with dyslexia find success in careers such as music, art, and design. Notable career paths for individuals with dyslexia include musicians, artists, actors, scientists, athletes, engineers, entrepreneurs, and chefs. 

My experience with dyslexia 

Being dyslexic and left-handed, the odds were stacked against me in primary school, where spelling tests and handwriting were a big focus. I really struggled in the first few years of school. Being a July baby didn’t help, either. Like many dyslexic kids, I struggled with learning words for spelling tests. I also struggled to recall words and easily lost concentration. 

I was slower to read and speak than my peers. I remember my best friend, who was in the year below me, had advanced above me in her reading material. She was also allowed to write in pen, whereas I was still using a pencil, as my writing wasn’t neat enough. 

Secondary School With Dyslexia

When I started secondary school, there was less emphasis on spelling and handwriting, which was great news for me. However, the struggle with dyslexia didn’t stop there. Reading out loud was a big part of secondary school. In almost all lessons, we would take turns reading out a few paragraphs from the textbooks. This panicked me to my core. I would try and read ahead if I were next, just to make sure I could read all the words when it was my turn. I would often stutter through my paragraph, feeling really embarrassed. This meant I didn’t get any learning done as I was too busy concentrating on being able to say the words out loud. 

One big problem for me is absorbing the information from the text I am reading. I am great at visual learning. However, when reading from a book, I lose focus or struggle to remember the information. In my final few years of school, I was taught more about visual learners and different revision styles. This meant I was able to revise in a way that suited me. One technique I would use is writing down everything I needed to learn, then slowly making the sentences smaller until they were bullet points. Going over the information again made it easier for me to retain. Then, breaking it down into bullet points made it easier for me to recall the whole set of facts. I’d have to use different coloured pens for each paragraph or sentence. 

I tried so hard at school. I would revise 8 hours a day for exams, and my room was covered with paper. I had to work twice as hard as everyone else to just be average. Many of my friends barely studied for exams and got similar marks to me. 

Adult Life With Dyslexia

Today, I struggle mostly with my speech. I can have delayed processing at times, I struggle to organise sentences or find the right word. Sometimes I will say words in the wrong order or swap the first letters around, so just nonsense words come out. I believe some of this is linked to other neurodivergent traits I have, such as social anxiety and struggling in social situations. My speech is much worse if I am anxious (anxiety was picked up in my diagnosis). I really struggle in groups as I find myself overanalysing everything. If there is more than one conversation going on, my brain tries to be present in both. If I have anything important to add to the conversation, I struggle to know when it is appropriate to interrupt with my point. Then I’m too busy focusing on how to express myself, I lose track of the conversation, so I don’t join in. After a short time, I become exhausted and my brain completely checks out, unable to keep up or get involved. This can sometimes make me appear uninterested or rude. 

This can lead to low self-esteem at times, as I can feel like I come across a bit dull or empty, even though there is SO MUCH going on in my head, I just cannot always get it out. As an adult, this bothers me less, mostly because I’m not often having to insert myself into social situations with people I’m unfamiliar with. 

There are very few people with whom I can have easy conversations. A lot of my social interactions are awkward. There are some days when I can handle conversations more easily than others, so I may seem chatty one day but cold the next. I’m painfully aware of this but unable to stop it. I can be guilty of scripting, as well – especially if a previous interaction with a person hasn’t gone well. Scripting helps my anxiety before the interaction, but rarely helps during the conversation, as the other person does not follow my script, which can send me into a bit of a spiral.

Thinking back, I struggled a lot during school; it was mostly my barriers to communication and social interaction that impacted my mental health. Especially when I hit puberty. I felt so different from anyone else; I felt like I could never truly express myself verbally, despite there being so much going on in my mind. It was like I was trapped, and I deeply hated myself for it, and went down a road of self-destruction to punish myself. I thought I was worth less than everyone else. This was also fueled by how people interacted with me or reacted to my awkward attempts to fit in.

I think I generally have a good idea of how I come across in social interactions and why I am the way I am – the problem is, I can’t tap into this insight during interactions, and it’s only afterwards I realise I said something stupid – mostly oversharing information about myself as a way to make connections and often steering the conversation towards me because I get a bit panicked about asking questions to other people unless I’m really comfortable with them. I worry that I’m asking for information they don’t want to share with me, or that it’s inappropriate for me to ask, given our relationship. So if someone tells me something, I actually do want to know more. Still, I worry about crossing a boundary and asking something that is a bit deeper than surface level – so I’ll experience share something similar about myself – but I know that probably makes me come across as someone who only wants to talk about myself. But in reality, I am tired of talking about myself, help. If my social battery is low, I freeze rather than talk at all.

But cheer up. It’s not all doom and gloom. Here are some of the things I’m great at.

Visual memory

I always remember things others have forgotten. It can sometimes be useless facts or old memories, but I remember them vividly. I can remember where we were, what we were eating, what I was wearing, and everything visually associated with the memory. 

Good At Analysing People

I feel like I’m great at analysing people and picking up on their moods and emotions. This is partly due to my visual memory, and also years and years of overanalysing people’s behaviour to allow me to mask my neurodivergent tendencies well. Just like most neurodivergent girls, social acceptance was important to me, so I learned to imitate others to fit in, as social interactions have never felt natural to me.

I still script a lot and plan out conversations ahead of time – it’s like a flow chart in my mind of every possible scenario of where the conversation can go. When things don’t go as planned or I’m unprepared, I can feel panicked, stutter, and sometimes shut down, not responding at all (more so with people I’m not familiar with).

I then spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how the conversation went, how I could have done better, and if the other person showed any sign of thinking I’m odd.  

Because of my ability to analyse people and my visual memory, I feel like I have a mental filing cabinet for each person I interact with. This is filled with information such as previous conversations, their likes, and information they share with me. I suppose this will enable me to interact with them a bit more easily in the future. I am a little worried that I might stare too much, though. But don’t worry – I’m just profiling you for my mental filing cabinet. I promise I am not a serial killer. Just neurodivergent.

In my teens and 20s, I would drink alcohol to allow me to enjoy social situations more. I don’t drink anymore, so I have to just deal with social situations head-on. 

Good with data

Again, I think this is something that links in with other neurodivergencies, but I am great with data and statistics. I can spot trends and patterns quickly, analyse, and my critical thinking skills are excellent. In my previous job, before I started blogging full-time, I worked with data extensively and was the expert who coached others.

I’m creative

I am a creative person; I basically have the urge to create all the time. Whether that’s creating a new website, writing a blog post, composing poetry, playing the piano, making a video, or taking photos, I feel like I have to create whenever I have free time. I do struggle to switch off, though, and my mind is a pretty busy place! 

Though there are times when I am filled with so much creativity, I feel like I may explode if I don’t get it out. This is generally when I am anxious or dysregulated and need some outlet.

I do some funny word jokes

Well, I think they are funny, anyway. Because of how I process language and take things literally, I find that funny jokes and puns come quite naturally to me. That, paired with my vivid memory, means I can often make jokes relating back to old conversations with my friends. I’ve had many people tell me I’m the funniest person they’ve met.

But my humour is not for everyone so I often keep these jokes in my head; it takes a certain type of person to get me, as I can be quite dark and dry. This is a side of myself that I often mask, much like Marmite. But I love it when someone gets me and makes me laugh. It’s basically my love language.

This always comes across better in messages than in real life, as my delivery can be clunky at times!

I guess this is another reason I don’t drink, I get over-confident, and my jokes are dumb.

Entrepreneurial skills

I’m not sure if I’m classified as an entrepreneur, but I do run my own business. I am self-employed, and I’ve built a career in something I love – blogging. This is not something I fell into by accident. After about a year of blogging, I knew I wanted to make this my job. So, I worked hard, I was determined, and put in the hours until it finally paid off. I suppose you could say it’s my special interest, which made it a bit easier. Now I earn much more than I did in my career, and have so much freedom!

Determination

I always know I have to work harder than everyone else, but it just makes me more determined to reach my goals. I am a stubborn person, so if someone doesn’t believe I can do something, I’m going to prove them wrong and do it three times over. This is what my dyslexia diagnosis was for me. It was something that gave me more drive to beat the odds, especially in a time when dyslexia was only seen as something that could hold you back in the 90s!

So, although my experience with dyslexia has not always been positive, I feel like I can classify myself among the successful dyslexics out there. It may have taken me a long time to get into a good headspace, but I’ve been able to harness some of the traits that come with being dyslexic to get to where I am now. 

Although it does amuse me that 90% of my job is writing! I hope you haven’t found too many errors in this article. If you’ve any dyslexia success stories to share with me, I would love to hear them. 

If you are struggling with your own dyslexia diagnosis, remember that you are part of an amazing group of people who are critical thinkers with a strong memory who have a beautifully creative approach to life. There are many strengths associated with dyslexia that, with the appropriate help and reasonable adjustments, can enable you to thrive in life. 

I’d love to hear your story about living with dyslexia.

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