The experience of dyslexia: some personal accounts

Rachel Davies emphasises the importance of listening to learners 

What do literacy and numeracy learners with dyslexia say about their experiences? And what does this tell us about what helps them to learn successfully?

'Dyslexia isn't just about maths and English'

Much of the research and the controversy about dyslexia and basic skills focuses on approaches to teaching or assessment but interviews with learners with dyslexia highlight some different concerns. Learners talk, for example, about being misunderstood: 'The assumption with dyslexia is that you have a problem with reading'(1). They feel that the wider impact of dyslexia on their lives is missed.

'(It) makes me feel really uncomfortable, makes me feel like I'm stupid'

Learners are keen to talk about the emotional aspects of dyslexia diagnosis and support, and the links to their previous experiences of education. For example, Colin explains that at school 'you had a chalkboard rubber chucked at you for not getting things correct...The first time I went back into the classroom I saw a board rubber...jumped over the table and ran out of the classroom.'

The importance of emotional support being linked to a 'diagnosis' of dyslexia is also key. Steve comments: 'The learning champions pushed me, well encouraged me, into taking a dyslexia test...I just felt so downgraded, all my self-confidence went...I spoke to learning support here and they really encouraged me to come in here and give it a go...If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here.'

'Make sure you find someone more bothered about you than they are about funding'

Learners comment on their experience of teachers, both good and bad. Teachers who belittle or underestimate learners, or 'show you up', come in for criticism. Learners value a teacher who sees them as an individual and who is motivated to help them learn, above and beyond what their 'job' might compel them to do. Colin praises his tutors: 'If they can see that you've learned one thing then that's enough...that's more than the wage packet.' And Laura comments on her tutor: 'She's so passionate about learning that it makes you think 'I should be bothered 'cos she's bothered'.' We are used to learners who lack confidence, have poor past experiences of education and need help to overcome these barriers. However, learners with dyslexia may surprise us with the degree to which these experiences impact on new learning. Dealing with the effects of inadequate support, and trying to redress the balance, is a key issue for practitioners working with young adults with dyslexia, as the research that I undertook with Bethia McNeil confirmed (2).

'It takes me longer, but I get there. You've just got to be determined to do it'

Learners also talk about the importance of becoming aware of their own strengths, learning style and ability to persist. Laura says: 'I've just got the confidence that I am going to do it, and the willpower.' These 'soft' skills are tricky to pin down and to measure but they are integral to understanding what makes some learners with dyslexia successful and others less so.

It is only through learners' own words and experiences that we can begin to understand the complexity of the personal stories that lie behind the statistics and identify how best to respond to them.

Rachel Davies is Development Officer (Dyslexia) at NIACE

(1) The quotations in this article are taken from interviews carried out as part of the 'Say What You Like' campaign (NIACE, 2006)
(2) Davies, R. and McNeil, B. Dyslexia isn't just about maths and English Adults Learning November 2005 

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See also:

• Handle with care
• The barriers are coming down
• Workforce Development
• Left on the shelf?