Working with dyslexia can be incredibly challenging, as it affects virtually everything I do. I believe there are a lot of misconceptions out there in regards to what dyslexia actually means, and I make no claims to understand its definition fully myself. The only thing I can speak about is how dyslexia affects me day to day.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2019. I really don’t like using the term diagnosed, as it almost infers there’s something wrong with me, when in reality my brain is simply hardwired a little differently than the norm. Still, for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to use the word for the purpose of this post.
For me, the diagnosis was a revelation. I had struggled with things such as reading, written and verbal communication, and problem-solving, for as long as I could remember. I was home-tutored until I started college at 16, and I can recall how badly I struggled with both my studies and with socialising with the other students. The latter happened for many reasons other than my dyslexia – I was shy, introverted, anxious, and depressed – but dyslexia certainly had a large role to play, as it affected my ability to comprehend others, and to formulate my own thoughts and arguments. As I said, the diagnosis in my late-twenties was a revelation for me. It helped me come to terms with the way I was, and realise that there wasn’t ‘something wrong with me’, and that I was simply different.
Still, that realisation didn’t stop dyslexia from affecting me. At the time, I was in the process of editing my first novel, The Black Rook, and had completed a BA in Fine Arts several years previously. I looked at myself and wondered how I had achieved such things without any kind of specialised support. I had it then confirmed in my mind that although dyslexia had – and indeed always would – slow down my whole process when it came to things such as creative writing, I still had it in me to produce quality writing.
I decided that I wouldn’t let anything hold me back. In fact, I owned the title of dyslexic and wore it as a badge of honour when I looked in the mirror. Somehow, I had managed to achieve great things with my written and verbal communication, despite how confusing and frustrating embarking on such ventures were for me.
Today, I am just as challenged as I was before when it comes to working around my dyslexia, but I’m confident that I can still push on no matter what. It might take me twice as long to read a novel as most people, or three times as long as others to problem solve some dilemma, but I always get there in the end.
I think it’s easy to allow your perceived shortcomings to own you, and hard to fight against them. Indeed, I think that therein lies the problem: you need to learn to fight alongside yourself, rather than against yourself. Now I work with my dyslexic mind, rather than bemoan or belittle myself for making mistakes.
It will always be tough, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. But by being patient with yourself, trusting yourself, loving yourself, and ignoring those that tell you to do otherwise, you will achieve great things.
Davey Cobb 