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Schools 'pushed into phonics by financial incentives'
People with learning disabilities are less productive in the workplace
Once you've left school it's too late...
Dyslexia is just a problem with reading
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Rob's Story
02 December 2011
I was 7 and a half when our GP told my Mum that the eczema I had was probably caused by stress. I had struggled with literacy at Primary School and this was put down to my being a “late developer”. Following my first school report at 8½ which raised serious concerns, I was given remedial help in basic literacy which brought some success, but dyslexia was never suspected; my problems were because I was lazy and probably none too bright. When I was 9 we moved from South Wales to Gloucestershire and my parents sent me to a small private school, as they felt the smaller class sizes would be of benefit. I had four happy terms at that school, but Stroud had State Grammar Schools and the dreaded 11+ loomed on the horizon. My parents and teachers felt that I would have little chance of passing and getting into the Grammar school. At the same time my parents discovered that there was a private school not far away with a non-exam oriented ethos and felt this would be better for me going forward.
Twice when I was at that school dyslexia was suspected but twice the school changed its mind. I was given remedial English lessons and was constantly berated for my untidy handwriting and poor spelling. I was regarded as being a not very able pupil and it was expected that I would leave at 16 to seek employment. In fact when I expressed a desire to continue my education my class teacher told me to “be more realistic”.
I did leave that school when I was 16 and went to the local Further Education College, where I was able to start over again with new subjects of my own choosing, such as Economics & Politics, Law and Accounts as well as English and Maths. I passed them all after just one year, to many people’s great surprise, including my own. Still dyslexia was not mentioned. Timetable clashes meant that I was not able to do my chosen ‘A’ level subjects at the College, so I ended up in the sixth form at the local Grammar school. I left there two years later with 2 A levels at grade C and a Merit on the Special Paper in Economics. Still no diagnosis of dyslexia, although one teacher did query whether I had passed O level English and my school reports were littered with complaints about my poor spelling and writing.
I ended up at Manchester Poly, as it was called then, reading Economics. After three years I was awarded a BA in Economics. However, after unfortunately failing two final year exams I failed to get honours. Still, no mention of dyslexia.
I spent the next six years struggling to find work and then hold onto any job I did get. Things were at a particular low in 1997, when I by chance saw someone on television talking about their dyslexia and it rang a few bells. I did some research and was assessed and indeed I was dyslexic. It was a huge relief to discover that I was not stupid, lazy or generally inadequate and that I was one of many with similar issues.
I went on to build a career in Information Technology and ended up working for a major utility company doing Applications Support, where I had five successful years. It all changed when I took a promotion into Applications Development as a team leader. I struggled to handle the change and my managers were baffled by my sudden decline in performance and after just three months I was removed from the Team Leader role. I never recovered from this and spent the next few years being passed around. I ended up working in the Project Management Office as a Project Support Analyst, a job which I was not well suited for, given my dyslexia. I tried to explain to my manager but there was little interest and a great deal of scepticism. I ended up on Capability and was facing the prospect of dismissal when a restructure presented the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy, which I grabbed. I have been out of work for nine months now and have slowly been rebuilding my confidence. If I’m honest, to date, I have not seen being dyslexic as a positive, but I do believe I have a lot to give and can make a big contribution to an organisation. Just need an employer who has a positive attitude to dyslexia and I’m sure they will be greatly rewarded. The importance of early diagnosis cannot be stressed enough. Had the SEN support been there, let alone the extra time in exams at school and college, my life would have been a different story I’m sure. It is also important that Human Resources Departments in companies develop the best possible positive and proactive policy on dyslexia and be disseminating information to managers, which will benefit everyone concerned.
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