6th November 2017
As part of Dyslexia Awareness Week Holly delivered a wonderful speech at today's Senior School Assembly.
Dyslexia Assembly Presentation
By Holly Pitts, Senior VI
Dyslexia is the name given to a learning difference relating to a person's ability to be able to read, write or spell. It impacts each person differently and can be rated on a scale from mild to severe. Coping with dyslexia is very individual with some using their fingers to follow the words whilst others use grids to help them. People with dyslexia also tend to suffer from visual stress – this being when they find it easier to read when a tinted overlay is put over their paper or into glasses to change the colour of the page under the words. A dyslexic person generally encounters the problem with letters that look similar (for example p and b) and they generally tend to see the words moving which prevent them from being able to read complete sentences. Being dyslexic is nothing to do with a person’s intelligence and creativity and is actually to do with the person’s way of processing information that they read or write. In fact, in some cases being dyslexic gives a person an advantage, as throughout their lives they have had to problem solve to do something as simple as read and so when faced with codes, they tend to be able to crack them at a faster rate than those without dyslexia. This is because the way a dyslexic person’s brain functions, is similar to them reading a code where they tend to see patterns and repetitions. For this reason, the government spy agency GCHQ tend to hire more dyslexic people than non-dyslexic people.
I am dyslexic and although these days I am not ashamed of this, when I was younger I used to be. I spent years covering up my inability to read properly and pronounce words. I would learn passages off by heart so when reading aloud in class, I would not mess up. But, over time it became more obvious that it was taking me a long time to read a short passage and soon I was diagnosed with dyslexia. However, I still didn’t accept the extra time that the school was offering me. This was because I believed (which is what I am sure many dyslexics believe) that if I told my classmates that I was dyslexic and started accepting the extra time, that they would believe that I was stupid and incompetent. This image is the traditional and general view of dyslexics. However, it is inaccurate and over the past few years I have accepted the help I need and have gained not only 5 As in my Highers but an A band 1 in English – my most difficult subject.
I believe my results have been due to a number of reasons. Being organised and determined as well as welcoming help from my teachers which has allowed me to improve not only my reading but also my writing skills. For example, writing out plans before writing essays allowed me to recognise the areas I would struggle with in the essay, so I could ask teachers for help. I would then memorize phrases that would help in the essay so that I wouldn’t have to come up with complex sentences (which confuse me) in the stress of writing my essay in the exam. I read more complex books and did exercises that helped me keep track of words on the page. This helped improve my ability to read harder texts like History source questions and my English close reading passages. Also, especially when I was younger, I was inspired by successful famous people who, despite being dyslexic, achieved great things. Examples of these people are JK Rowling (the writer of Harry Potter of course), Albert Einstein (the famous scientist) and Richard Branson (the owner of the company Virgin). These people showed me that being dyslexic doesn’t hold you back if you try really hard to overcome it and proved to the younger me, that dyslexics weren’t stupid.
With 1 in 10 people in Scotland in 2017 being diagnosed with dyslexia, Dyslexia Scotland is trying to prove exactly that. This week is National Dyslexia Awareness Week and people in school and all-around the country are doing things to celebrate that. Throughout Scotland conferences are being held to raise awareness about what dyslexia actually is for both adults and children. In school, Mrs Reid (our new Head of Support for Learning who has recently taken over from Mrs Scott) is also helping raise awareness. At reception, we have free blue ribbon badges (which is the symbol for dyslexia) and posters are being put up to throughout the school. There is also a dedicated Support for Learning room which is part of the Guidance Suite in the Girdwood Building which offers more information about dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a problem that many of us in this church today will face. According to the statistics around 40 of us in here are dyslexic. It is one of the most challenging things that I and I am sure most dyslexics will have to face. It is mentally challenging and sometimes emotionally draining and it can cause much frustration. I have been asked to explain how it feels to have dyslexia many times before however, I have never been able to explain it completely. The closest thing I can say it is like is when you have a word at the tip of your tongue however you just can’t get to say it, just can’t work out what the word is. I see the words written in front of me yet they don’t make sense despite me knowing what they mean. Dyslexia is completely normal to me and I have learnt how to cope and work with it however this would not be possible without the help I have received over the years from both inside and outside the School, so please just ask.