In reply to kipper12:
I was labelled as lazy and stupid at school in the 70s. My peers all went to Uni whilst I joined the army, during this time I often wondered why they were so much more intelligent than I was. Ten years later I'd learned how to learn and went to Uni and eventually got a 1st. Ten years on my son, who was a 'mini me' in many ways, was diagnosed as dyslexic.
During my differnt careers I was always careful to avoid situations where I had to spell or do any form of mental maths in front of others.
In my 40s I trained as a primary school teacher in the full knowledge that I was probably dyslexic, it was possible to disclose this info on application to teacher training but I didn't, in the event no one with reported dyslexia got on the course.
As a teacher I was always given the children who needed something extra or who were a bit different. I was open with my classes about my difficulty with spelling and mental maths and tables recall. My way of working though these difficulties was to openly use the same strategies that I taught the children. I was often asked to take dyslexic children in my class to meet with new year 3 children who were disagnosed as dyslexic so that we could share the ways we dealt with difficulties and what extra skills we had because of our dyslexia. I really believe that having my own difficulties helped me to be a better teacher, I hope I was able to see the potential in every child regardless of their difficulties.
As for my son, he could hardly write at the age of 10. He had to battle through every stage of school, as well as attending the Bristol Dyslexia School every week for additional tuition. He did Ok with his GCSEs, really well at A levels and brilliantly with his degree. Many of his peers who found school easy fell away as the academic challenge increased. He's now half way though a PhD.
I'm now in my 4th career having retrained in my 50s. I say without being dyslexic I wouldn't have many of the skills I use every day. I still can't spell for toffee.
I would say embrace the skills you have because of your dyslexia. You're probably a good people person with a heightened level of empathy and able to see the best in others. I bet you are able to visualise problems in unique ways and come up with novel solutions. You may well be fantastic at reading maps with the ability to transfer a 2D problem into the 3D world around you with ease. You will definately have a thick skin and know how to battle through difficult learning situations.
I work in web development now., you wouldn't believe how many of my colleagues are dyslexic. All the best, Kipper12, keep pushing on, I think you will be OK.
Post edited at 22:17