so ive just been researching Dyslexia in adults.im 37. I struggle with many things in life but have always put it down to me being a bit a numpty/average bloke.Recently this has started to get my girlfriend of two years down and she is running shrt of patience with me.This has eventually led me to do testing for dyslexia.When reading about people who suffer with it and the symptoms there were several i could really really relate to (also some that i didnt but the condition varies a lot as well).
Having done a couple of free tests i was looking like i had it mildly….that explains a lot! so i then did a more in depth test (not the full £400 assesment mind) and that said i had a low probability and people with that had a one out of 20 chance they were actually dyslexic.to me this means one in 20 mild sufferes get through “the net”
Should i explore more testing or am i just a complete baffoon with nothing wrong (and always will be)
🙁

btw the spelling mistakes are my poor typing skills.nowt else!

What would you gain from further testing? You could just assume that you have mild dyslexia and put whatever measures in place you deem necessary.

Yes, have to triple check anything I’ve written and read a little slowly.

The thing you have to remeber is that it manifests itself differently for everyone so you maybe a little slower/more mistake prone reading and writing but listening and vocally you maybe a very high percentile and visualisztion may also be very good.

One of the most amusing aspects for me is misreading sign and strap lines in papers which throws up some proper funny terms.

The test will make you more aware of you limitations/strengths and then you can address ways of dealing with them.

Apologies for the spelling/grammer 😉

I’ve always thought that I have but never really spoke about it. I have difficulty reading where I tend to read ahead of myself and jumble words, I also find absorbing infomation difficult when doing so. I’m also a Kinesthetic learner.

I recently spoke about this to my wife who is a teacher and deals with this a lot and it was suggested that I could well have a mild form. Can’t be arsed to get tested as I’ve learnt to deal with it and it doesn’t affect my daily life or job.

Edit; And no matter how much I look it up I always struggle with effect/ affect! Have now grasped the concept of There, Their & They’re though. 🙂

I was identified as a kid as having it, then all it meant was I went stupid reading lessons and do be made to read simple books I could read when I was much younger. They didn’t seem to understand it the way it is now, I felt isolated a cast out so stopped going to the classes.

I’ve learnt to live with it and normally can control it but every now and then it manifests itself, I’ll words that sound familiar instead of the word I mean, I’ll miss words out or just make a complete mess of what I’m typing.

I recently failed an exam at work for a course, I’ve never failed one in my entire career and know my dyslexia didn’t help as I can’t always get the words I want to use out and take some questions to literal. I’ve been offered an assessment for my dyslexia for the resist to allow for it, I’ve refused as know I can do it with out that.

So what can you gain, well academia and work places now offer help with sufferers so you can gain that if your not stubborn git like me.

did you try selling your soul to santa?

I’ve only ridden a ti frame once. It was stiff, but light.

Count me in!!

I’m 41 and have never been properly diagnosed, but my older brother has and I have the same problems/ symtoms as him, although to a lesser degree. Both my parents also have similar problems, so there really was no hope! Also got several cousins with this problem some of whon also have ADHD!!

My biggest problems are understanding any long, wordy documents, mixing up left & right (although I’m OK if I have time to think about it), misreading tag lines and mixing up number sequences (which is a little worrying as I work civil engineering). So dialing phone numbers is a bit of a nightmare for me!! 😯 😕

I do have the advantage that I have very good 3 dimensional awareness (also a sympton) and this means I’m very good at producing & understanding structural drawings. I can viualise the spaces quite easily and figure out if something is buildable within a couple of minutes of looking at the drawing. I also have a great memory for spaces which is an advantage if I’m doing structural surveys!! 😀

thing is if i have it it must be mild and very borderline.im very good at spelling and writing (my handwriting is pants though and i drop capital leters in all over the place)
i dont muddle left and right and dont read things incorrectly.I hate maths and i really struggle to keep focused in a classroom situation or if reading a book than isnt anything less than riveting my mind wanders..majorly! I cant hold a list of more than 4 items in my head and “busy” days or arrangements confuse me no end. I have to do things very methodically and simply to get them right. I have no idea of the difference between There and Their and witch and which etc etc.

Assuming you had all the tests and a professional opinion confirming you are dyslexic what would you do about it? As far as I know there is nothing really that can be done. I have some family members who have really struggled in education with it and still do now in adult life but other than extra support through school there was nothing that could be done.

I am a terrible speller and not the quickest when it comes to reading but I don’t see the point of labelling myself as mildly dyslexic. I just constantly try to improve my spelling and have been making slow progress for circa 25 years, I aspire to being a spelling, punctuation and grammar pedant but I have a long way to go.

Pook, I’m sure there’s a joke in your reply, but It’s lost on us dyslexic types. 😉

hmm. i also am exceptional with 3d images.i could outdraw other kids from a young age in school..recently moved house and i packed the van up with boxes like a game of tetris!

Well as I have 3 engineering degrees I can’t really say it’s held me back that much!!

My spelling isn’t good, my handwriting is cr@p and it can take me a while to understand exactly what I am reading, but to be honest in my job it does have some advantages, i.e. the ability to understand drawings etc.

If there was a miracle cure I’m not sure I would take it!!

what i hoped to gain was an explanation for my gf who sees me as a very nice guy, but who makes very inconsiderate dumb decisions a lot and only really seems to think about himself and CONSTANTLY forgets stuff that is important and yet at the same time remembers the most trivial facts.

Hells, I reckon it’s quite useful for Engineers have their brains wired Dyslexically

I was diagnosed 34 years ago as a mild dyslexic, didn’t lose my apprenticeship to fix aircraft, got married, had children, changed jobs, all fairly normal life stuff.

I sometimes get words mixed up; find long documents hard to read and have to check my own written work several times an still don’t spot obvious mistakes, which speaking to others (non-dyslexics diagnosed?) are not uncommon issues.

I can drive a car, ride a bike, find my way through airports & train stations, shop, use the tin-ter-net, read news papers, simplistically I get by.

To be honest I am sitting here wondering what real world issues being a mild dyslexic have been?

Hope this helps

My bro and I both have it. His is worse and, like Hells, is super at 3D thinking. Reading for him is difficult, as is writing, but he’s very practical. For me it’s numbers, I have be very careful to get the digits in the right order. But I had a career in engineering so I got away with it. And tended to stick to my system for work, to be consistent.

The point would be that two even brothers vary a lot, and there’s a wide range of symptoms, effects and solutions.

As I say ‘they’ do quite a bit now, test questions on coloured paper is supposed to help and the wording of questions.

Maths wise whilst I’m not great at it I don’t struggle and have a very good recall of numbers.

The National dyslexic association (DNA) are there to help..

OP,

My short term memory is atrocious, it is also a sympton!! I frequently forget to do something I was asked to do less than 5 minutes before! But I can recall all sorts of useless information from the depths of my brain (as I proved on Eggheads)! Hope this helps with your GF!!

I think I am, never been tested though. I get left and right mixed up and I struggle to read out loud. Even struggle to read children’s books to my five year old nephew so try to avoid. Sometimes when I read I have to read the same sentence several times for it to make sense. Also I’ll read a word and think it says another, for example the post about somebody looking for new career advice I read it as carer

I have a good job as a Electrical site manager and has never bothered me or held me back.

I did not realise I had a mild form of dyslexia till I went to a toga party dressed as a goat.

but
who makes very inconsiderate dumb
decisions a lot and only really seems to
think about himself and CONSTANTLY
forgets stuff that is important and yet at
the same time remembers the most trivial
facts.

is that really dyslexia? sounds more like something else tbh.

Well I was diagnosed at 25 and have the same problems as Hells. It did not stop me from completing my PhD.

worth a read

I was diagnosed as a child by a qualified extended family member but by this point the emphasis in primary school had moved from rote learning (alphabets and tables) to conceptual arithmetic like long division. As a result I went from being labelled ‘a bit slow’ on early report cards to top of the class. I still can remember crying at night as i didn’t want to go to school the next day and if i went to sleep the next day would arrive.

I did a couple of degrees and have worked in a uni for the last 20 years so not really an issue. I actually didn’t know until my mid twenties as no one told me as a young child and after that I did well in a range of subjects in school so it wasn’t important. It would have helped me to know in uni as considering everything retrospectively it did impact certain activities for me quite a lot. Now being on the other side so to speak I would say it is very relevant if you are in education. Assessment should have a level playing field for all to demonstrate their abilities and you don t have that.

Outside of formal education, if it is mild you can work round it and if you can do this successfully then does it really matter? I still struggle with the alphabet so the odd task is harder (class lists are always alphabetical) and I have stated unequivocally at work that I will not be reading out the student names at graduations – given it is a fairly hideous job (massive opportunity for a huge and public fail) then I am fairly glad about it!

So what would be different if you ‘knew’? I think some of the things you are blaming are a bit of a stretch. I can’t say thinking only of yourself is related 😉

Oh and when my husband wants to wind me up he starts spelling things at me. It renders me completely baffled and he thinks its quite funny.

what i hoped to gain was an explanation for my gf who sees me as a very nice guy, but who makes very inconsiderate dumb decisions a lot and only really seems to think about himself and CONSTANTLY forgets stuff that is important and yet at the same time remembers the most trivial facts.

that’s not dyslexia is it?

My kid brother is pretty dyslexic.. writes letters backwards and had big trouble with reading and writing at school..

he’s a **** genius with remembering stuff, thinking in 3d, he can build anything, evaluate a situation at a glance.. he’s a domestic electrician these days.. builds and blueprints motorbike engines in his spare time and can turn his hand to anything practical.. he even invents quite a lot of useful stuff..
He spends half his life helping other folk.. (although to be fair he said that if he wins the lottery he’s gonna buy a chuffing great plot of land with a big electric fence around it and build a little house in the middle where no-one can bother him)
I sound more like the type of problem you’re describing and I can read and write like a **** fish (a very clever and erudite **** fish).. I’d read the complete works of Shakespeare and translated the Greek classics* before I even started school…

*according to my mum

you just sound like your girlfriend thinks you’ve got your head up your arse from your last post.. maybe she’s right..?

There is no shame in asking for help – dyslexia entitles you to assistance (under normal circumstances, meets the definition of disability, as per Equality Act 2010). This means you can have (by law) reasonable adjustments, which seek to reduce / remove the disadvantages the condition causes you eg, proportionate reduction in performance targets….through to software assistance.

If you struggle at times, request an Occupational Health report through work and speak to Access To Work (programme ran by DWP). If you are subjected to a detriment at work because of the condition speak to EASS (google it). Or PM me. DON’T suffer in silence and feel forced out the door at work.

I’ve advised a lot of people who have gained by accessing the above sources of help.

If you’re a lawyer / merchant banker, you might be in the wrong line of work 😕

I found out I was Dyslexic when I was at uni, was reading to girlfriend and again misread things and she suggested test, uni said they thought i was but couldn’t help without the full £200 test. Did this and got a PC from council, extra time in exams and money for books.

Was worth doing that then, now have been in work for nearly 20 years. None of the tests help you in professional life, only that you know that you have it in yourself. I find myself avoiding reports and written bids etc… which has not helped career progression, but can’t see how I can get help with those?

My mum and sister are both dyslexic. Both were diagnosed quite late on life – and I exhibit a lot of the symptoms. Never been a good or confident reader, often jumbling up words and getting lost. Quite annoying really – and now my 5 year old has noticed how bad I am… So insists mummy reads his bed time stories. My spelling isn’t too bad. – play a lot of scrabble which really helps, and numbers are ok… Arithmetic is better than phone numbers (i’m forever dialling wrong numbers)

Luckily my job doesn’t involve too much reading or writing – I’m a designer – so it doesn’t seem hinder me too much.

Like Hells above my short term memory is atrocious – but I’ve always put that down to the large quantities of drugs in my misspent youth.

Personally, I find it KO.

icmg.

Same as many here, never diagnosed but slow reading, words muddled up and imposible when there’s others talking in the same room.
Reading a sentence, I always find a random word which doesn’t fit, but then it’s there again where it should be further down the page.
But as others have said, I’m also good at reading drawings, visualising how things should be built or could be built much better. I do have quite bad short term memory but didn’t realise it was a part of it.
There’s always a sarky coc! on this forum who likes to correct spelling mistakes, but that’s one of the few downsides of it for me.
Btw this has taken 7 mins to write with predictive text on. 🙂

Sounds very familiar to me. I’m worst with numbers; I can’t dial a number off a business card, can’t hold numbers in my head, can’t do dates and diaries, I write complete gibberish but I live in a world of maps and drawings. I actually produce pretty accurate work because I know I need to check or have my work checked. I can’t stand people watching me hand-write because of the random stream of symbols and marks that come out of the end of my pen. I can’t remember dates or figures, but I know a lot about stuff I’ve seen or been involved in.

Have it to I tend to miss out words they get losses somewhere in reading and writing.. Find using Internet forums has helped in a way not sure why.. Not looking forward to when my son gets older and wants me to read or help with home work.. O and hate feeling out forms when not ready..

So rubbish at spelling and reading.. But for some reason can remember routes or place and ever drive there with no map or do a loop I got shown once just seem to remember key points. Be it a tree or bridge need to turn right..

But I have to ask why make dyslexia so hard to spell…

I was diagnosed 39 years ago when I was 7.

A huge event for me was going to a talk on the Neurology of Dyslexia. I sort of finaly believed in and crucially understood my symptons.

On the why does it matter that I’m diagnosed. Well for me it all comes back to “I wouldn’t apologise for not clapping if only had one hand”. There are a few things I can’t do. Some times I need a bit of help some times you need to make allowances

My bigest symptoms

I cannot proof read my own work at all. Forum use is helping here…

Very poor at simple arithmatic. Adding up test scores etc. Very poor at transfering numbers between 2 places. This is important and I’m now clear at work that any numbers that go to the exam board must be processed by some one else

I can’t hear vowel sounds properly. So often mispronounce names and still am not really sure on the diffrence between Marianne and Marion. I ran a team with a Marion and a Marianne in once. I can still only get the pronounciation right by visualising the mouth shape. A dyslexics in ability to spell is more down to poor processing of sound than poor processing of visual information

I can’t follow across a large table like a spread sheet

But I’m really quite clever. I teach A-level physics for aliving. I’m good at maths and good at seeing in 3D

The only real down side is that I got a crap degree for Cambridge. At least in part because my brain couldn’t do wrote learning. That blew my chances of being an academic. But of course my current job might suit me better

There is a link for the slides of the lecture i went to at the bottom of this page

http://www.physiol.ox.ac.uk/~jfs/

A bit hard to follow without the lecture but some good stuff

PS I’ve got a dyslexic son and mother

PPS having kids a great oppertunnity to learn to read out loud from scratch so start eaerly. Year one and your reading sock, shirt, table etc. from a picture book

10 years later I read the order of The Order Of The Phoenix aloud