Dyslexia and the professional

[MNHughes]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm Dyslexic and I was wondering if anyone else here is and how it's helped/hindered their IT career and working in a school.

[clareq]

One of my colleagues is dyslexic and it hasn't stood in his way at all. He asks one of us to check his work if he's working at command line - occasionally typing in notepad, checking it and pasting it into command. It's a case of knowing one's problems and working round them.

[gibbo_ap]

im darn sure im dyslexic i booked a test at college and got the time wrong...... btw that is not a joke.

 

i struggle to read at speed and do mental arithmetic [sic] (although that is Dyscalculia). i can guarantee most emails (and edugeek posts) go with spelling mistakes.

 

my missus is very dyslexic and reads alot slower than myself, all the 'dyslexic freindly' things that are happening within our school have upset her;

 

stopping printing so the 'special'/dyslexic students can print in comic sans on beige paper etc.

 

but personally its reading aloud, spelling and confidence

[GrumbleDook]

For me the issue is with the quality of my handwriting (I overwrite letters when I spot they are wrong and it just looks a mess) and I have always had difficulty reading music.

 

Because of the way I have been taught to get around some problems I speed read, getting through 2-3 books a week ... but when I drop that down to a book a fortnight I drop back into old habits of writing and mis-reading badly.

 

I was never diagnosed until a friend in the army needed a guinea pig to practice running tests on, but it turns out an old teacher (in primary school) who had shown me some tips and tricks had obviously spotted it was a problem but didn't want to label me ... possibly in case it held me back applying for certain schools.

[vikpaw]

I'm with the not labelling thing. It is (can be) a serious problem, but don't let that dwell on your mind. I know many people who are not dyslexic, just appalling spellers, with appalling vocab, very poor handwriting etc. Lack of attention to detail doesn't help. If you have methods that get you through it, like Tony, then that's a great thing to develop.

 

With your web developing, a good text editor, or full scale program will auto fill tags for you etc. Office has it's own spell check etc, so the work you produce, with a little care should be fine. I'd be very surprised if you were penalised for any problems. I've helped many colleagues with proof reading things before they get finalized, and they are not all dyslexic! I'd concentrate on any issues you have with comprehension of others' materials, reading manuals that sort of thing.

 

Apologies if i've over generalised the issues or shown my ignorance, just trying to say it shouldn't be a problem, i mean look at Tony, he's had a wonderful loaf and is like a demi-god.

[andy_nic]

I’m Dyslexic, it’s never stopped me, I’ve just found ways around it like using spell checking on word.

[p858snake]

I’m Dyslexic, it’s never stopped me, I’ve just found ways around it like using spell checking on word.

I think everyone uses that trick... google... word.... even my doctor does when spelling medically stuff...

[fafster]

My sister's dyslexic and finished university this year with a 2:1 in Criminology and Education. As long as you understand the way it affects you, you can make provisions.

[Hedghog]

I'm with GrumbleDook on this one - I've never been formally diagnosed and it only reciently when I started working in schools that it clicked particularly after my daughter said to me one day you write like a Dyslexic. I had a chat with our SEN and yes I probaly am but have worked around most of my lfe. When I went to school ist wasn't even know let alone recognised as a problem I was just slow in some respects.

Tony is right that speed reading is a great help, if I try and read like my eldest daughter i.e. every word I end up in a knot but speed reading I'm fine.

[LiamH]

Im dyslexic. i end up googling words to check spelling all the time.

 

Spelling in my head is a nightmare and i struggle with writing much more then typing... Not sure why that is its probably just me memorizing the finger movements rather then the words.

 

And im a bit ashamed to admit when i write some words i still have to say the little rhymes in my head (Big elephants can always use small elephants)

 

And don't get me started on arithmetic... Yet i'm usually okay with applied maths and can get my head around programming with variables no problem.

 

I think its one of the reasons I got into IT in the first place.

 

On a side note when i was diagnosed they said i was 1 point away from a mensa IQ Beer killing braincells has messed that up though

[Butuz]

That's why I got into computers in the first place because I write like an extremely untidy 2 year old!!!

 

I try to avoid writing at all costs, hasn't done me any harm professionally I don't think.

 

Butuz

[srochford]

I've worked with people who are dyslexic and it doesn't affect their ability to do IT. You will find people who think you're stupid or lazy because they just don't understand - that's their problem!

 

By all means use a spell checker but be aware of the pitfalls of the spell checker giving you the "wrong" word - for me, a good sign of someone who's dyslexic is the document that passes a spelling check but has some "uh; what does that mean" bits in it. If you have to present documents to other people then can you get a colleague to check them for you after you've done the spell check etc - that way they'll pick up on the odd things that you might not notice.

 

Good luck!

[MNHughes]

Hi Everyone,

 

This is turning into a very interesting thread. On occasion I mix my words up in sentances especially when teachers ask what I'm doing or how I fixed the problem.

 

Does anyone else find talking and explaining things in a logical way a problem, I know there are many types of dyslexics so this may not be an issue, but I'd be interestd in knowing.

 

Thanks for the replies!

 

Martin

[Hedghog]

@MNHuges

 

A lot of dyslexics have difficulty with this - in my previous professional life I was a project manager and had to learn how to do this effectivley. I found it much easier to use diagrams to explain things to groups of people rather than words as I see things as pictures (this is how I read, probably see a word as a picture and assign a meaning to that instead of the letters). I also find lists endlessly frustrating so I will use mindmaps if I have to organise somthing complicated.

sorry forgot to add, time and practise helps. Towards the end of my time as a project manager I became quite articulate (sorry to boast) and could hold my own in any meeting but I am now 60 so have had enough time, so to speak to develop, to don't give up on it yet.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Hedghog

[LiamH]

It always amazes me the different types of dyslexia, A friend of mine found the coloured overlay sheets / tinted glass's helped him with reading but I have always been able to read okay without. Its just spelling and maths that I struggle with.

 

Luckily working with computers means I pretty much always have a calculator and spell checker at my fingertips. Sometimes i still struggle though because i tend to spell things phonetically and it ends up nowhere near the correct spelling so spell checkers struggle. And i have to think of another way of phrasing it just to avoid that word...

[russdev]

Also a good tip is to use software that will read your screen. I use the free version of natural reader. Also work out your blind spot most dyslexics have a blind spot to a certain word (with me it is 'the' quite a common blind spot I am told)

 

Russ

[MNHughes]

I've never really had a problem with English but my maths is very very bad.

[IanT]

I'm dyslexic, doesn't really stand in my way, i do have poor hand writing though.

 

I do believe that people who are dyslexic think different to a person who hasn't got it.