Claire: Testimony of a Dyslexic Teacher

Mike Shreeve, UK

Mike Shreeve is a freelance trainer, coach, teacher and has worked in Pilgrims summer school on the teaching difficult learners and coaching with NLP courses. He will be teaching a new advanced coaching NLP course in 2018 for teachers with prior knowledge of coaching or NLP. In the summer during the teaching of the difficult learners’ course I invited a Pilgrim’s colleague into my classroom. That morning during coffee break, I had discovered had “suffered “with dyslexia and its consequences throughout her life and I asked if she could share her personal experience. She is a very successful learner and speaks many languages very well (last count 7). We, as a class, interviewed this teacher to learn what a successful dyslexic learner needs to realise their learning potential. I wanted to write something up for HLT in the hope that although based on one person’s experience there might be pointers, and ideas to help us as teachers. I have tried to incorporate some of the ideas presented with the principles outlined in the text. I apologise in advance if I have missed the point with any of this

I spoke to this teacher (let’s call her Claire) recently on skype and these are the questions I asked:

Tell me Claire, what has been your experience as a dyslexic learner?

I am not sure if I was born dyslexic or if it was because I was naturally left- handed and forced to use my right hand. As a result, in my early years, I had trouble with writing and some reading exercises, particularly when asked to read aloud.

Who or what helped you?

Thinking back at least one of my teachers was probably dyslexic, (although I didn’t know what this was or meant at the time) and she showed great empathy

Did she use the term dyslexic?

Not in those times, but in general it was understood that there were some pupils who didn’t have problems reading but great problems writing. Reading aloud as I have already mentioned was not a happy activity. But, in general, any reading difficulties were masked but my writing let me down.

How did teachers view you at that time?

Most people thought I was a smart but lazy child who could not be bothered with spelling. I was very good orally but regarded as careless.

What else helped you?

I was lucky with the educational system I grew up in. At that time, in my country, we relied heavily on oral exams. Teachers asked me questions and to the horror and surprise of my fellow students I answered them well. This oral tradition was less dense in terms of written demands and was a blessing.

Some teachers realised I was smart and they made some allowances for me.

What hindered you?

Time deadlines that were too tight this tended to put me into panic mode.

A lack of empathy of teachers and some of my family who got frustrated with the problem and thought I was just lazy. I had great difficulty keeping spaces tidy because I need asymmetry to organise things and to make distinctions.

What would you recommend to teachers?

Avoid monochrome, small fonts which are too similar, experiment using different colours, sizes and even 3 dimensions. Remember dyslexia is not about writing and reading but how we process space. Internally we are very good at organising, but we perceive the external world as if it were flat, in two dimensions. Certain letters look the same to us, therefore I would encourage teachers to distinguish clearly “g” and “s” as well as “p” and “d” which are more usually distinguished.

Spatial instructions can be confusing. I have a scar on my left hand, so I can see which is left. I cannot make pictures in my mind to see left or right, it is almost like asking someone without sight to distinguish colours.

I would encourage teachers to avoid harsh criticism. Some of my teachers would say things like

“Can’t you organise yourself?”

How come you are so stupid that you can’t even spell nice? (I had trouble with the I and the c)

You seem to be organised now?

(During the skype interview I had noticed some cabinets with what seemed to be neatly stacked books) these are not books they are DVD’s and I can distinguish them by colour and they are not really stacked. (I then noticed that they sat somewhat irregularly in their neat shelves)

Going back to what we were saying, I started to internalise people’s comments. To this my family and wider family added all sorts of limits. In their eyes I was a woman who could not keep a neat house – so what chance did I have of a husband? At this point in my teens I reached rock bottom.

What changed that?

Well I suppose my choices were to accept that or hit back. I choose to hit back.

I started making a point of using my left hand despite religious objections relating to the “sinister hand”.

As I went further in my education the content became more important than the presentation and spelling and I became perceived as smart. This led to a discrepancy in perception between my teachers and my family. I choose to believe my teachers.

Another apparently negative trait that served me well was my stubbornness and I refused to give up.

I worked for a year as a teacher and then went to University far away to study Indian languages.

Because Indian languages have greater distinctions in their characters I found much less problem writing these languages.

So, some languages are easier than others for dyslexics?

Yes, the Latin alphabet is probably the worst in that six or seven shapes make all the letters. The Arabic alphabet is more 3 dimensional and the Hindi one has a huge amount of very distinct shapes.

What advantages do you gain from dyslexia?

One is knowing that you are smart despite of it can build confidence that you have overcome a great hurdle. It is like being a dry, alcoholic!

I think you also have a rich inner vision and can see connections between things easily which can lead to creativity, design and enterprise.

What tips would you give to current teachers who may have dyslexic students?

Write letters separately (not joined up on the whiteboard)

Give time to learn to read and write

Avoid reading aloud!

Don’t tell us if we are too smart if we are not or too stupid if we can’t spell

Forget the feedback about making more effort or paying attention – just saying it doesn’t make any impact

Give us the opportunity to be mes sy. Who suffers from a desk being messy? Give us space to organise our things. There are lots of dyslexics who could have done better if they didn’t have to continuously neaten up their spaces.

Finally think of the impact, I don’t think I am typical. I have friends who have been put through hell.

Thank you, Claire, for giving us your experience.

Please check the Special Needs and Inclusive Learning course at Pilgrims website.