Neurodiversity and Me: Imposter Syndrome

I had never heard of ‘Imposter Syndrome’ until yesterday when a good friend of mine shared this video from YouTube that they had seen. My friend is someone who I have the utmost respect for, so when they post things up I always try to take a look at them, especially when it’s things I haven’t heard of before. As soon as I started watching this, I realised just how important it was not only for this Vlogger or my friend, but also for me to share with all of you who read my blog. It is just over 8 minutes long, but I will explain below why I found it so important (which you will hopefully look at AFTER watching the video).

I didn’t realise that this was an actual thing. I thought that it was just my own personal “paranoias”. “Paranoias” that I can explain exactly where they arose from. 

Dyslexia and Me: Reaction to The Guardian’s Secret Teacher

Source: http://images.clipartpanda.com/classroom-clip-art-ncBazrRcA.gif

Yesterday, The Guardian posted an article online called Secret Teacher: we are too quick to label children who aren’t perfect. I have shared it on social media to see reaction from the dyslexic community, but I thought I would write a response in the blog to the article too.

Knowing where to start with this is difficult. I have given my opinions on social media already, but rather than copy and paste, it is probably best to dissect the article rather than a gut reaction.

Firstly let me note that I am neither a parent nor a teacher, but I have been through the education system as an undiagnosed dyslexic who asked for help on more than one occasion. 

#blogging4charity – S is for Study Skills

I have really started to run out of ideas for blogging at the moment. Blogging once a day is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. S was proving to be another tricky letter to write about until just before I sat down I was asked on Twitter about studying for exams! So todays blog is about the study skills I used for college and university for my exams and also for writing essays. Hopefully some of my suggestions will be of use. 

#blogging4charity – Dyslexia, Schools and Blogging

I read a lot of different blogs that discuss experience of dyslexia in school. I have blogged about the topic myself and I always find it very interesting reading other people’s experiences. I thought it would be a great idea to share other dyslexic bloggers experiences with my readers. Please take the time to go and read the individual blogs and to follow these great bloggers.

I am quoting parts of blogs that stood out to me as a dyslexic. There are a few bits of repetition though these are all different people from around the world of varying ages. 

#blogging4charity – H is for Homework

The word that still strikes horror and resentment in my heart to this day. Memories of homework in high school.

I didn’t like being in school. I was in 5 days a week for hours on end wishing for the weekend. To have homework on top felt like punishment for the teachers inability to teach effectively while we were there. It used to make me feel really frustrated as it wouldn’t just be for the one class and it was expected for the following day a lot of the time. At university, I didn’t feel as annoyed by studying at home. Perhaps because we were given more time and it was for stuff I wanted to learn about. Sometimes I found the workload overbearing when I couldn’t get my assistive technology on my laptop to work converting scanned files so it could be read to me. Even though I was often in 5 days a week, I had far more free time and breathing space and deadlines were given to us in advance. 

#blogging4charity – B is for Bullying

I have been greatly inspired by the blog on Alternative Wiring last month called An Experience With Emotional Bullying. I have had my own experience of bullying several times in my school days and I thought I would write a blog on my first real experience of being bullied at school.

It started when I was 10 years old. A new girl started in our class who was sat next to my best friend of 5 years. We weren’t allowed to choose our seats, the teachers always picked seating arrangements through primary school. I think I had only ever been sat next to this best friend when we were in primary 2 aged 6, though I don’t remember primary 3 and 4 very well (I think I blocked a lot of those two years out because of the dislike for my teacher). So it wasn’t unusual that I wasn’t sat next to my best buddy in class. 

Dyslexia and Me: A Response from a Dyslexic #TimeToTalk

I have just read The Problem with Schools Not Identifying Dyslexia on Dyslexic Advantage Blog and wanted to give my two pennies worth to the topic.

I can only speak from my own experience as I am not an educator or a health care worker. I am also not in the United States, so please read the original article for the full context. What I would like to discuss is the possible implications of not identifying dyslexia in schools. 

Blogging 101: Fairytales, Inspiration and Dreams with a Happily Ever After

My fairy wings aren’t really magical, though sometimes I wish they were!

All good fairytales start with a ‘once upon a time’, but this is a true story and despite my wings, I am no fairy. I’m also not a witch like Hermione Granger, though I was given that nickname for a while. Nor am I a superhero. I am just a normal person.

Once upon a time there was a girl called Hannah. She was a normal girl. She loved cartoons, music and TV documentaries. Her favourite cartoons of all time were Care Bears, Dogtanion, Thundercats, Spiderman and Powerpuff Girls! Her favourite music changed quite a lot, but she really loved Nirvana and had posters of them all over her walls. And she LOVED historical and archaeological documentaries on the TV. She loved to go to her friends’ houses to have sleepovers or going to the cinema to see the newest movie. But there was one thing she HATED more than anything in the world. Going to school!!! 

Dyslexia and Me: X is for Xanadu

University College Cork

Xanadu! What a great word! And you didn’t think I could come up with a word for ‘X’ 😉

My favourite place(s) that represent great beauty and that have provided me with contentment was university. With my negative experiences of school, my time at university was far more positive and a generally happy experience. And though this contentment within an educational environment may have been surprising to me, the beauty in both the universities I studied at during my undergraduate degree really cannot be denied (though both had the odd really ugly building too!!!!). 

Important: Petition | Make Dyslexia diagnosis easier for children to get. | Change.org

via Petition | Make Dyslexia diagnosis easier for children to get. | Change.org.

I think this is a very important petition for people concerned about dyslexia to sign. I struggled with school because my school refused to have me diagnosed with dyslexia because it was ‘too expensive’. I would hate to see this trend continuing and urge you to sign this petition to make it easier to diagnose kids with dyslexia.

Under the current system in the UK there are many families who struggle for years to get their children properly and formally diagnosed with Dyslexia. Local Authorities are reluctant to send a child to an Educational Psychologist due to funding restrictions and tightening school budgets. If a school is meeting a child’s educational needs then they have no reason to request a formal diagnosis. However if a parent goes to their GP and requests a referral to a Educational Psychologist for a formal diagnosis the GP says they cannot as it is not covered by the NHS. The GP also mistakenly thinks a parent can simple requests the school to refer the child for one. Hence parents are left going round in circles. Many parents are frustrated with the current system and are left with their child undiagnosed or facing an independant diagnosis from a Educational Psychologist costing them a few hundred pounds. Even when parents do get this ‘independant’ diagnosis some parents are told that it is still not accepted by some as “they have paid someone to say their child has Dyslexia”.

Unless the government are prepared to change the current system many individuals will be left undiagnosed and not receiving the help they need! Any other learning difficulty diagnosis is funded by the NHS not parents. Dyslexic children have to pay privately to get a diagnosis.

I only understand all these difficulties due to going through this battle with my own child and know of other families in the same situation, therefore I ask you all to sign this petition to raise awareness of this unfair system.