Dyslexia and Me: The Book Hangover

I haven’t blogged now in over a month! I have been away on holiday for my birthday, but I planned on writing over this weekend. Sadly that didn’t happen because I’ve been suffering a 3 day hangover now…

…From reading books!!! 

Dyslexia and Me: Ayyy! It’s the Fontz

Source: Family Guy

Maybe I should have a ‘Dyslexia: What really grinds my gears’ section because next to the ‘you should buy Irlen Lenses’ comments when I mention the visual problems I have, number two on my list is ‘you should try *insert name of font here*. I hear that it’s a great font to help dyslexic people with reading’. Well here are my thoughts. 

Dyslexia and Me: The Blue Screen and Irlen Lenses

I have discussed many times already the problems I have with my vision. I suffer from migraines when I am in an environment with fluorescent lights and when I have to read a lot. I have been told this is linked to Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome or Irlen Syndrome but have been told by specialists that Irlen Lenses would be of no help to me.

I actually find it worrying that when I mention this topic at all while looking for alternatives to help me and others like me just how aggressive people get in trying to push Irlen Lenses on me. So before I go any further, this is where I will place semi ‘warning’. Before anyone responds to this post please read ALL that is said on the reasons WHY I’ve been told they would be of no benefit to me.

Let me start from the very beginning and get to where I am now in regards to my vision. Hopefully someone will have another idea on where to go next that isn’t Irlen Lenses. 

Dyslexia and Me: Busy Bee Vision

Honeycomb Lenses

I have previously discussed the new glasses I received from my optician with prisms put into them. They really haven’t made any difference to my vision despite it seeming very different when I was in the optician’s chair. I am very open to trying a variety of lenses to see if I can find a solution to my visual problems.

I was talking to a lovely optician called Robert Longhurst on one of the Facebook dyslexia groups about visual dyslexia. He asked me if I had tried honeycomb lenses to reduce my migraines. I had never even heard of honeycomb lenses before!!!

We discussed the options my optician had given me with the prisms, the educational psychologist and learning support people ruling our Irlen lenses and other options that people have suggested to me in the past. Robert was very nice and sent me some honeycomb lenses to try out and I jumped at the opportunity of trying something new. 

The Letters on the Page

In the light of day
I see the shadows move.
They encircle and dance
And twist their way through
The letters on the page.

The words start to party
As the disco lights begin.
Flashing all the colours
So they don’t blend or fit in
With the letters on the page. 

Dyslexia Awareness Month: Howl at the Moon

“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” — Allen Ginsberg

One of the things I’ve loved about blogging about dyslexia and my own experiences has been learning about things that I thought were personal quirks. The more I look into dyslexia, scotopic sensitivity and dyspraxia, the more I realise that the things I thought that were unique to me that made my friends looked at me weirdly are actually traits rather than quirks. Well, I guess they are still my own quirks as not all the things that apply to me apply to all dyslexics or dyspraxics.

I really want to share my experiences via the blog, all the good stuff, the bad stuff and the madness in between for people to read and go ‘HEY! I do that too!’ and realise, it’s not really that mad at all 🙂

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/howl-at-the-moon

Dyslexia Awareness Month: Poll Number One

I’m interesting in finding out a few bits and pieces which I will post on the last day of Dyslexia Awareness Month, so here is the first poll related to vision:

Blogging 101: Say My Name, Say My Name

What’s in a name?

Well this is kind of embarrassing… I actually found where to sign up to Blogging 101 this morning (I had just joined in yesterday when I saw it in my reader)! So I have signed up a bit late, but will continue on with the assignments as they appear in my Reader. It actually seems like a lot of fun! Today the assignment was to edit my title and tagline, something that is an interesting assignment for someone who’s already been blogging for several months, so here is a reflection on why I chose my blog title and header. 

Blogging 101: Who I am and why I’m here

What’s behind the mask???

This morning, as I was looking through my WordPress Reader, I spotted a post from The Daily Post and realised that I hadn’t taken on any of the Blogging 101 assignments before. Today’s assignment is about introducing yourself, so I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to join in! 

Dyslexia and Me: I is for I, Myself and Me

I am now vainly writing about myself for #blogging4charity. Well, to be fair, the whole blog is based on my experiences with dyslexia, so perhaps the entire blog is vanity! Who knows why I assumed people would be interested in reading about my life!

I started this blog earlier this year in hope to raise awareness of both dyslexia and scotopic sensitivity syndrome. It has been a very interesting journey so far and I have learnt a lot! There were many topics I decided to approach wondering if it really was something linked to dyslexia, or if it was just me! My blog on ‘Socialising‘ instantly springs to mind. I’ve also enjoyed sharing my moments of absolute joy, such as getting a first for my dissertation and graduating from university as well as the struggles I’ve had over the years. It’s almost like therapy!