Dyslexia Awareness
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| Vicki McNicol Biography |
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I didn’t find out that I was dyslexic until I was 46 years old. I only found out because I went to work at the British Dyslexia Association as Fundraising Director and the dyslexia specialists there recognised it by the way that I worked. They kept telling me that I was ‘so’ dyslexic. I thought that they wanted everyone in the world to be dyslexic and I couldn’t possibly be because I could read and write and had worked my way up to a senior position. I finally went and had a full educational psychologists assessment;
this proved to be enlightening. The assessment demonstrated that
I had a high IQ – this news was shocking as up until this
point I had believed that I was thick. Having spent a lifetime hiding the fact that I was not intelligent, the prospect of now having to hide a disability was not one that I relished. I became so depressed that it affected my work – I felt almost paralysed by this. A colleague (a dyslexia specialist) asked me what was wrong. This
was one of those life defining moments and I will never forget it.
She said that I could take the knowledge that I am dyslexic put
it in a drawer and forget it as I was the same person today as I
was three weeks earlier when I was assessed. I then spent time learning new ways of working which have completely transformed some aspects of my life, giving me confidence and an absolute passion for dyslexia and how to help people like me overcome their difficulties. I am now able to take responsibility for my dyslexia and able to control aspects of it. I now recognise how I learn and work best. This knowledge has given me the confidence to go on to gain professional qualifications, something that I would not have anticipated being able to accomplish. |
Inspite of (or because of !) my dyslexia, I have achieved the following professional qualifications:
Key to my determination in gaining these qualifications
was my goal of being able to offer a full range of services for
individuals with dyslexia and those they come into contact with.
My work has become more varied; along with disability
student allowance assessments for the Open University and Wessex
Needs Assessment Centre, I particularly enjoy working as a specialist
assessor for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre. Some individuals struggle to come to terms with
the diagnosis of dyslexia, just as I did initially. It is especially
rewarding when I am able to bring my personal experience to help
these newly diagnosed individuals appreciate that there are strategies
that can be learned to compensate for the difficulties that dyslexia
brings. Technology is available and, most importantly,
when you learn how to use your strengths to overcome your difficulties,
life can take on a whole new perspective. One of my clients recently expressed how great
it was to be able to talk to someone who really understood what
she goes through every day. For her I found a new way forward, and
with the advice that I was able to provide, she has gained the appropriate
support. She is now planning on opening a new strand to her business,
something that she has not been able to consider thus far because
she felt there was no way she could cope, given her dyslexia difficulties.
I feel as if my dyslexia has become a gift,
as I am now able to use my experience, knowledge and understanding
to help those who would otherwise continue to have persistent difficulties
with many aspects of their lives. |
