Dyslexia success stories

[FluthyFeaffers]

Could anyone share any success stories about doing well in life whilst having severe dyslexia, either about yourself or a DC who is now an older teen or adult who has gone on to have a successful experience with college, or training, or a good job, and are on track to earn, or are already earning, a decent wage?
I have a 12 year old DD diagnosed with severe dyslexia who is bright and clever and wonderful but severely impacted at school by having a reading age of a 6 year old. Secondary school is all about passing GCSEs and I don't know how she is ever going to achieve any educational qualifications due to her reading age being 6 years behind her school year age.
I'm feeling very bleak and my child's self esteem is dramatically waning.
I really need to hear some positive stories about success with severe dyslexia after leaving secondary school if anyone would be kind enough to share - I'd like to share some positive stories with my DD.
A lot of dyslexia stuff online talks about famous people who are dyslexic, but DD doesn't really connect with these. I think successful and positive stories from more ordinary people would be much more helpful for her to feel encouraged by.
AIBU to feel defeated by the state education system and how it doesn't fit my DD.

Hi, I have 4 sons, all of whom are dyslexic with various degrees of severity. The 3 eldest have degrees (1st or 2i). The youngest is currently at university. All educated in the state system.
I’m sure you are working closely with the school, the boys were allowed to drop a compulsory language at GCSE and they did choose subjects that played to their strengths. They had extra time in exams and I think one may have had a scribe. The 2 most affected had a private dyslexia tutor for many years.
I know you will worry, I did endlessly but they have done well and I am immensely proud of what they have achieved and their resilience. Best of luck to your daughter.

This is very late in the day to be realising severe dyslexia is present. Planet dyslexia is really good.

Boss has absolutely terrible dyslexia. She's on 6 figures plus and well respected in the industry.

Mine is moderate but I've managed by being very open about it and making use of every tool available. Almost anything written can be read aloud by technology now. Look into tools for thoes with sight challenges. Explore every avenue, colour contrasts, screen rulers to stop words swimming.

Richard Branson and many successful entrepreneurs are dyslexic. As is jay blades from the repair shop. My son is severely dyslexic but I don't know what his reading age is. He is ten and is just about managing the bunny Vs monkey books. But three years ago he was still only able to manage CVC words very slowly. He also has ADHD which probably hasn't helped.
We focus on the things he is brilliant at like being amazingly creative and making things, and have explained that there is noone who is brilliant at everything and that he is extra talented at being creative but will always find reading hard and to play to his talents instead of feeling sad about how hard reading is. We are lucky because he has quite a resilient sort of personality naturally.

I bet your daughter has things she enjoys and is good at? Maybe sports or art?

We also found regular nessy (online subscription to computer game ) helped a lot but you have to do it 4 times a week.

What do you mean by saying this is very late in the day to be realising severe dyslexia is present?
My DD was diagnosed when she was aged 7 after 3 years of me endlessly battling with her primary school to get them to acknowledge that their was a cause for her reading delay.
I realised several years before she was officially diagnosed. But we were advised to wait until she was 7 years old before having her formally assessed, and we followed this advice.
So what point are you making here?

Both of my children have been diagnosed as profoundly dsylexic, having been privately assessed.
It was a shock because they both are academically very strong.
One has recently been awarded an honours degree at a top university and has landed an extremely prestigious Graduate Programme Placement in a huge multi national. They worked hard, that was the ingredient.
My other child is still in education and is doing well too, again hard work.

Have you investigated the spectacles that can help?
Improving reading is the key.
Also using a laptop to type assignments etc.
Starting to learn to type is of huge benefit to every student, but particularly dsylexics.
Start looking at any and every aid to help your child.

My sister (now in her 50s) is dyslexic and was totally failed at school. She came out with nothing. After working in low paid jobs and working out what she was good at she went back and did all her qualifications as an adult. She started with GCSEs and went through to a degree even while working with a family to support. She got amazing results and now has an excellent graduate career (and I'm sure is very good at her job). I have so much respect for her.
My own son is dyslexic and I'm not sure where he'll be when he comes to sit GCSEs as he is in secondary and still can't read properly. I am confident he can get there but the pressure in our education system is to be at the same point by a certain age and I think he might need a little extra time.

Signed up just to answer this one.

My husband has dyslexia and dyspraxia. He once muddled up the spelling of Tuesday and Thursday in an email to a lecturer at university and that's when they sent him to get tested.

He's also got a degree in computer science and is on a mumsnetty 6 figure salary. Coding is a good one for dyslexics because depending on the dev environment it uses a lot of syntax that's colour coded and can be filled in using keyboard short cuts rather than typing long hand.

He is intensely practical, can turn his hand to just about anything. Other things he would do in hindsight would be to be a carpenter, electrician, plumber or plasterer.

Just about anything where there's a problem to be solved really, he's got an amazing working memory too that seems to have grown out of necessity.

DH has dyslexia and has 3 degrees and a PhD. I think the key is to know the strengths in the spiky profile (his is coding and spotting detail, awful at spatial recognition and spelling though) and leaning into those. Then using as much support to bring the lower points up as much as possible. Fight for things like being able to dictate assignments and specialist software. DH has campaigned to allow all ND employees in his team to use AI to help with emails for example.

Dh was diagnosed at 22 and the real damage wasn't the actual dyslexia but being told he was stupid all through secondary. So you have the gift of being able to not do that with your DC.

My boss has severe dyslexia and is a ceo of a very successful company. She's also very open about her dyslexia and manages to navigate life fine with voice notes 😆 if I see a voice not pop up I know exactly who it is..! She's also a very well known speaker and angel investor.

I am severely dyslexic was told at school I couldn’t do x y z and that I would never be a nurse, which I is what I’d always wanted to do. Primary school I was bullied well really until high school finished. I had a horrible time but worked hard. Surpassed what anyone expected. I did a year at college then went to university to be a paediatric nurse in Edinburgh. 19 years qualified and love it. I also did summer school for kids with dyslexia when I was younger which I loved, being with other kids with struggles like mine gave me confidence, no bullying either. I hope your daughter gets the support to succeed in whatever she chooses to do.

No advise as we are in the same situation. Looking now ive no idea how he will ever manage GCSEs as his written work is prob 4-5 years behind. DS is also 12 with dyslexia. Currently reading is much stronger than it was but spellings he still struggles with 3/4 letter words.

Look up dyslexia is my superpower on LinkedIn for people sharing their stories

Have you investigated the spectacles that can help?
Improving reading is the key.
Also using a laptop to type assignments etc.
Starting to learn to type is of huge benefit to every student, but particularly dsylexics.
Start looking at any and every aid to help your child.

Agree with this, what colour overlay is she using? There is loads of aids and apps now that will help with her reading and reading comprehension.

How is she academically?

id also buy her colour notebooks, I still use them now, I’m degree educated and am a specialist in my professional role.

Don’t underestimate the difficulty with organisation that goes with dyslexia. Make sure she doesn't view asking for help as a failure.

Cbbc have a website that helps typing. I think it's called garage band or something similar.

I thought the jury was out on overlays though in terms of evidence that they do anything.

DS1 is dyslexic. I home educated him to GCSEs. He couldn't read fluently until about age 11 and really struggled with spelling.

I gave him lots of time to learn to read and write. But I also supported him in going at a faster pace with maths/science/computing which were his strengths. I made sure his dyslexia did not get in the way of that.

After doing well in GCSEs as a private candidate, he went to our local state 6th form and did 4 A levels. He got 3 A stars and an A, which were the top results for his year group.

He is now in his 2nd year at Durham University studying Maths. First year exam results were equivalent to a first.

DH didn't find out he was dyslexic until adulthood... it was our DD being tested that made him realise! He was just told he was useless at spelling, reading etc. (But passed the 11+ based on reasoning etc!)

He's a reasonably successful Army Officer. I have to proof read all his written correspondence (and do any official hand written stuff for him). Theres quite a bit in his job.

Good luck to your DD. Fortunately we are passed the stage of seeing dyslexic children as lower ability... personally I think its made my DD more determined and hardworking.

Interesting, my child struggled with the coding aspect of their degree and suffered a bit of vision dustress too, which is linked to dyslexia.
Also a verbal dispraxic but whilst sometimes struggles over the odd word, is very social.
Dispraxia and dyslexia are closely linked.
Only wish I had known this even 10 years ago so they might have been diagnosed earlier.
My children are privately educated and it is disappointing that it was missed.
Finding out at university is very late, but better late than never.

There is a dyslexic school. They teach to the children’s strengths. I would have moved to gain a place.

I'm very dyslexic and have had a successful career, currently in a senior leadership role as well as 10 GCSEs, 3 a levels, a degree and several professional qualifications.

At work I'm considered one of the best and brightest because I see things differently, come up with innovative ideas and see problems in ways other people don't.

I had no idea though until my mid 20s when one of my managers had me tested in utter despair because I excelled at some aspects of my job and bombed at others.

Dyslexic people tend to have low self esteem because they will have gone through a lot of their life being told things like:

You need to try harder
You're thick
You'll never amount to anything if you carry on like this
Having to do "special reading" at school because you're just not keeping up, meaning you miss vital learning in other lessons
Not being allowed to take the higher level papers (eg Maths GCSE)
Simply feeling stupid because you don't "get" something

The things I had that were really helpful were:

A dyslexia coach, who taught me skills I use today
A good understanding of where I excel and where I don't - for instance, language is my top strength and maths is my worst. So I avoid jobs where I have to do a lot of analysis, mathematics etc as it's really stressful for me.
A really, really good understanding of what dyslexia actually is, as it's not a reading condition or a learning disability

I would say for you DD the key is to find a way to boost her confidence. She also really does need to find a way to navigate the reading thing as it's the gateway to everything else - I'm sure you're well aware literacy is key - but there are so many ways to access the written word she just needs to find what works for her (read aloud software, coloured glasses etc).

I'm not going to lie, dyslexia presents many barriers and frustrations. Whether it's someone deciding you're too stupid to do your job you're perfectly good at when they discover you're dyslexic (happened to me twice), people making fun of you (a lot) just the sheer exhaustion you get from having to try so much harder that everyone else (all the damn time) the embarrassment of the other bits of dyslexia no one talks about (eg getting lost easily including in the office you work in all the time).

BUT she can find her lane and her strengths and excel. Also, these days I quite enjoy laughing at people who get confused when I talk about being dyslexic as they can't compute how I'm so good at my job because they have preconceptions and instantly decide I shouldn't be able to read.

My youngest is severely dyslexic. He was failed by his primary school but had an ehcp for secondary school and went to
a school with specialist support. He got the lowest possible score for his English sats in year 6 but went on to do reasonably well in GCSEs. He’s now at college studying what he loves.

the specialist support is key.

personally I hate references to Richard Branson etc as they came from affluent backgrounds and had the money to access any specialist support they needed. Certainly not available in our family.

My husband is dyslexic. He has two degrees and a masters degree. He has his own successful business and brings home a 6 figure salary.