My name is Sophie, and I'm dyslexic. I'm Fiona, and I'm dyslexic. [AUDIO LOGO] Dyslexia, to me, is like a learning difficulty that makes reading, writing, and spelling a bit more challenging. When I found out I was dyslexic, it felt like I didn't really know what it really meant. But when I gradually found out what it meant, it felt like something I didn't have to hold on in a way, because before I was thinking I was like Dory. I was really lost. And it was really hard, like in classes. Initially, the manifestation of dyslexia would probably be seen in the preschool years as a difficulty in learning letters, learning the names of numbers, and sometimes naming colours. When I found out I was dyslexic, I think I was four years old. And I was like, what's dyslexia, and why do I have dyslexia? It's really annoying. They have dyslexia. What do you think it was when you first found out? I thought it meant that you were just dumb. I don't think I thought I was stupid. I felt just like it was a bit of a struggle. The term dyslexia is really used to describe people who have difficulty in acquiring literacy, so learning to read and learning to spell, and once that's happened, difficulty in achieving reading fluency. Dyslexia, to me, is about thinking outside the box, being very creative. Dyslexia doesn't mean you're dumb. It means that you have to process stuff in a different way to others. There are structural differences in the left hemisphere, that is the language hemisphere of the brain, in young children who are at family risk of dyslexia-- that is, children who have a dyslexic parent. And those areas of structural difference predict the rate at which they're going to learn to read. I didn't really get the support that I needed, so I had to try and find the support myself, with my mum and my dad just helping me. Because everyone else is like on a way higher level reading and be like, well, I know I can read, but I can't in the same way. Yeah, it's just I can't get over that level of reading. I just sound out a word, but then it doesn't come out right. Then it just-- I get so confused We used to think dyslexia was a very specific difficulty, that it was very selective and it was the only aspect of development that was affected. So we thought about children who are above average intelligence and only have difficulties with reading. We now know that concept is incorrect. It's much more usually the case that someone with dyslexia will have some other specific learning difficulty. So what we often say is comorbidity, or the co-occurrence of disorders, is not the exception. It's actually the rule. [MUSIC PLAYING] If I had anything else, it would just make me feel more free in a way, because I know the difficulty, so I'll try and do something that will help it in a way, I think. Only for we were doing a big right and I think it was like 106 words. I could not write 106 words. And it is really annoying because everyone else zoomed past, and I was still my first word. Sometimes when I can't get the question and I feel like I know the answer, but at the same time I don't, and I can see everyone else in the class knows it, it again gets overwhelming. I feel like a bit of an imposter syndrome in a way, that everyone's doing something and I'm just there like, "I don't know the work." No one else is asking for help. I shouldn't ask for help because then I'll look like I need the most help. Or sometimes, like in secondary school, I wouldn't put my hand up at all, like in maths, because I felt like I would slow down the class. So if you had five children in a room and you were told they were all dyslexic, what you'd expect is that they would all have some difficulty with reading aloud fluently. They may be able to read aloud. I think there would be problems with often with intonation, or there would be hesitation. So that would be one of the most obvious symptoms. But that would be very marked if you asked them to read a text which contained unfamiliar words. It shouldn't be a stigma, and quite the contrary, actually, I think there needs to be encouragement. We do know that dyslexia often co-occurs with mental health issues, primarily anxiety and depression. I would say dyslexia has made me more resilient, and I don't try and see dyslexia as my barrier in a way. I try and see it as my motivation. But sadly, maths is kind of my enemy, but we're becoming friends slowly. We may not be the best of friends. One of the good things that can come from dyslexia, like any difficulty, is resilience. True grit is one of the things that you can see in some people that have been confronted with dyslexia. [MUSIC PLAYING] What helps me with my dyslexia is definitely being creative. The activities that bring me joy is definitely photography as well, and reading books and watching movies. Listening to my podcast definitely bring me joy. I would say I'm like a kinesthetic learner, where I like doing things hands-on. So I like doing going out and trips and taking photos, caring for my plants. I just love them. I just love-- I told my parents are like my babies. There are so many of them. Yeah, it just makes me feel more calm. If you're having a rubbish day, then always do something that you after school to help you. It feels happier when we're doing a cartwheel because it feels like I'm free, like in English I'm stuck in a classroom and trapped in until I finish whatever we're doing. A sport-- I'm good at sport, and sports is like my happy place. If a child is really having a tough time with literacy development, they're obviously not going to choose literacy activities. But all that time that other people might spend, say, reading, they will may spend on another activity, be that art or music or something else. So people can get very talented, and that talent can be alongside their dyslexia. A message I would give to other dyslexic children's is definitely asking for help and exploring your creativity. Also, finding your strengths in your dyslexia, what you love doing. And if there is a subject that you don't like, or the subject doesn't like you in a way, trying to find a good thing in that subject will definitely help. Dyslexia doesn't mean you're dumb, it means that you process stuff in a different way and say that you're special, and you're special to other people. You're special than other people. [MUSIC PLAYING]