Student Blog: World Dyslexia Day by Astrid

Do you know how many times I had to rewrite Dyslexia in the heading? 5!!! Why would they give a learning disability where you have trouble spelling a name that is so difficult to spell? It is a bit silly!

I am 11 years old and I am dyslexic. Having dyslexia is mostly fine, but sometimes it will get super hard, like when writing the title above. ;)

When people hear that I am dyslexic they will always ask me "Can you read?" And yes, I can read and I like reading, but some people with dyslexia struggle with reading. It is spelling that’s my problem and messing up and leaving out words. It is very annoying. I have just as many and good ideas as everyone else. Maybe even more! But when I have to write them I mess up and forget some of the words. My classmates always point that out. It is not because I’m a messy person or because I’m not trying. It is part of my dyslexia.

So when I write I’ll mix some things up and they may not make any sense to anyone. But to me it looks fine, I think that I have put down all words and it takes some time for me to realise there are mistakes. I have to read the text over and over again. When you are dyslexic you have to work much harder than other people and it makes me really tired. I probably spend twice as long time when I do my homework than my friends.

One of the perks of having dyslexia is that you can have very good memory. My long term memory is really good and I have found my own ways to cope with my dyslexia. Sometimes I feel a bit different, but that’s OK. But sometimes it makes me a bit sad that I have to work so hard and that other people can finish their work so much faster, with less mistakes than me. It feels a bit unfair. It is not easy to have dyslexia but I feel that it is important to share my experiences so other people understand what it is like. There are many dyslexic people in the world and we are just as smart as anyone else!

Astrid
7AB