Celebrating the strengths of dyslexic adults Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - 16:12

People with dyslexia often find learning hard, but their strengths highlighted through this year's Dyslexia Awareness Week (1 - 7 November) - their creativity, problem-solving skills and ability to think in a visual way - can be seen through the extraordinary learning achievements of Adult Learners' Week winners:

Denise Hodgson, aged 56, from Yeovil, was branded ‘thick' at school and told she would never be clever enough to be a nurse, so she settled for life as a hospital chef and working in a care home.

However, Denise felt she had more to give and completed an Open University course in Mental Health. During this time she was diagnosed as having dyslexia, helping her realise why she had so many problems with learning at school. Determined not to let dyslexia become a barrier between her and a career she wanted, Denise completed numerous courses - including a Diploma in Lifelong Learning at University Centre Yeovil.

Denise now works as a Vocational Training Manager, teaching health and social care subjects to 14-19 year olds at Yeovil College. She said:

"This really is lifelong learning. It has been a hard journey however, I graduated in October 2009... This has been an unbelievable experience, I never thought I could do this."

The theme for this year's Dyslexia Awareness Week is ‘hidden dyslexia' and NIACE is working hard to raise awareness about dyslexia, particularly in the workplace. We will be offering a training course for practitioners supporting dyslexic learners in the workplace, which will be available in February 2011.

Linda Dixon, Project Officer at NIACE

Billy Kerry, aged 29, from Histon, left school with no qualifications, but went on to achieve a first class honours degree in Fine Art and now lecturers at Cambridge Regional College. He said:

"Gypsy children don't go to university, that's for other people. But I never felt like a conventional Gypsy child - I knew I had something else about me".

Billy left school aged 13 with no qualifications - selling door to door - and taught himself to read. He realised at this point that something was wrong, even though he wasn't sure what. It wasn't until he enrolled on an Access to an Art and Design course at Cambridge Regional College, at the age of 23, that his severe dyslexia was diagnosed.

When he started the course he struggled to read and write, however, his determination saw him complete difficult essays and pass two of the three units on the course. This allowed Billy to complete a Diploma of Foundation Studies the following year and gain a place at University of Arts London - Chelsea, where he later gained a first class honours degree in Fine Art - Sculpture. Billy has now returned to his roots and lectures at Cambridge Regional College, as well as continuing his arts practice with a studio in London.

Billy said:

"I have turned my life around. I feel that I am living my dreams. It wasn't easy leaving the family home, but now my family are very proud of me and all that I have achieved. I feel I can share this with others who may feel that their dreams to study are beyond them. I am living proof that it is not."

Julie Cummins, aged 45, from Dewsbury, was laughed at when struggled to read and write at school, so without the help she needed, she left school without any qualifications. It was at the age of 32 when her youngest son brought books home from school that Julie felt she had to learn to read and write, as she could not help him. Julie taught herself to read using flash cards, the Oxford reading tree and her children's school books.

Learning has made a difference to my life in that it's made me feel alive. It's opened lots of doors for me and I've made new friends.

Julie Cummins

Ten years later, Julie enrolled on an Access Course at Dewsbury College as she wanted the education she felt she should have had as a child. During the Access Course Julie flourished and won an Aim Higher Award in 2008. This led to her embarking on a degree course in Sociology and Psychology.

Julie is studying for her degree at the University of Bradford and outperforms most of the other students in her year group - an exceptional achievement for someone who taught herself to read and write and who, at the age of 42, was diagnosed as having severe dyslexia. She said:

"Learning has made a difference to my life in that it's made me feel alive. It's opened lots of doors for me and I've made new friends."

Bob Wells, aged 48, from Carshalton, suffered a serious injury from a traffic accident six years ago, leaving him no longer able to work and feeling like his life was falling apart.

Bob - a retired Super Heavyweight bronze medal winner at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics - struggled to read and write at school where he was given little support. However, he developed techniques to cope, including keeping his ‘books' for around 1,000 customers in his head, when he was a window cleaner once he'd retired from boxing.

After his accident, Bob was unable to continue cleaning windows and so to help him change career he decided to take English, Numeracy and Computer Studies at SCOLA. He was immediately diagnosed as dyslexic but his determination and good humour saw him pass exams in all his subjects up to a Level 2 Numeracy qualification, in just three years.

The confidence he gained from learning means Bob is now doing a volunteers' course that he hopes will get him a job helping with the 2012 Olympics.

Bob said:

"[Learning] has given me a bit of a second chance or another crack of the whip! It has been very hard this time to pick myself up off the ground but if you don't get up you just stay there."

Linda Dixon, Project Officer for Literacy, Language and Numeracy at NIACE, said:

"The theme for this year's Dyslexia Awareness Week is ‘hidden dyslexia' and NIACE is working hard to raise awareness about dyslexia, particularly in the workplace. We will be offering a training course for practitioners supporting dyslexic learners in the workplace, which will be available in February 2011. Details of the course will be posted on the NIACE events page soon."