Finding a way forward with dyslexia

Katy thinks back to school days as days of misery. Her mum knew that she needed extra support but the school refused to accept this.  They suggested that she was not very bright, did not keep well and spent a lot of time absent from school. School was the last place this girl wanted to go to and by the time she was in her teens she had little confidence in herself, was being bullied and was very unhappy.

A few years later she went to a college where she received a diagnosis of dyslexia.  She didn’t receive the emotional support she needed to cope with finding this out and left the course early.

After some years of marriage and the support of her family she wanted to take her driving test. She had two children then and to be able to use the family car would make a huge difference to her life. The problem was the Driving Theory Test which seemed insurmountable to her. With support, a computer on loan from Lead Scotland and a Theory Test CD she did manage to pass her test.

Later she came back to Lead and attended a ‘Women Back Into Work’ course. She was nervous about going on this as there would be written and group work involved but, after a lot of consultation and not going to the first one arranged, her Mum went with her the second time and it was really important to her that she was able to complete this successfully.

She has since had another child and her aim to is become a child minder in the rural area where she lives. She may come back to Lead for support but hopefully now she will be an independent learner and able to work with Literacy and Numeracy providers, the local college and the Scottish Childminders Association.