Dyslexia in adults - your letters answered

All names and locations have been changed.

Could you tell me if your Assessment Report will be acceptable at my university for me to obtain extra consideration for being dyslexic, e.g. extra time in examinations?
>>>> You would have to check with the university first. Our Reports are accepted by many universities, but some have their own requirements.

I am hesitant to pursue this dyslexia thing, because everyone who knows me tries to convince me otherwise. My father has a horrible time with spelling, and I do mean awful, but I am not sure if it is due to lack of education or not. You see, my grandmother is illiterate. So I attribute my father's lack of spelling talent to my grandmother. With all of my research I have noticed some symptoms that I have that constitute being dyslexic:
- my spelling is not up to par, but decent.
- I have an extremely hard time with direction. (This is my strongest symptom)
- I am above average with math skills.
- I have a very hard time with remote learning (This is my second strongest symptom). If the information is not significant to me I have a very hard time remembering, so I have tried to cope by using mnemonic devices.
- I often switch my words when speaking. ( I might say I am going to 'tree cut down' - or something like that.) Often I feel like my mouth is not working as fast as my brain, and I begin to mix up sentences.
- I was good at math but geometry was my weakness. (I am not sure if this falls into any of the categories as a weakness.)
The reasons why I am not sure that I should be tested are because all through grade school I did very well, I graduated at the top of my class in high school, and as an undergraduate at St. John's University in Texas. Also, I love to read although I may read a little slowly. I think that being a psychology major many students often begin to diagnose themselves with everything that they read about. I really just wanted some guidelines to help me decide if I should pursue this or not.
>>>> From everything you said it does sound as if you could benefit from being assessed. Dyslexia is usually inherited through the family and, even though your father's mother did not read or write, there would be no reason why your father could not do so given the opportunity - unless he suffered from a learning difficulty in this area. Switching words and having trouble with directions are also strong indicators. Some difficulties with numbers are common among people who are dyslexic, but not in every case. Your lack of competence with geometry is not typical, as most dyslexic people find spatial work and geometry easier than working with numbers alone. Our dyslexia test for adults will give you a clear diagnosis.

I am forty years old, female, and would welcome your advice as for sometime I have wondered whether I may be slightly dyslexic. I find it very hard to concentrate on reading: if I am faced with a page of writing I am loath to read it. Reports at work get "filed" in a drawer without being read. I don't remember having a problem learning to read, in fact initially things went very well but then tapered off when I was about 9 years old.
If I try to analyze it I think I find it hard to read when faced with large paragraphs, to read it bit by bit, if there are several words the same length I get confused. Sometimes words from the line below get in the way and I have to concentrate to sort it out in my head. Because this involves concentration I have to be in the right frame of mind to do it, and as over the years my job has involved more mental thought, so read less and less, particularly for leisure. Gradually it has dawned on me that all my friends and family around me enjoy reading whereas to me it is something I dread, and I am in the minority.
I think I have a fairly short memory for some things, for example when I went to boarding school I kept loosing things because if I put something down in an unfamiliar place I couldn't find it again. Also for example the other week I felt embarrassed as I was taking orders for drinks at a reception and could only remember two at a time.
I can't say that I suffered badly at school, I passed 7 'O' Levels but couldn't cope with the amount of reading necessary for 'A' Levels ,so I left school. Through day release and night classes I have studied to become a Structural Engineering Technician, which did not involve a lot of reading.
I am left handed, as are my father and aunt. I don't know of any family history of Dyslexia.
When I started to learn to write I did "mirror writing". To this day I can still write like that fairly comfortably. When I was 8 I remember having to practice doing my numbers from 1 to 9 over and over again at school because I would often get the numbers the wrong way around. Spelling wasn't brilliant but probably not below average however there are the same words that time and time again I can't remember how to spell. If I write speedily I put the "stalks" upwards instead of downwards and letters in the wrong order.
I am sorry if I am troubling you unnecessarily, but would like some anonymous advice. I don't feel I would like to discuss this face to face with someone in case I am wrong.
>>>> I found your letter a beautiful description of what it is like to be an adult dyslexic. All of the symptoms you mentioned are classic or standard symptoms.
Do take note of the comments on our main web-page: dyslexia can be a positive advantage, and, although frustrated by difficulties with reading, you will have talents in other directions like creativity, empathy, reading other people's motivations, sometimes physical co-ordination. These are the areas of your brain that have developed above the average while the language centers have not developed so well. Some adults find it a good idea to take a career advice interview with this in mind.

I am a 33 year old engineer who is interested in getting my MBA degree. I currently hold two engineering degrees and I am managing a manufacturing engineering department. When I was in ninth grade, 17 years ago, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. All through college I was able to take my tests un-timed. I have contacted the people who give the GMAT test and they require the person to be tested within the last five years to qualify for the un-timed testing. I have no idea who to contact to get re-tested. Could your office recommend a place to get tested in my area?
>>>> We publish a thoroughly researched Dyslexia Test for Adults which you can easily do at home. When you have posted it to us for assessment, you will receive a full Assessment Report which can be used as evidence of your dyslexia for un-timed testing in your examinations. However, I would check with your college first to make sure that the Direct Learning Dyslexia Test for Adults is acceptable to them, as some colleges have their own requirements.

I work as a receptionist and I feel even before I was working that I don't see things as they are. I saw the letters ICM today and thought they were CIM and I can even take a letter in the middle of the word and think it's the first one e.g. I saw the film cover NIKITA and thought it said KINITA. It sounds very stupid but it worries me and I have always been so afraid of English classes: I can't read aloud at all, my eyes are half-way through the sentence, and I can't keep them on the word I'm reading.
I don't feel incapable of doing my job, well, not to an extent where anyone has commented on it. I believe they think I do it quite well. The problem is that I want to start a course and I was interested in Public Relations. I feel I am an extrovert: I love people and socializing. The reason I tell you this is because I read that people with dyslexia can be very shy and can be introverted. Now when I was in school I was very afraid of English and having to read aloud in general, but my question is will the fact that I may have dyslexia hamper my chances in the course? And if I have dyslexia would I find it hard to learn in general because I didn't find it hard to get on in any other subject. While I was in school I got a pretty average leaving cert. with 300 points but I just wonder if I had found out I had dyslexia would I have done better due to the help I would have received?
>>>> It is good to hear you being so positive about your future! I am sure that is the most important thing. If you accept that, as a (probably) dyslexic person, the reading and writing part of your course may be that bit harder than for an average student, I am sure you will be fine. There are lots of dyslexic people who go on to do all kinds of courses and university degrees with great success. It might be a good idea to mention to the course organizers that you are probably dyslexic, as they may give you extra consideration when it comes to written assignments and extra time in exams. If you take our Dyslexia Test for Adults, it will provide the evidence you need.
I don't know how well you organize yourself, but you may need to pay extra attention to filing, ordering, labeling and arranging your papers if you start the course. There is a useful article on this by Thelma Good - Finding my own solutions in Dyslexia Online Magazine. Remember that we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and I am sure your strengths in creative ideas and empathizing with people will carry you a long way in Public Relations.

I just can't thank you enough for your assistance and fast service. And I know it might sound crazy, but I am so so happy with the test results. I'm not lazy nor stupid! Thank you so much! I have a friend who would probably benefit from this test and I'll strongly urge her to take this test. I am very pleased overall.

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