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Hello. I am nearly 24 and i am dyslexic. Unfortunatly my dyslexia was not picked up untill i went to college at 16. All through school i was just told that i was lazy and none of the teachers belived me that i struggled with things, even when i asked for help. At primary school i found it hard to copy from the blackboard and reading really difficult (I used to lie and pretend i had read my reading books because it was too hard.) When i found out i was dyslexic it made sence all the things i found difficult and it made me realise that i was not thick or lazy. Six years after leaving school i decided to go to university and am currently studying forensic science. I had assesment at the dyslexic institute (which was very hard and frustrating, but worth it), and another to assess my needs. I now have equipment, software and one to one tuition to help me. I also have magenta tinted lenses in my glasses which help alot with my reading. I never thought i would get this far, but i have and am really enjoying it. My advice to all dyslexics out there is keep trying, you can do anything you want to do and don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. (February 2003)

Hi, i was told that i was dyslexic when i was 9 and was told that i would be lucky if i passed any GCSE's. I'm now 18 and am at nottingham trent university doing a product design course. It has been really hard work to get to this stage and it still hasn't stopped. But if i wasn't dyslexic i don't think that i would have put the effort in to do something that i really love. When i found out that i was dyslexic i was really embarressed about it, but that was probally the worst thing i could have done you need to hold your head up high and be proud that you are what you are. The main thing that helped me to improve my learning was a book called TOE BY TOE by Keda and Harry Cowling. My parents had a hard time trying to make me sit down and carry on with the exercises and lots of tears were shead. I owe a lot to my family from the conitinuos help and support. They have been amazing to me throughout, they never got mad that i couldn't do it they just told me what i was doing wrong. Also the teachers that i have come across all the time i was at school were very good and gave extra help where it was needed All i can say is don't be scared of hard work because it will pay off in the long run and give you something to be proud of. Sara (February 2003)

My success story is very small because i am still doing my standard grades. The story is to keep asking people do do something because when i entered third year i was have trouble in biology and english because i have to write a lot and draw graphs and diagrams. i spoke to my teacher and was refered to learning support. Nothing happened for several weeks but i kept asking and finaly i was tested for dyslexia and i was. Now i am one of the top people in my biolgy class but i am still having trouble but i am working my best to get moved up a set. (February 2003)

Hello i am not really sure wether i am worthy of being called sucsessfull but any way i went through the whole of the education system struggling to perform to the standard that everyone else was performig to. I remember being made to write out a peice of work six times because the spellings were wrong, and after the sixth attempt the teacher branded me as lazy and a under acheiever, my primary school years were full of problems like this every day. Now at the age of 17 ive found out that i am dyslexic, and it was because i asked to be tested for it as i had always suspected that i was. anyway i am now at college doing A-levels and i get support, but i went through the education system with no support and understanding and was always branded as being stupid and lazy, but this only gave me more motivition to succeed and prove the teachers wrong and i did. i want to say to all the dyslexics out there never give up hope and never be held back by your dyslexia, if i can do! it with no help and support i am sure many others can to (February 2003)

My name is Dan, Having suffered from Dyslexia myself I know how frustrating it can be with people thinking you are dumb. Although dyslexia can not go away it cant stop you doing what you want. I got the highest GSCE marks in my year and am currently studying three A-Levels and the outlook is good. Its hard to deal with dyslexia but be strong and you will learn to cope and live with it without it being a problem. (January 2003)

Hello Hopefully this will be a succsses story in the end. Well i am actually a mother of 4 girls. One of my daughters has managed to get right through the school system with no help from teachers or college for dyslexia infact they never even admited she had it. She struggled right through school and no-one helped, we even took her to an eye specialist as she would say that the words on the board would blurr and she couldn't read them properly. But we were told her eyes are perfect its all in her head, well of course it was as she is as i believe dyslexic. College were supposed to help but as usual they didnt so she left college and now is trying to find work. i wonder why none of them helped? So now with my youngest daughter who i also beleive has a form of dyslexia (she writes numbers back to front, has a good reading age but it doesnt match her spelling age and a bad short term memory). It runs in families - 2 of my sisters children have it. This time i have gone into school and got them to look into it and actually test her as i am not going to let her get right through the system with no help. We as parents have to be forceful and get schools to act and not fob us off with lame excuses. It is after all our childrens futures that matter. (January 2003)

Hey, I am no 20 and i am dyslexic! I never found this out until i was in 2nd year of high school (i was about 13 at the time), All the way through my primary school years (from the age of 4 to 12) i was classed as slow or stupid, i was given extra work to "catch up with the rest of the class in my writting and reading. But on the other hand i was away ahead of most of the class in maths, which i still love to this day! An up side of dyslexia is that i got extra time in my exams and I got into uni, with a bit of begging. i got help from the university as they gave me a computer :) and extra time in exams, but these days i never use my extra time in exams as i have always finish early!! I have only failed 3 exams at uni out of 9 and of those 2 i ahve passed them the 2nd time round, and i am sitting on a B average. "Not bad for a below average inteligence kid" I think to myself these days! I am in my 3rd year so i have only this year and one more to do, then i think i am going back into teaching!!! I hope u dont get to bored of life and fed up at beeing dyslexic, like i did! just stick at it, it does get easier the older you get, more people begin to understand!! Good luck in the future and i hope u, like a lot of people on here, go on to uni and to be a great success. Just a little aside, there are loads of famous people who are dyslexic, like Liv tyler and richard branson just to name two!!! see ya iain (January 2003)

Hi Barnaby I hope you don't mind me contact you as I am not dyslexic but I do have a 10 year old dyslexic son. He is finding it very difficult at school and hates going there each day. If only teachers could understand half of what you have on your web site it would be so helpful. He does however have a very good special needs teacher, who has not only helped him, but has helped us as his parents to understand his frustrations and has given us some excellent ways of helping him. I am going to get my son Connor to look at your site, it is inspirational. It is so kind of you to spend your time creating and updating it. I have printed off some areras on your site to give to his form teacher, which may help a little. I wish you success and happiness for the future Barnaby, you certainly appear to have the drive to succeed. (January 2003)

Hi Im Rach i am 14 When i was in primary school they said i had bahaviour problems they didnt understand me the only reason i misbehaved was because the work was to hard for me i didnt tell them that i just let them tell me off. In year 6 when i did my sats i did ok in them i got a level 2 in english and level 4 in maths and science which was good. In year 7 i did a test to see if i was dyslexic they said it was ok for my person with my ability. In year 7 i tried my hardest in all my lessons i got moved up 3 sets i was pleased the work was harder but still i tried. In year 9 i did a IQ test i got 82% which is one of the highest score in my year. But they found out i couldnt spell or read to the same standards of other people my age. They did lots of tests for a wide range of things now i get help in all my lessons and extra help with my reading and spelling. If you have a problem or dont understand something always ask dont make my mistakes. Now i am in year 10 and i am doin GNVQ ICT, GCSE science, maths, english, technolgy, RE, pe, i should be doing french too but i dont have to do that if i dont want. I am expected to get A* to d's if i carry on trying hard. Which i will do. Sorry if i have spelt some words wrong or have forgotten to put fullstops or just missed something. (January 2003)

when i was little i was always stuggling with reading and while all my friends moved on to the next level up i was still on the frist level. i always took me slighlty longer then my friends to do things like reading and writtting. i was fine with maths and science though. I was then assessed for dyslexia when i was nine and it came out that i had it moderalty which was fine. s So when i moved onto secoundary school i was to to the LS deperment once a week for touch typing lessons and once a week for help in my work. But they didn't really help with it they treated me as if i was an idiot so like when i was little i had a tutor . My private tutor for secoundary school was excellent she knew i could do the work in all my subjects and all i had to do was belive in my self. So i carried going to her till the end of my GCSEs which was only last summer (june 2002). All my teachers in years 10 and 11 were excellent. i ended up getting 6 gcses at a*-c grade and now i am doing 3 ASs in sociolgoy, geography , and biology although i finding bio and geography quite difficult because of spellings in some of the words. Because some my teachers early on in life thought i wouldn't even pass my gcse at e grade i have proved them wrong. i lost a lot of confordence and i was also made fun of for not been able to read very well which i can now altlough i still stop at words i can't not read. i am also doing a Gcse in photography which really good and been potected a* in it. (January 2003)

when i was at primary i wasn`t diagnosed dyslixic and i was bulied like mad and made be suisidle and even the teachers thought i was just stupid and lazy no one had no idea i was dyslexic but now i am at high school and in first year and soon as i started the new school the notice straigh away funny that isn`t it i just want to say to all the other dyslexic folk out there don't let people bullie you there is nothing rong with you your just a normal person like every one else and i would just like to thanks to me two best friends amy and kirsty for helping me through it all from jackie age 12. (January 2003)

Hi everyone. I'm 19 years old and for a while now i know i have a problem. When I was at school i found reading aloud very difficult maths were a nightmare. For my exams i had to work very hard and learnt a lot off by heart Sometimes i get mixed up in my left and right i usually laugh it off but inside i am deeply upset i haven't told my parents and teachers never did anything to help me while in school Now i'm left school i find it very hard to get work (January 2003)

hi yes i have dyslexic i hate mathes and love P.E it is the only thing i am in top set for my Favrite sport is netball i play in the school team as the GS .i also find it hard to make friends at school i think it is becuse i no iam as not as clever as them and never will be ,but at my netball club i find it easy to make friends i thnk that is beacuse i know some day i will be as good as them. My dream is to play in the England netbal team and become the best GS and nothing is going to stop me (January 2003)

Hello, i am 18 and i am dyslexic. i saw you on Newsround and thought that what you have done is amazing. I went to an all girls school an it was pretty small. I was the only person in my year with dyslexia and it used to embarrass me. I was always the slowest to read anything in class and i dreaded reading in front of the class because i always stutterd and jumbled words.When it came to gcses i didnt apply for extra time because i thought it would make me look stupid. In the end i did ok and got A's, B's and C's. I have recently moved schools and there are other dyslexics too. I dont feel like a freak anymore. In fact i have learnt through my student support that there are many advantages to being dyslexic. When i go to uni i can get a free lap top or a note taker who comes to my lectures to take notes for me! also we make good agony aunts,and great liars.... useful huh? Any way i better go do some work now. keep up the good work Barnaby. (January 2003)

This is a very short story about a very short success i experienced only a few minutes ago. At my school, in the center of Cambridge, i am separated from any ideas of learning difficulties. Nothing particularaly considered unaccademic or uneducational by our head mistress is allowed through our walls. We only learn what the Head sees fit to. in short, my school is a totalitarian selective dictatorship. Today, i was watching newsround to catch up on the week i have spent at school and i visited your site because i was so interested to find out more about a normal boy with a normal problem i have been excluded from. I was so glad to see that some one like Barnaby is showing the world what dyslexia is really like and that one can cope with it. I am amazed that it is so special for me to see something like this but it's true. Thankyou barnaby, for giving me and my classmates, an insight into the outside world. something we dont often see. This is like our only shinning star. (January 2003)

I have not given my proper name because my parents say that I should not put that information on the net. I am thirteen years old and I go to school in Crosby, Liverpool. I found out that I was dyslexic when I was eleven. At first I thought that I was just thick and there was something wrong with me. When I come to understand it I realised that I had to work hard at things. I play rugby for Lancashire. This is something that I enjoy doing. It has given me confidence to do better in school. When I am older if I do not become a rugby player I would like to be in the Royal Air Force or have something to do with it. (January 2003)

Since i was at primary school i have been told off for bad spelling. i lost lots of playtimes because of this. i am now in year 11 (GCSE year) and my english teacher smypatises with me now. i got a 3 in year 6 and a 5 in year 9 but now i am expected to get a C which is brillent for me because i am very clever at maths, Media and science but never english. i just hope for the best now. (January 2003)

i was always just told i was thick and stuppid. They did not find out i was dyslexic till a month be for my standard grades ( the Scottish equitivent for GCSES), as i had managed to cover it up well by haveing always spelling phonetically(i know that is not spelt correct) and having a higher than average reading age. but never the less i managed to gett 3 ones (the highest grade you can get) and 4 twos and two 3s. I even got a 2 in english. I ma know doing 4 highers and may be doing a 5th in english depends on how my Nab went to too day i will keep you posted (January 2003)