{"id":5080,"date":"2016-10-25T10:55:21","date_gmt":"2016-10-25T10:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/?p=5080"},"modified":"2020-10-26T16:31:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T15:31:44","slug":"katrinas-story-discovering-my-learning-difficulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2016\/10\/25\/katrinas-story-discovering-my-learning-difficulty\/","title":{"rendered":"Katrina’s Story: Discovering my learning difficulty"},"content":{"rendered":"

The weird part was, just after finding out that I have Dyslexia, I thought of the primary school rumour \u2018if you can\u2019t spell Dyslexia then you have it\u2019. In that moment, I couldn\u2019t. PANIC.<\/p>\n

I never seriously considered if I could have a \u2018Specific Learning Difficulty\u2019, which is why it all came as a massive shock. I simply knew that something was not right. I submitted myself to be assessed based on my A Level results. I studied for my exams all day every day and thought I was more than prepared for them but, when results day came from both AS and A2 I was shocked with the results. I got a D in the subject that I originally chose to study at university. Because, at this time I was unaware that I was actually suffering from Dyslexia I was extremely angry at myself, confused with the system and deeply disheartened because I was rejected from all five of my UCAS choices. Luckily, for me, Bournemouth University took into account my UCAS score not my individual grades and therefore accepted me through clearing.<\/p>\n

I went to the physiological assessment, what an emotional rollercoaster that was! I was happy to finally find out why I had been getting such poor results. I have always had to put in twice the amount of effort that other students do which I found very frustrating. I can\u2019t help the way I am, I just learn differently, however I have always just thought it was a personal trait. But no, I have Dyslexia. Saying that make me feel empowered.<\/p>\n\"dyslexia-pic\"<\/a>\n

However, in reality, it doesn\u2019t because of the societal name surrounding Dyslexia. Most people believe it is people that are stupid. A more accurate description would be someone who has difficulties with reading, writing and spelling but whose intelligence has nothing to do with the specific learning difficulty in which they have.<\/p>\n

Of course I was upset, confused and frustrated with the fact that I have Dyslexia, who wouldn\u2019t be at first. However, with the support of my family I have come to realise that actually it doesn\u2019t define your success. There is tonnes of support for people like me, especially at Bournemouth University. I have been reassured that I will find the correct way of learning so that I can fulfil my potential. I am now relieved to know that I will receive help and advice to deal with my difference whilst studying and in exams.<\/p>\n

After all, there are plenty of famous Dyslexic people that are successful. For example, Albert Einstein was Dyslexic. I would like to think that our different way of thinking is what makes us stand out from the crowd. I have recently learnt that most people with Dyslexia are often the best people at problem solving and verbal communications.<\/p>\n

It will take me some getting used to being treated differently to the rest of my class mates during exams but, I will soon be credited for my hard work and determination. \u00a0After all, I made it to University without receiving support with my difference. Who knows what I can achieve with the correct support.<\/p>\n

I am so proud of myself for having the courage to stand up and ask for help.<\/p>\n

By Katrina Eastwood<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The weird part was, just after finding out that I have Dyslexia, I thought of the primary school rumour \u2018if you can\u2019t spell Dyslexia then you have it\u2019. In that moment, I couldn\u2019t. PANIC. I never seriously considered if I could have a \u2018Specific Learning Difficulty\u2019, which is why it all came as a massive… Read more » about Katrina’s Story: Discovering my learning difficulty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1411,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[336,1638],"tags":[609,573,819,575],"class_list":["post-5080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogs-archive","category-undergraduate","tag-academic-support","tag-als","tag-student-story","tag-support"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1411"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5080"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5083,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5080\/revisions\/5083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}