As a fellow dyslexic writer I’m grateful for Alice Dunn sharing her experiences (WM Feb). Unfortunately, while I was at university I wasn’t aware of the extra support that Alice describes, and that’s why I feel it’s so important to promote the help available. Hopefully it will inspire even more young writers to follow their passion; after all, easier doesn’t mean better!
Thankfully my dyslexia is more related to numbers and only causes mild difficulties with my spelling – my litmus test is that if you can spell ‘dyslexia’ you haven’t got it too bad – but it did affect my writing confidence when I was younger. Luckily I’ve found coping strategies that worked for me when researching/revising; eg breaking down large chunks of information into a maze-like hierarchy of bullet points that only makes sense to me. The only aftermath of those earlier struggles is my terrible handwriting… if the teacher can’t read how you spelt a word they can’t circle it with a red pen.