In recognition of UK Disability History Month (14 November – 20 December) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), LSTM colleagues are sharing their stories and experiences.
These annual events promote the dignity, rights and wellbeing of people with disabilities, and each year they highlight different issues with their theme.
This year, the theme of UK Disability History Month is Disability, Livelihood and Employment, and International Day of Persons with Disabilities is focusing on amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.
During coming weeks, we will be sharing blog posts from members of LSTM's Disability and Carers Network about their own experiences and the support within LSTM.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of seven while in primary school. Dyslexia presents itself in various ways, and its impact can differ greatly from person to person. A common misconception is that dyslexia is solely about difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to the “issues” a dyslexic person might experience - they are many and varied!
While I do face challenges with reading, writing, and spelling, I also struggle with memory retention, as well as organizing and expressing my thoughts in written form. Exams were particularly challenging for me at school, and my favourite subject, history, didn’t make things any easier since it is traditionally assessed through written tests. My A-Level grades were very disappointing, and a careers officer advised me to lower my ambitions of pursuing a history degree and instead consider a "trade."
However, with the support of incredible tutors, I secured a place on a degree course in history and heritage management, eventually going on to complete three Master's degrees (military history, museum and gallery studies and library management). In October this year I enrolled on a professional doctorate in heritage. Many people are surprised to learn that I’m dyslexic, but what they don’t see is the immense perseverance and hard work required just to stay on top of things.
As I have mentioned, dyslexia can affect more than a person’s ability to read, spell, and write and while these are factors I have to deal with on a daily basis. Find it hard to listen and maintain focus, concentrate if there are distractions which can create sensations of mental overload and make some tasks unexpectedly challenging, all of which can be a cause of deep frustration and distraction. In addition to all this there are also emotional implications dealing with struggles on daily basis can cause fatigue, anxiety and result in low self-esteem.
A couple of years ago I was interviewed on the dyslexia life hacks podcast show Episode 21 – Ian Sudlow-Mckay on Dyslexia as a Librarian and taking 3 Master Degrees - Dyslexia Life Hacks.
Throughout my life I have developed numerous coping strategies to help me get through day-to-day life at work. My top tips to help get work done are:
- Assistive Software – I use a range of assistive software to help with my work including screen filters, read aloud and mind mapping.
- Pomodoro Technique - it is a time management method that uses a kitchen timer to break work into intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer used as a university student.
- Progress Plans Problems (PPP) - is a management technique for status reporting, however I use it to reflect on any project work I am doing. I use the three Ps to:
- Progress: reflect on my accomplishments, finished items and closed tasks.
- Plans: think about goals and objectives for the next project/week/month/year.
- Problems: Identify tasks/items that are stuck and can't be finished. Problems often need help from someone else, such as my manager.