Life after diagnosis?

You’ve been assessed, you’ve received your feedback and report and found out that your concerns were real – you are dyslexic. But what happens next? How can this change things?

A full diagnostic assessment report, written by a specialist teacher or psychologist should include a list of recommendations that are specific to meet your needs. It’s also considered good practice for the assessor to discuss how dyslexia affects you and what the report actually means. If you’re give this opportunity, I’d recommend you read the report first, note down any questions and you can raise these during your discussions.

The most frequent question I’m asked is, “So I have dyslexia – what do I do now?”

Next on your dyslexia to-do list is to decide whether or not you tell people – and how to do it? This will depend on your situation, but my advice it always to make those who need to know aware of your diagnosis – it isn’t anything to be ashamed of and it’s your chance to ensure you get the support that you need.

I always suggest to parents that they send a copy of their report to their school SENCo and request a meeting to discuss the next steps such as making sure their child is placed on the SEN Register and has an appropriate IEP in place.

For those in FE, I tell the individual to make their provider aware, and the same goes for their university. In these situations it can be more difficult to share your diagnosis due to having a more distant relationships with tutors etc. It’s important that they know your strengths and weaknesses and how you can be supported and I always suggest that if you have a diagnosis then the Disabled Student Allowance is there to help.

If you’re an adult, in the workplace you may feel embarrassed about speaking to your employer about your difficulties but again, I urge clients to divulge to those who need to know as there is a legal requirement for the employer to make reasonable adjustments. Most of these will be simple and inexpensive and they may actually benefit other employees! There must be flexibility on the part of you and your employer – this is the most important thing. After all, for the adjustments to be made you need to disclose details of your difficulties!

Here are my top 5 post-diagnosis tips:

Make sure you discuss your report with your assessor. Don’t be worried about getting in contact with them and asking questions – it’s what they’re there for! Make sure you are happy with your understanding of your report.

Speak to your/your child’s school or college SENCo about your/your child’s diagnosis and discuss what support will be put in place.

Find out if your school / college / learning provider offers a learner support session where you can discuss the implications of your dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulty.

Read around the subject of dyslexia – this will help you understand your or your child’s difficulties. There are several authors who write from the child’s, student’s, parent’s and teacher’s perspectives and are written in dyslexia friendly ways.

Find your local support group – these are usually affiliated with the British Dyslexia Association and offer dyslexia awareness evenings and free advice. There are many charitable support groups that support people with dyslexia with coffee mornings / dyslexia awareness presentations and free advice and literature. Some groups even offer free surgeries where you can drop in and get advice.

Whatever steps you decide to take, remember that a diagnosis of dyslexia provides a profile of your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Don’t forget to play on what you’re good at and use your strengths to live a better life! Most dyslexics are very happy and live life to the full!