3 minute read
Dyslexia: My strategies for success
My strategies for success
Labelled lazy by teachers, Aidan Milner struggled through school. However, despite severe dyslexia and dyscalculia, he thrived at university. He explains why.
I was formally diagnosed with severe dyslexia and dyscalculia when I was 10-years-old. My assessment report also pointed out that I showed signs of severe anxiety, which was not a surprise. Despite my diagnosis, school still thought they knew best and refused to believe that I was dyslexic. They said I was in fact just a lazy kid who needed to try harder and to stop misbehaving in class. I was given numerous detentions for not completing work.
It was clear that the school system on its own wouldn’t be of any help. So we turned to SPELD. They were amazing. I don’t think I would have made it through without the help of my tutors.
At school, I also had trouble with anything and everything to do with maths. This included things as basic as recalling my home phone number. As a kid, I was terrified of getting lost and not being able to call home.
Maths was put on the back burner as my spelling and reading alone were enough to make anyone tear their hair out. But eventually I began working one-on-one with a maths tutor and had much better results.
Most people would think that transitioning from high school to university would be a big challenge. However, it was manageable thanks to the fantastic support of the disability services team at Victoria University in Wellington. They scheduled catch-up meetings throughout the first term when I was finding my feet. Other learning support included workshops, essay proofreading sessions and reader/writers with subject knowledge for my exams and tests. My PhD student friends helped proof read my work.
I also had a great computer programme called Read and Write Gold that read my essays, pdf documents and web pages. Once I had the software, I found my essay grades went from Cs to As - it was a massive help. Unlike school, university felt like a safe place to say that you have dyslexia. Some of my lecturers had some kind of dyslexia and those that didn’t fully understood how it works. needed someone to double check what I did. In lectures, when graphs or equations were shown I was just lost and glazed over so that was something I needed to keep track of. I also found it tricky to remember the geological ages, which could be a bit of an issue for events such as ice ages and major eruptions.
Another challenge has been my job as a volunteer with Wellington Free Ambulance. It involves loads of numbers and words. I have to read blood pressures and oxygen data backwards. One way I have learned to cope is to say everything aloud so the other ambulance officers can pick up on it. The paperwork can be a bit scary. It’s always embarrassing filling it out in front of patients when they can see my bad spelling. I have a notebook of key medical words which helps.
Eventually I graduated with my Master of Science (with second class first division honours) in geology, and I now have a job as an engineering geologist. The 10-year-old me would never have thought this was possible!
It was extremely humbling graduating and reflecting on how my teachers viewed dyslexia and how wrong they all were. It just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover. It also goes to show that one-on-one specialist teaching works very well for people like me.
Despite being labelled ‘lazy’ by teachers, Aidan Milner successfully completed his MSc and now works as an engineering geologist.
SPELD NZ is a not-for-pro t organisation providing specialised help for those with dyslexia and other speci c learning disabilities: SPELD NZ Training:
• Diagnostic Woodcock-Johnson assessments by quali ed assessors with specialised SPELD NZ training • One-to-one evidence based tuition by quali ed teachers with specialised SPELD NZ training • Support for families and whanau • NZQA approved courses for parents, teachers, teacher aides and other interested professionals
• Certi cate Course in Speci c Learning Disabilities
(NZQA Level 5) – 400 hours delivered online or face-to-face
• Introductory Course in Speci c Learning Disabilities
(NZQA Level 3) – 2 days • SPELD NZ Assessor Course (not NZQA approved) For more information on services and training, see www.speld.org.nz or call 0800 773 536
