I was diagnosed dyslexic when I was 21 years old. Whilst I was at school it was not really understood so they didn’t recognise it.

I recently got retested and it was confirmed I was severally dyslexic. I don’t hear certain sounds which meant when I was learning to talk as a little one I could not hear the sounds that formed some words.

Another problem I have is that often when I am reading, words disappear off the page or the words scramble. Or I can see a sentence in my head but I can’t get it down on paper.

Computers have really given me the confidence to write. I love writing but it does take me ages. Spell check really helps but you have to know the word you are writing down, if you misspelled the word but put another word down and don’t recognise it as being wrong you have a mistake but spell check can’t recognise it as being wrong.

Many people ask me why don’t you use a dictionary; I do but to use a dictionary you need to know how to spell the word in the first place. If you don’t know how to spell the word you could be looking for hours and often in the completely wrong area. I find a handheld electronic dictionary very helpful and carry it with me most of the time. I type in the word how I would say it and if it is wrong it gives me a selection of words. If I don’t recognise the correctly spelt word I can click on one of the words to check the definition.

Dyslexia is not a hindrance to me as it gives me a very pictorial mind. I see many 2D images in 3D such as building plans and maps. I can also see and recognise patterns very easily. It has not stopped me getting on. As I said I love writing, I have written magazine articles and many web reviews. I am in the process of writing 3 different books. And, I am doing a journalist degree course and a creative writing course.

Something that helps me but not perfectly is write then read the article, then sometime later reread it. Once I have cleared my head of what I wrote. For something like a forum I might reread it 15 mins later but an article or book I will reread it the next day if the deadline permits.

I too like to write. I could not do what I am doing now without the collaboration of others; I'm involved in a science fiction project taking years to write. A project I thought would take four years, may take five or six.

While I find satisfaction in reading a completed piece, the real fun is in the research.

Jeanette Isabelle

Funny you say that because it is the research that I enjoy the most. Secondly it does not mater how good your writing is, it is the quality of your research that makes a piece of writing interesting or not. It has to be written in an interesting way too of course.

Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

Brilliant!

It is said that true dyslexia is somehow related to autism, and the people that have both are often extremely creative.

Sue