Staff Spotlight - Domini Grant
We are really pleased to have Domini Grant as our guest blogger this week. Domini is an Early Education and Childcare Lecturer at Perth College UHI, and wants to share her experience of being diagnosed with dyslexia at a later stage in life.
“When I arrived in my current position in 2010, I started to acknowledge the difficulties I had in certain areas - difficulties I had ignored for years. In 2014, I was formally diagnosed with dyslexia, after being encouraged to be tested by one of my colleagues. I initially went to Study Skills within the College, where a straightforward test showed I scored highly for dyslexia. This was followed by a formal test, which confirmed I was indeed dyslexic.
“My biggest challenge as a lecturer, standing in front of many students over the years, is pronunciation. I have a difficulty pronouncing certain words. I can say them clearly in my head, but they often come out wrong. I have a visual thesaurus running through my head and I can quickly choose an alternative if I struggle to say something. I often get phrases back to front, which can cause some hilarity to the listener. I overcome the challenges, by being upfront with everyone. I have found telling people I am dyslexic means people understand, and they are supportive. This in turns, means that students themselves are more likely to approach me with their difficulties.
“The key turning point, is realising that what was put down as stupidity in my childhood years, was actually dyslexia. It has helped me to realise that I, as a person with no support in my formative years, found ways to cope and overcome many barriers. I now no longer have to hide my difficulties and can approach life in a different way.
“The biggest support has been my work colleagues here at Perth College UHI. They have encouraged me to face up to it and not to be embarrassed. This is not just within the faculty that I teach in, but also the Student Support Team who have provided aids to support me in my work. Members within my team will check over and proof read any material that I develop, if I ask. This is the first time in my working life that I have had this kind of support, and it is invaluable to me.
“The biggest single benefit is my empathy towards students who live with dyslexia. I am able to build trust and rapport very quickly and students identify with me, which I feel has greatly benefited those who have struggled and had poor experiences in their earlier education.
“Knowing what I know now, I would have spoken up earlier. I would have asked for help and pushed for the extra time that would have aided me in my earlier education.
“Compared to my school years, where dyslexia was not even a word that was heard, I feel great strides have been made. However, dyslexia goes beyond jumbled words on a page. People with dyslexia, often have talents that are kept hidden because we cannot find the words to express our feelings and ideas. This stifles creativity, knocks self-esteem, and hinders resilience. We should tackle this by supporting children at an earlier age, help them to recognise their potential in other areas, and not rely on the written word as the main way to support and assess learning.”
