A Dyslexic Diary – The Wonderful Words of an Anxious Young Lady

Dear Diary…

Summer is for sun, holidays, trips out and plenty of ice cream.  Not for workshops at tables with strangers doing ‘stuff’.  It’s just MORE work.  School is over.  Work should be over.  But it’s not for me.  Argh! It’s totally not fair as Mum and Dad are practically making me go.  I’m sat here so cross writing to you, cross arms folded and quick cross words on paper. Face frowning and swooshes of hair, as I storm past Mum.  Of all the people, she’s the most fun.  Why is she taking my fun away?  This Summer is going to be absolutely RUBBISH!

You see I’ve got this thing called ‘dyslexia’.  It’s not a big deal really, it just means I work differently at school.  I take my time a little more.  I think things through slowly.  Working out muddled words in sentences in my head before they arrive etched on paper.  I’ve lived with this thing for years and, to be honest, it just gets harder.  It’s more embarrassing and it’s just not cool.  It’s just as cool as these ‘workshops’.  I have this other thing too.  Grown-ups call it anxiety, I just call it a big grey ball of yuck!  Not a nice feeling to have when you should be running around free as a bird on your Summer holidays.  Mum said it’s not every day, just a few times and we can work it around trips out and family stuff.  I don’t care how much it ‘works around’, it’s still RUBBISH!

Dad assures me that it will be fun and will help me and my ‘confidence’ before I go to high school.  Gulp!  I can’t believe I am going to high school in September.  A bigger school.  A huge school full of new teachers, long corridors, enormous classrooms and too many kids.  A uniform that is far too itchy and has too many bits to it.  I can’t even do a tie.  Mum told me that Dad is the master tie-knotter of the family and will teach me his trade.  As if doing a tie is my biggest problem?!  These new kids don’t know me or my dyslexia.

I’m back from my tea of yummy fish and chips, Mum and Dad said I deserved a treat.  I’m not stupid, I know they are trying to butter me up.  Maybe it worked.  Just a little.  Mum talked me through these workshops over chips covered in ketchup and I suppose they don’t sound TOO bad.

Mum says it really will help.  Honest.  I can learn how to develop something called ‘touch-typing’ skills, which means I might be able to have a laptop in my exams…bonus!  Then I have these ‘multi-sensory literacy’ tuitions, which Dad said just means I get to learn how I learn best.  What I am most excited about is that I get to go to these really cool socialising events with other kids just like me!  Phew.

So, it’s not going to totally ruin my Summer holidays and it should help me prepare myself for high school and the unknown.  I guess I shouldn’t take things too seriously and get all wound up over big things that are just small things.  Dad whispered before bed that there will be plenty more fish and chips when I finish my workshops.  I’m saying goodbye and goodnight to you without a frowning forehead and maybe a little glimpse of a smile.

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