My Dyslexia Story: Rob Wheeldon
Wednesday 25 October 2023
I was Diagnosed as dyslexic in 2000 at the age of 27. I am currently 50 years old
My experience at school was overwhelmingly difficult, I couldn’t keep up and left school with no GCSEs. However as a hard worker I always found it easy to get work.
I re-entered education in my late 20s and went to university in my 30s where assistive technology particularly Dragon Naturally Speaking made life much much easier it also aided me in developing a new hobby of creative writing. I was the only person in the class who used his telephone to type using spellcheck and also dictation, these were a lifesaver for me.
Thinking outside the box
I have never received any help in fact it has barred me from some jobs when I’ve been honest about my dyslexic, then working for myself it helped define my career as I was able to think differently than my colleagues and outshine them in ways that they would never think of.
As a personal trainer I started instituting gymnastic training drills with the clients I work with including Sean McGovern who was featured in a newspaper as a 72-year-old gymnast . I also find that being dyslexic helps as a storyteller, I tend to come at things from different angles and the creative writing process has given me a lot of opportunities to express myself in ways I never would’ve imagined
My advice for someone who has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia:
Being dyslexic, being neuro diverse has many advantages and disadvantages don’t let people place you in a box of their expectations because of the way you function.
For instance I have become a successful spoken word poet and creative writer published in a book and on the prestigious astronomy magazines website writing about Albert Einstein who is also dyslexic.