Richard Hogan: Growing up in the 1980s an issue with spelling meant you were stupid

Even now as I write this, there is a little voice that says ‘don’t tell them about dyslexia, they’ll think you’re stupid’

'I have worked so hard to keep dyslexia from talking to my daughter like it did to me.'

Working in education has given me such a unique insight into adolescent behaviour. Over the years I have seen how destructive a learning difficulty can be for a young mind. The sheer isolation and embarrassment a student can feel because they do not learn at the same pace as everyone else. Of course, the idea that we should all learn at the same speed is an error in our system, but it’s there. And it impacts massively on a student’s sense of self. 

Out of all the learning difficulties I have worked with there is one that stands out above the rest. Dyslexia. Oh boy, what can I say about that word? Even now, years out of my formal education, it torments me. Like a malevolent shadow that cannot be erased, it has stalked me my whole life. Even when I turned out the lights to mute its shadow, there it was, talking to me.