Dyslexic in Business

Ok so I am Dyslexic (incase you didn't realise!) and I am in business! (Derr)

So this is my account of the trubles and joys of be Dyslexic within businesses.

From school I went to colleage..... not the easyest thing to do for me....(at this point my dyslexia was bad I had a reading and writing age of 10 and 11).
I kept with the family theme of Engineering, and went to a general engineering course.

After 2 years I failed! No big surprise there, but I did lern a lot, I found that things like advanced maths, Micro electronics and CAD where my strong points and Material propertties, European studdies where not!

So I decided to get a job as education was not for me.

I got my first full time job as a timber delivery driver.
Well not the most enspiring job but it payed the bills....
After about 6 months I was looking for a career and not a job.
At this point the old Transport Manager had left, so I was offered the job.

Not quite knowing what it was about and how to do it, I gave it a go.
I fell into the roll very well, with the dyslexic trate behind me I could visulise how deliveries looked when loaded and where places are throughout the South East UK.

Deliveries wher ontime and sometimes early...

Things went well for the next 6 months, but I wanted more!

I felt that I needed some admin experiance behind me so I decided to get a more admin baced job....

I joined a civil engineering company responciable for maintaining the M25..... after 3 months of trying to get my head around doing paperwork I made my own system of dealing with paper work;
First thing in the morning I would check my emails... respond and action if nessasary.
Then I would see what I had left over from the last work day and finish it off.
I would then check to see if there was any new paper work.........

You get the idea! But I did have a check list printed out and sitting on my desk.

After a few months the dyslexic side cam out in me... I was not that intrested in doing the same thing day after day..... So after a talk with my Manager I was now incharge of the fleet vehicles.
An area which I know and love.

I did that job for 5 years!
But that being said, I was very good at it (I'm not big headded!) but as I strugle with words and putting them across correctly I was underminded and over looked my my new bosses.

Things started to slip and the questions and problems that where ment to be asked to me where asked to my boss who in turn asked me.

This really showed me that people do NOT really have an understanding of Dyslexia!
A lot of people assume it is just spelling.
*This is not the case, it's spelling, gramer, getting the right words for the contects, Confidence, speaking, and a lot more.

Speaking as someone who has struggled to get into business I constantly have to remind people about my dyslexia! and they just get annoyed when my dyslexia plays up.

It can be embarasing when you have to ask how to spell words, don't know what things mean etc... I even struggle with people's actencents.

But I think that if you have to say you are Dyslexic then you should explain a little more about your dyslexia and how it affects you!

Or if you speak to your HR department and get the people in your office a training session to explain more about Dyslexia and how it affects people in offices.

**You do NOT have to give your name**

But do remember, if you are Dyslexic you should not be discrimanated against it!
Also remember that these famous people are Dyslexic:
Tom Cruise
Orlando Bloom
Steve Jobs
Walt Disney
Thomas Edison
General George Patton
Keira Knightley
Leonardo da Vinci
Richard Branson
Henry Ford
Theo Paphitis

And my personal favorite
Eddie Izzard