Adult Dyslexia

success in tertiary education and at work

A person's way of thinking reflects their preferred learning style.

The Davis method allows an individual to start addressing their problem, then work towards achieving their potential in the workforce and personal life.

Often in the workplace or during tertiary studies, anxiety and stress can lead to frustration at not being able to pass exams, gain higher qualifications or stand in the way of promotion.

Most adult dyslexics will exhibit at least 10 of the following traits and behaviours. These characteristics are often inconsistent, and often vary depending upon the day or situation.

Career

Employed in a job that hides difficulties with Reading, Writing or Spelling.
Hides difficulties from co-workers, friends and sometimes family.
Becomes frustrated at “planning meetings” and sequential tasks – just wants to get on with it.
Becomes frustrated or overwhelmed with long forms or sequential processes.
Thrives in careers where visual-spatial/hands-on talents can be realised: For example – Business owner, Engineer, Trades (carpentry, plumbing, electrical), Interior Decorating, Actor, Musician, Police/Investigation, Athlete, and Business Executive (usually with staff or assistant).
May pass up promotions or advancement opportunities which require more administrative work.
May have difficulty focusing and staying on task - may feel more comfortable managing many different tasks simultaneously.
Difficulty with tests - passing standard tests can be a barrier to career advancement.
Highly successful/over achiever, or underachiever “not working up to potential.”
May be a perfectionist and overreact when they make a mistake.
Outside-the-box thinker or operates with very strict rules.
Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids.
Very controlling and operates according to strict rules.

General

Highly intuitive - known to be “street-wise”. Is often quick and accurate in judging personalities of others.
May be able to sense the emotions and energy of others.
Remembers struggling at school.
Frequently has dyslexic children and may experience guilt when seeing their own child struggle. May be embarrassed when reading to their own children or helping them with homework.
Easily distracted/annoyed by noises and other things in the environment.
May appear to “zone out” and be unaware that this is happening.
Enjoys video games.
Misspeaks, misuses, or mispronounces words without realising it.
May have poor balance or can be very athletic.
May get car/sea sick, or have a sense of unseen movement.
May have excellent recall of events that were experienced or not remember at all.
May confuse past conversations or be accused of “not listening.”
Difficulty remembering names of people, but usually remembers faces.
Difficulty remembering verbal instructions or directions, likes to see them visually.
May have poor recall of conversations or sequence of events.

Maths, Time Management, Directions

May be able to perform high level maths, but can't show it on paper.
May excel at maths, or may still rely on rote learning for remembering maths facts.
Relies on calculators or finger counting.
When paying may prefer to use “plastic” or notes, to avoid dealing with accurate coins.
May have difficulty with left/right and/or North, South, East, West.
Gets lost easily or never forgets a place they've been.
May have difficulty reading maps.
May have anxiety or stress when driving in unfamiliar places. Relies on others to drive when possible.
May lose track of time and is often late - or is very rarely late.
Finds it difficult to estimate how long a task will take to complete.

Reading, Writing and Spelling

Likes larger, clear print over unusual fonts.
Avoids reading out loud. May dislike public speaking.
Will commonly perceive that they “read better silently.”
May perceive movement, blurring or gaps when faced with text.
Has adopted compensatory rules to remember spelling and words that sound the same (their, there, they're), or has poor or inconsistent spelling.
Reading fluency and comprehension fluctuates depending upon subject matter.
Frequently has to re-read sentences in order to understand them.
Gets tired or becomes bored quickly while reading.
Relies on others (assistants, spouses,) for written correspondence.
Uncertainty with words, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Reliance on spell-check and grammar-check.
Poor handwriting - inconsistent handwriting.
Writes with all capital letters, or mixes capital letters within words. Abbreviates words frequently.

Behaviour, Health and Personality

May have a short fuse or is easily frustrated, angered, or annoyed.
Easily stressed and overwhelmed in certain situations.
May have low self-esteem.
Self-conscious when speaking in a group. May have difficulty getting thoughts out - pause frequently, speak in halting phrases, or leave sentences incomplete. This may worsen with stress or distraction.
Sticks to what they know - fear of new tasks or any situation where they are out of comfort zone.
Extremely untidy or compulsively tidy.
Confusion, stress, physical health issues, time pressure, and fatigue will significantly increase symptoms.

Testimonials

“I was fortunate to participate in the Davis Dyslexia programme with Alma. The one-on-one tutoring was extremely beneficial with everything being tailored to suit my needs. The content was relevant and delivered in an orderly and structured manner. Alma made sure that I fully understood each step before moving on and kept the programme interesting. I learnt more than I was expecting gaining a range of skills and tools. These will help me in my role as branch manager dealing with client and staff as well personally. I would thoroughly recommend the course.”

~ 48 year old male

“I had no idea that reading could be easier by picturing the scene, even with my university work I can do it. The little words I have done in clay already make the picture even clearer. I am still working with getting those ideas into sequence and order, the stick-its are so easy to work with.”

~ 25 year old female

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Dyslexia – help4u — Central Otago: key to your learning style