Transitions

Gap year to university

I decided to go on a gap year because I wasn’t 100% sure about whether I wanted to go to university, plus my brother had been on a gap year and had loved it. I worked for six months to save up and then went off round the world with some people I had met. I had lots of amazing experiences, such as visiting Vietnam, living with a family in Cambodia and sky diving in Australia. After jumping out of a plane, nothing seems as scary!

After my gap year I had a chilled out summer, and was still unsure about university, but ended up going because I didn’t know what else to do. I missed the thrill of travelling, but you can’t roam the world forever! I was a little apprehensive at first. I was worried that I would be older than all the other students and that I would be out of the habit of learning. I found that the gap year actually helped me at university. There were lots of other students there who’d taken a gap year and it was a good conversation stating point.  It also increased my confidence; I felt I’d experienced life and opened my mind to new opportunities.  It does take a little time to get back into learning, but you soon get back into the swing of it. 

I would definitely recommend taking a gap year to other students; I have friends in many different countries, have developed lots of different skills such as budgeting and languages, and have learnt how to be independent. I will be travelling again once I finish university.   (Madelaine, Molecular biology student)

Returning to university after a work placement

The placement was an amazing opportunity for me to get industry experience in one of the world’s leading plant laboratories (Kew Gardens). I didn’t think I would have a chance of getting accepted and was overjoyed to be offered a place.

The placement itself was a new role and offered me the chance to be creative and to shape the job; it was a fantastic experience, helping me develop skills that would be useful after I have finished my degree. I would say though, that my transition back to university life was not so smooth. All my friends had graduated, so I was coming to completely new people. In a way it felt like being a first year again, only all the other students had established friendship groups. It’s important to have a support network, especially in the final year, and I worked hard to make new friends.

Another difficulty was getting back into an academic mindset. In the workplace all the goals are extrinsic and other people were relying on me. Back at university the goals are not external and it is all about motivating yourself to do well. The work is also very different and I had to re-adapt to an academic writing style.  In the end though, I got back into university life and I’m really happy with my progress as I complete my final year.

Despite the difficulties, I would wholeheartedly recommend a year’s work placement; it is great for your CV, gives you a window into possible future careers, and plugs you in to lots of networks. My advice to anyone undertaking a work placement would be:

·         Maintain friendships with other people on work placements

·         Find likeminded individuals to support each other

·         Be ready of the pressure of academia and exams

·         Keep reading academic papers during the year, to keep you in the loop

·         Implement a timetable when you get, the lack of structure of university may come as a shock

·         If you haven’t got one, invest in a laptop, it’ll be invaluable for organising your work.

                                                                                                                                            (Joel, APS student)

Experiences around being assessed as dyslexic

Welcome to our first theme - 'experiences of dyslexia/ SpLD assessment', or what some people might call 'diagnosis' (rather medical sounding!) or 'identification' of dyslexia/ SpLDs. 

Getting the label, so to speak, is a key moment for many students: many learners we work with feel a huge sense of relief after they are given a dyslexia label following psychological assessment, but of course, there may also be other feelings too. 

If you would like to share your experiences, or perspectives on any aspect of your assessment for SpLDs/ Dyslexia, do please get in touch.  Comments are currently turned off, but if you would like to add something or respond to one of the posts below, please get in touch via email h.cameron@sheffield.ac.uk 

For now, though, here are three different students reflecting on their experiences. 

Experiences of being assessed as dyslexic or as someone with specific learning ‘difficulties’

A student’s experience of being identified with an SpLD as a child

When I was in primary school I struggled with English, but was really good at maths. The teacher noticed this and thought that I may have dyslexia. If I hadn’t been so good at maths, I’m not sure that my dyslexia would have been picked up. I was tested and found to have dyslexia, but there wasn’t much help available then. Luckily, the school had launched a volunteer programme and I was given a volunteer to help me. When I was in secondary school I was tested again. This time I was given a note taker, as well as extra tuition; I was also given coloured paper, which made it easier for me to read. In fact, I was tested every year; all that happened was that I got better at the test!

When I went to college, I didn’t tell anyone about my dyslexia, which was a mistake because I got really low marks. These soon improved when I told them about my dyslexia and got extra help.

Finally, when I went to university I declared my disability and I have done really well in my course. An early diagnosis of dyslexia enabled me to get support from primary school, helping me to improve my English skills. I would say, therefore, that getting a diagnosis is a good idea for any student who thinks they may be dyslexic.

(Daniel, computer science student)

A student’s experience of being diagnosed with an SpLD at university

Looking back, I think my dyslexia was an issue in school. Unfortunately, it wasn’t picked up. I was sometimes told I was stupid, even though I got excellent marks in some of my subjects. Interestingly, many people thought I couldn’t be dyslexic, because I got an A in GCSE English!

In the end I was diagnosed in college, almost by accident. My friend thought she was dyslexic and I went with her for a screening test. I had a go at the screener and it showed dyslexic traits, so I took the full assessment. The assessment was revealing, in most of the tests I was either in the top two percentile, or the bottom two!

Being diagnosed meant I got access to extra time in exams and one to one tuition with a specialist tutor, which made a real difference. In fact, I don’t think I would have done nearly as well in my degree without the extra support. As it is, I am in my final year and have been accepted onto a PhD in plant science.

(Jenny, APS student)

A second language student’s experience of being diagnosed with an SpLD

“My teacher at university suggested that I go for a dyslexia assessment; she noticed that my written work didn’t reflect the quality of my ideas. I was referred by my university and diagnosed as being dyslexic. I felt a real sense of relief from the diagnosis because it meant I wasn’t struggling because I was capable; it was because of a specific difficulty. I now had something to work with. It made a difference to how I thought about myself and my learning. Not only did the diagnosis help me to understand why I was struggling, it meant that I could access lots of support. I was given more time in exams and more feedback on assignments, to show where I was going wrong, and help me improve my writing. I also received assistive technology; the Dictaphone was especially helpful.  I was given a disability advisor to give me general guidance about things such has help at the library, and a dyslexia tutor who worked with me to develop learning strategies and improve my writing style. Together, we worked on my writing style and it is now much more academic; I can understand what the tutor is asking for and how I should answer assignment questions. I also feel much more confident in seminars and have successfully given presentations. I now feel confident that I can get my degree and achieve a good grade in it.”  

(Elsa, working with communities student)

Taken from Mann,V and Wong, S (2013) The impact of a dyslexia diagnosis on a second language student of higher education, International Students’ Journal,  volume one, issue 2.

Coming soon!

Welcome!

The first student post will be up in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please take a look around the blog as there are some useful bits and bobs about studying at The University of Sheffield for students with dyslexia/ specific learning differences.

WATCH THIS SPACE.