SpLD HEAR Project 2014/15: profiles of the 6 students who are collaborating 'to help
raise awareness of the unique range of SpLDs, and what students (and lecturers)
can do to fulfil their potentials.'
Jack Pickard:
Hi my name is Jack, I am a
second year History student. Through my time at primary school I seemed to
struggle with spelling and grammar, this was tested on and around the age of 8
I was diagnosed as dyslexic. Due to the early detection of this my school
provided me with extra support to help me deal with the problems that I faced.
This learning support proved invaluable in gaining entrance to secondary
school. However throughout my time at this new
school I had to become more independent in my studies, but learning support
helpers where available to help. This again proved immensely important when
exams came around as learning support helped me structure revision according to
my strengths and weakness in certain subjects. Also the additional extra time
that I was entitled to enabled me to plan and structure coherently.
Throughout my time at university, I
have learnt to expand and in some areas improve on how I learn. An example of
this is how I enhance my notes during lectures which I achieve through changing
colours to help me understand different arguments or key dates and events. At
university I was offered to become part of a support group for other people who
suffer from various learning difficulties. I found that communicating with other
people who have similar learning difficulties hugely beneficial. Through these
support groups I have learnt that I am part of a much wider group of people who
deal with similar problems. Together we have openly discussed these problems
and shared knowledge on how to deal with these challenges.
Overall I feel that my
dyslexia had set me back in my education, but the support and guidance that I
have been given has greatly improved how I deal with the problems of dyslexia.
Chris:
I am a third year biology student who has been recognised with
dyslexia since a young age. I was diagnosed early enough to attain tuition from
my secondary school, which I found very helpful as people with specific
learning disabilities often learn in different ways to other students.
Throughout my time at university, I have learnt to improve and
adjust my learning mechanisms. I always had
difficulty with keeping up in lectures and writing notes at the same time but
having a dictaphone has been extremely useful.
I have found meeting other people who have specific learning
disabilities and finding out how they are affected in different ways has been
very helpful. Throughout my time in education, I have always thought the things
I have struggled with are normal but since becoming part of the society, I have
come to realise other people experience the same. We have created a community
where people can talk openly, discuss the problems they face with university
life and learning and share knowledge about ways they have been able to
overcome these problems.
It has been really interesting to develop my understanding of
learning difficulties and to become more aware of how they affect me and other
people in education.
I think it is important to increase awareness and the accessibility
students have to the resources available from the learning centre.
Phil:
Hi, I’m Phill. I'm a mature student studying a
Masters in Philosophy. Previously, I had a senior career in investigative
analysis in the chemical industry. Also, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Disorder (ADD) in 2013.
Having lived the majority of my life without any
inkling of ADD, throughout, I’ve found myself compensating / covering up a lot
of difficulties. I struggled with reading, organising myself, thinking ideas
through to completion, finishing projects, and had to work hard, especially in
the workplace, ‘forcing’ myself to focus to get things done. I felt I couldn’t
talk about these difficulties with anyone else, because they seemed so silly. I
was a specialist in a team of 15, could provide answers to scientific problems,
ideas of things to try, interpretations of complex spectra very quickly, and
had no problem handling the pressure of multiple inquiries to tight deadlines.
Yet, I struggled with procedural tasks, remembering the correct sequence of
steps, I’d lose count of how many, which samples I’d completed, and reading and
writing reports was a nightmare. I would have to fight to stay focused to read
each word. I’d go home exhausted each day as a result.
Having been diagnosed, so much made sense. I
realised why I got bored so quickly and why I was so restless. I could now
explain why I’d been successful, yet still quit two career jobs to go do other
things, and why I’d struggled with some of the ‘simple’ tasks that seemed so
effortless for everyone else.
Now, with a new understanding, I’ve got a
clearer idea of my strengths and weaknesses. I’m very creative, imaginative, am
able to respond well in the moment, and come up with original, ‘out-of-the-box’
ideas to problems. Yet, the flip-side is that my thinking is quite
disorganised; I struggle to collate and articulate my ideas, create a logical
sequence of reasoning; things tended to come out in a random sequence that’s
often quite hard to follow. I don’t see myself as having a learning difficulty,
especially in the light of my past achievements. I just learn and work
differently from the ‘typical’ way one is taught and expected to. In fact,
whilst most people find, and many work environments expect such, that they are
able to do most things reasonably well. I do some things really well, and other
things really badly. If a task is interesting or very stimulating, I can
immerse myself in it for hours without break, on the counter, if it’s not
interesting, then I struggle.
I’ve returned to university now to learn new
skills to order and sequence my thoughts to create coherent arguments.
Sheffield University provides amazing SpLD support. Before starting, DDSS were
able to see me and put in place support for me upon starting. As such, I have a
SpLD tutor to help me with skill development and with learning support, and a
mentor to help me organise and better manage my time, and deal with my
struggles in facing the challenges I’m working to overcome.
I’m very keen to be a part of this SpLD project
team, because I want to help others understand different learning styles,
appreciate the strengths they have, and better understand how they can make the
most of them.
Aimee:
Hi, my name is Aimee, and I live locally just
outside Sheffield. I am studying Medicine,
here at Sheffield, and currently spend a lot
of my time on placement in hospitals. I have always been a creative learner; I
love to draw and paint when I’m not studying! I did find, however, that I
struggled with the leap from A levels to University, and I was surprised to
learn I had dyslexia when I was in my first year of Medicine. I soon learned my note taking was ineffective,
and I was constantly behind with the workload. I had a dyslexia test, and it
was confirmed that I had a rather rare type of dyslexia, which became apparent
when I wasn’t performing as well as I had hoped.
I am always enthusiastic to approach studying in
different ways, and I find I am always learning throughout my course! My tutor,
Chris, has been an incredible support over my time working with her at the SpLD
Tutorial Service. For the past three years, I have been adapting my learning
methods to suit my lectures and tutorials, as well as being more efficient with
time management! As part of the HEAR
project, I am certain we can raise more awareness of specific learning
difficulties, and offer help where it is necessary. It would be fantastic to
reach out to other students and improve their university experience.
Beth:
Hi, my name is Beth and I am in my second year of studying English
and French. I have always loved reading but I have always found it difficult to
voice my own opinions in a clear way, a difficulty that set me back during my
time at primary and secondary school. After having struggled for years with
issues like time management and organisation as well as difficulties in
spelling, I discovered that I have dyspraxia around the age of fourteen. Rather
than forcing me to feel like an outsider, my diagnosis has helped me to
understand the different ways in which I learn and has also encouraged me to
take on new, exciting methods of learning, including drawing awesomely
colourful mind maps and bright colours-they really do work! The help that I
have received from the DDSS and the enormous support that has been provided by
my wonderful tutor, Harriet, have inspired me to find enthusiasm and zest in
developing invaluable methods of combating the struggles that specific learning
difficulties generate.
My experience of dypraxia has taught me that identified
struggles in learning, such as dypraxia, dyslexia and ADHD, do not have to live
up to the title of ‘learning difficulties’; in fact they are simply different
ways of learning that are easy to overcome with the development of learning
strategies that blossom in to expressive ways of thinking and creating ideas.
In the SpLD society, we aim to inspire our members to take pride in their
unique learning style and to put to an end to the embarrassment and shame that
are associated with rare learning patterns. We all really look forward to
sharing our own coping strategies with members of the society at the same time
as developing new learning methods which will include all members of the
society. In addition to this we are also really excited about making new
friends and having fun!
Jenny:
Hello, I'm Jenny and I'm a third (and
final) year Biomedical Science student at the University of Sheffield.
Many describe the course I do as the background knowledge and research behind
Medicine; which is comprised of lectures, tutorial groups, practical labs and
human dissection! Having always thoroughly enjoy Science, this has lead me to
pursue a career as a Science teacher this coming September.
Unlikely many of the other
dyslexic/SpLD students at the University, I was only recently diagnosed with my
learning difficulty towards the end of my first year of study here in Sheffield. I was initially believed to have dyslexia when
one of my professors advised me to go and be tested after reading through an
assignment of mine. Luckily, I did, and as a result it was found out I have a
form of dyslexia which mainly effects my spelling, short-term memory and
phonetics (how to pronounce words).
As I was unaware I was
dyslexic at school and during sixth form, I didn't gain any additional support;
however the University has greatly helped me in understanding dyslexia and how
to cope with any of the challenges it puts in my path. My fantastic tutor,
Harriet, has helped me to understand dyslexia is simply just a different way of
learning and thinking. I have discovered many different strategies and learning
technique, which I have not used before when writing essays, such as the spider
diagrams, using cue cards and different colours to represent different
arguments.
At the University, I have
recently collaborated with 5 other students with learning difficulties, to help
raise awareness of the unique range of SpLDs, and what students (and lecturers)
can do to fulfil their potentials.
Well done to The SpLD HEAR group for successfully completing their project for 2014/15. Aimee, Jack, Beth, Jenny, Chris and Phill collaborated to set up the SpLD student society as a platform for breaking down stigma, offering peer support, and promoting the positives of learning differently. Their plans for the future include running workshops, a buddy email system, podcasts, and even a festival. Those who are continuing on to become senior project workers will be sharing their knowledge and experience through outreach activities in the local community.
