Be Part of the Change Episode 6: Living with Dyslexia - with Zara Edmonds and Kathryn Moody

The built environment comprises a diverse and exciting range of sectors, but there is still a lack of representation at every level. We want this to change.

‘Be Part of the Change’ is an awareness campaign with the purpose of celebrating the incredible success stories of our under-represented students, apprentices and alumni, as well as highlighting their challenges.

It’s also an opportunity to highlight the positive practices our employers are actioning within their organisations to inspire other companies in their approach.

In the sixth episode of our Be Part of the Change podcast, Zara Edmonds, Student Officer for Disability and Welfare and Apprentice at UCEM, is joined by Kathryn Moody, an MSc Real Estate student.

The topics discussed in this episode include:

• Kathryn and Zara's experience being diagnosed with dyslexia
• How this diagnosis impacted their mental health and education
• The support Kathryn has received from UCEM
• Kathryn's tips for students with dyslexia

Transcript

[00:02] Aysha: Hello and welcome to the Be Part of the Change podcast. This is UCEMs new series that will explore the challenges and success stories faced by those from underrepresented backgrounds in the built environment. This episode is being recorded as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week. If you are a UCEM student and would like to speak with our disability and welfare team, please raise an inquiry on student central or call the student advice telephone number on Odeenen.

[00:41] Zara: Hi, guys, I'm Zara Edmonds. I'm a student officer here at UCEM for disability and welfare. And today I'm doing a podcast on dyslexia. So here we have Kathryn with us. And, yeah, we're just going to be doing a couple of questions on dyslexia, sort of getting to know our stories and especially Kathryn's story around dyslexia. So, yeah, Kathryn, are you relocate? Start.

[01:00] Kathryn: I'm ready when you are. Let's go.

[01:02] Zara: Perfect. Well, if you wouldn't mind just telling us a bit about yourself. So what course are you studying here at UCEM? Where are you working? Sort of around that.

[01:11] Kathryn: So I'm currently studying part time, the MSc in Real Estate. I think I'm on my third year because I had to defer a module and I work in the public sector, in one of the property departments there, and they are sponsoring me to complete the MSc.

[01:28] Zara: Oh, that's sort of similar to myself, then. I'm an apprentice as well, so doing the real estate pathway, which is quite nice. So, yeah, so with. Obviously this is all about dyslexia. Could you tell us sort of, about your experiences in the early stages of being diagnosed, how that made you feel? Sort of, you know, what was the process, if you wouldn't mind?

[01:47] Kathryn: Not at all. It weirdly came about for me because my mum worked in the library of a university and they did a training day on dyslexia and she just came home and sort of had a talk with me and was saying that I ticked every single box on key identifiers for dyslexia. I was at year eight or nine of secondary school, and up to that point, you know, when you used to get the reports through and it's. What was it the teachers used to say? Clever, but doesn't apply herself. That's what you get, that sort of reinforcement of, she's more than capable, she's just not putting the effort in. It was challenging because, I don't know about you, but it's incredibly frustrating for somebody like a teacher to feed that back to you when you're struggling to keep up. And I know that when I was younger I had to work so hard just to keep up. Homework took longer, everything took longer and it was just that challenge. So my mum went to the school, spoke to the Sen as it was called back then. They brought me in for a brief assessment and did like after school classes with me for like say an hour every week. It was amazing. It was that sort of support that had. I can spell things correctly but I put the wrong word in so they're there and just little basics like for there. If it's a place, it's got here in it, if it's got the IR in, it's about a person. So it's just, for me it was just affirming that I wasn't stupid, I could actually do it. I just needed help and support to learn coping mechanisms to enable me to achieve no 100%.

[03:43] Zara: And I totally feel you in that sort of sense because at school it was always the, you know, she tries, but it's just not at the same standard as everybody else is at. And it's just so, you know, hard work and it takes a toll on even your mental health going, I'm really, I'm putting more effort in than probably the whole class put together but it's still nothing clicking. And I totally felt that as well, going through, you know, primary school and secondary school and, you know, until I did get the diagnosis, it was actually, oh, maybe that that's what's going on, rather than just me feel like, oh, every, the school's against me and, you know, work isn't clicking and, you know, as a young person as well, it's really hard to understand, you know, there's something is wrong with you and I'm sure you appreciate as you get older it's okay to ask for help.

[04:39] Kathryn: Absolutely, yeah. I think for me, dyslexia, I think in my family's hereditary, as in I think probably one of my parents has it, possibly grandparents. My brother's dyspraxic and there's nothing wrong with us. We just are wired differently and we think differently and I think there's so many benefits from that because we can see things that maybe people that aren't dyslexic can't see. We may be more creative, we may, you know, I think that thinking process, it just, if you have the support behind you, I think, you know, you can go on to achieve no, 100%.

[05:18] Zara: And I totally agree with you in that sense. We've got our own special little power, actually, you know, it all makes us different. I think at the end of the day, everybody's got something. You know, if it's dyslexia, if it's slow processing, I think everybody's got something, but it's to what scale? Until you say, I do need just a little bit of extra help, and there's nothing wrong in saying it, so, yeah, that's brilliant. Thank you very much for that, Kathryn. So, with your dyslexia diagnosis, let's just take it sort of back. How did that sort of feel, receiving the news? Were you upset? Were you happy that, you know, they found something? Was it clearer for you to understand?

[05:59] Kathryn: I think there was an element of relief. Like I said before, I'm not lazy. There is something there that I just need a little bit more help or a little bit more assistance. There's nothing wrong with me. And I think, I suppose there was a little bit of frustration towards the education system, as in, I'm year nine or year eight at school, you know, I was approaching GCSE's. I wouldn't have got the marks that I did or been able to go to university without that help. And I think it's a lot better now than what it was, but I think we still have somewhere to go with it.

[06:39] Zara: So I was diagnosed in year nine with dyslexia, so I understand the impending GCSE's and going, it's quite a sigh of relief, going, oh, we found it before the major exams. But the support you received, what type of support did you get? Was it extra time? Did you have to ask for that, or did you get assessed with it, if you don't mind me asking?

[07:07] Kathryn: At school, they did assess me. It was a brief assessment, but they did provide sort of like after school lessons to try and help me out. And also a really key thing was I had 10% extra time in exams and that was GCSE A levels. And because of that extra time, I was often in a different room, and I think just having that peace and quiet and not having hundreds of students really, really helped. And it just gave me time to process the question.

[07:40] Zara: Yeah, no, definitely. I was similar as well. I got 25% extra time in my exams and a reader, so likewise, you put in your own room, you don't get distracted by others. And actually, it's quite nice to be able to just get along with your work, which I'm sure, you know, you felt so kind of following through this, going through education and onto the workplace. How do you think your dyslexia has affected starting work, starting university life here at UCEM. How do you think dyslexia has affected you?

[08:11] Kathryn: I'm lucky in some respects. It's my second degree. So I went through a proper educational psychologist report prior to uni and that gave detailed information about things that could help me out, whether that be a tutor or having certain computer programs like Dragon or read, write and they really helped me and also like recordings of the lectures so I could go back and relisten and actually process it because I always find it hard to sort of absorb the information at the time when I'm trying to write notes and.

[08:50] Zara: Keep up the classic, doing two things at once, being being a dyslexic, you know, having the recordings as a blessing rather than through my education. And I was quite lucky because I was the COVID era of education. We could have these teams recordings and going back on them probably saved half of my educational GCSE's at A level results, definitely.

[09:14] Kathryn: And like, I went into the workplace and they did help me get programs like Dragon and things like that and it did help. A lot of people were supportive of it. I will admit there's some people that didn't like, but you've got to do what's best for you. And if that I see these programs or recordings or things you can get either through the workplace or through university or education, they're levelling the playfield, that's all they are. They're just helping you achieve what you.

[09:46] Zara: Would otherwise through UCEM. What has your support been like? Have you received lots of support? Have you been given a counsellor? What has your support been like?

[10:00] Kathryn: I've had great support. I contacted the disability team when I was looking at universities and the different options and I spoke to one of the disability team in depth. Sorry about, you know, what support is there these days because it's 20 years since I last graduated. You know how they could help me out and it's been fantastic. I've had support through or they told me about the DSC. I don't know what the acronym means, but it's basically when I'm given like computer programs or mind map programs to help me process and to achieve and it's just been incredibly helpful, like since COVID I have got long Covid, so for me it exacerbates my dyslexia when I have really bad fatigue. So being able to talk to them and say, look, this is the situation I'm in and they've helped me through assessments or if I've needed mitigating circumstances because of ill health, they've been fantastic. I had shingles at the beginning of the year, completely different to dyslexia, and the support I got was second to none. They were kind and caring and they listened.

[11:11] Zara: That's amazing. That's really good to hear. Sort of following on from your support at UCEM, what would you feel like your personal strengths and challenges are in relation to dyslexia? And do you have any top tips for our listeners?

[11:28] Kathryn: I think my personal strengths with regards to dyslexia are, I think, out of the box. I can think more. Creativity. Creativity. I can't talk anymore. That's the dyslexia coming in. And I think creatively, that's the word, and sometimes it's just. I use humour to sort of get over things like that, as in, yes, I've said it wrong, but it's a who I am and you might find it a bit funny, so go with me on this. But, no, I do think being dyslexic, yes, it's been challenging. Yes, sometimes it's been difficult and it does take me longer to do things, but it's just part of who I am and I think it gives so many different, like, creative outlets. It's brilliant. I wouldn't be without it.

[12:18] Zara: What would be your top tips?

[12:22] Kathryn: I think get support early. The earlier you get support, the quicker you can get to the place where you want to be. I wish I'd found out about this at primary school. I think it would have helped my self esteem and helped me sort of not doubt myself as much as maybe I do. If in doubt, talk to people. There's not the prejudice that there was. There's like one in ten, I think, out there that have some form of dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia. It's common, and I think the more that people talk about it, the better it is for everyone.

[13:02] Zara: No, I think that's such good advice. People should definitely not shy away from, you know, if they have a problem in school or in university or even in the workplace, there's support there for, you know, you to use to help you. It's not to be ashamed of, it's just for you to. To feel supported and feel valued. And in the workplace, you need people that has neurodiversity. You can't have everybody the same in a workforce. Cause everybody brings different skill sets. So, no, that's definitely a great top tip. Hopefully that rounds off sort of our dyslexia podcast for this week. I hope you guys enjoyed listening. And yeah, if you wouldn't mind getting in contact if you have any queries with our disability and welfare team about dyslexia, or if you think you might relate to some things that Kathryn's saying, they're more than happy to support you.