#MyDyslexiaStory: Olivia Craig-Mcfeely
Wednesday 16 February 2022
I was diagnosed in my third year of university when I was 20. My mum recognised when I was quite young I was having issues with my spelling. When I was in secondary school I started trying to seek help and a diagnosis.
I underwent preliminary testing in year 11 to year 12 and even though it clearly showed that I had significant issues with my spelling - that of an 11 year old when I was 16 I was told as I got A's in my exams that I couldn't be dyslexic.
This put me off trying to seek help until one of my friends who was also dyslexic helped me write an email to the disability advisor at my university with a request to be formally tested.
Be open and honest about your dyslexia
By openly talking about my dyslexia I become part of a lovely community and have been able to talk and advise other students at my university and beyond about testing and about coping with dyslexia at university. Studying medicine probably wasn't the easiest subject to tackle especially when you struggle with phonetics and are constantly meeting new words. Seeing things in a slightly different way or through a different thought process is really useful in medicine especially when you're not sure what's going on
My biggest supporter
My Mum has been my biggest supporter and was the first person to recognise I needed help. When my school wouldn't give me any she took up the flak and helped both myself and my sister (who is also dyslexic but diagnosed at school) with revision and even proof reads important emails for me now.
Against all odds
Getting into medical school was a huge achievement for me and I will hopefully will be qualifying as a doctor in a few months’ time. People said that I couldn't be dyslexic and become a doctor but the fact I'm almost there really proves them wrong
My Advice for someone who has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia:
Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do, even if things are hard it doesn't mean that you can't do something.
You can study medicine with dyslexia, something I wish I could have shown my school when I was trying to get diagnosed.