Family Doesn't Understand why I'm Pursuing an Assessment

You are doing it to understand yourself more. And while you may be out of school I have bad news, dyslexia will affect the person for the rest of their lives and if you want to really succeed at your career it's important to understand your own needs and tools required for success. Had I not found out about my dyslexia diagnosis I would have always thought I was just a stupid idiot who couldn't learn and really was just a moron. Instead I found out that my brain just works differently and I am very much as intelligent as my peers. Knowledge is power in this case, IMO, because you won't just be looking for a diagnosis I'd guess, you will also be looking for tools and learning how to be successful with your brain. I have all sorts of work arounds that I would have never put into place had I not known.

I know run the business half of a medical device company, I sit on senior staff and help run a company treating people with lung cancer. I never went to college, I worked my ass off since I was 16. Had I not known I was dyslexic I don't know if I would have ever believed I could be a success. I think I would have always just thought I was too stupid to exist. lol I failed every single class and only passed due to 60% = D = able to move to the next grade. Sometimes I passed only because the teacher knew that I study, did my homework, worked with the tutors, went to after school sylvan learning center help and stayed after to work with my teachers as well. So sometimes I was literally passed to the next grade because the teachers understood I had done everything I could to learn. It's also how I passed the states/capitol test. I took it 4 times. I stayed after with the teacher for a MONTH. When I didn't pass he pulled me aside and almost had tears in his eyes and said that he's giving me a passing grade on it out of pure respect for the effort I put into trying to memorize when I was obviously incapable. lol!

My dad never told me of my diagnosis. He was afraid I would handicap myself with a label. What he failed to understand is that because I didn't know I had a learning disability I simply thought I was stupid to the point of borderline retardation. When I found the paperwork and read the full diagnosis it was one of those stunning moments in life. I remember sitting there just reading it over and over again. I was tested in 2nd grade and I found the papers when I was 18.

/r/Dyslexia Thread