I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine, Colm, who has struggled with dyslexia for a number of years, but left university with a fantastic 2:1 Degree in Accounting and is currently a widely successful Business Analyst.
It was noted even in primary school that Colm had difficulty in picking up information, and, as a result, was moved to a remedial class and led to believe he wouldn’t do well academically due to his learning difficulties, despite not having any diagnosis at this stage.
Colm achieved the top class once he moved to high school, but asked to be moved to a lower class where the speed of teaching was marginally slower.
The complex nature of dyslexia meant his difficulties were more prominent when it came to reading a book but he was able to absorb short, concise sentences that were straight to the point.
He noticed that he started to pick up information better, but still struggled with English and languages, however he excelled at Maths and Science.
Following high school, Colm intentionally went to College much further away from home to commence a BTEC in Business Studies, where, unlike A Levels, his higher education route was full time, more practical and more coursework based, which was much more suited to his ability.
At this stage he met a coach and friend called James (yours truly), and started to chat about careers and life aspirations which was leading him down the financial discipline route – but one yearning pulled Colm away from this…Australia, where he spent 2 years working as a personal trainer!
It was at this stage that I first met Colm and we began to chat about careers and life aspirations, with his desire to go down the financial discipline career path taking him first to Australia, but then Napier University in Edinburgh.
Initially Colm believed he made the wrong choice, as he dramatically failed a number of modules in his first semester, however he started to realise that leafing through large text books was more of a hindrance than a help.
He enlisted the help of a friend in Edinburgh who discussed issues and topics with him which enabled him to muddle through the first and second year of his degree, but at this stage dyslexia still wasn’t even mentioned.
After growing concerned about what was happening, he visited his University Student Liaison Department at the start of his third year and the truth was finally revealed that he was dyslexic.
Symptoms
Much like many other conditions, there are a variety of symptoms that individuals with dyslexia can experience, but it is important to note that having a handful of these does not constitute a self-diagnosis.
If you believe that you have dyslexia and it is impacting your success within your accountancy exams, it’s best to seek help and look for a professional diagnosis.
- Colm in particular suffered from:
- Difficulty absorbing information in long passages
- Found theory difficult
- Short term memory
- Difficulty writing
- Difficulty with numbers
- Bad handwriting
- Lack of concentration
- Brain working overtime
- Fidgety
- Perfectionist
- All-or-nothing attitude
Being the self-confessed “uncompromising and stubborn” character that he is, he set out in his mind to do one thing, by hook or by crook he was going to get an accounting degree!
He was given a laptop with proofreading software to double check his work, and was assigned an academic mentor coach to aid his progression.
At this stage, Colm found himself feeling very tense and was unable to work with a set structure, however he worked on the flow of his written work, using mnemonics and watching YouTube videos on various topics, which subsequently helped his information retention.
He is a huge advocate of past paper questions, as by constantly attempting these and reading subsequent reviews of model answers it offered him a steady and fixed approach in his mind.
Armed with his steely determination his grades went through the roof with his overall average going from 55% to 64%, and getting 65% in his written dissertation, resulting in a strong 2:1 undergraduate degree.
Advantages
Whilst being diagnosed with dyslexia may seem like a set-back at first, there are a variety of advantages that can be associated with it.
Whilst Colm admittedly experienced low self-esteem initially, he discovered the advantages that dyslexia had given him, including:
- Highly organised lifestyle
- Hard working
- Abstract thinker
- Highly intellectual and social
- Lots of common sense
- Sees the practical application in everything
- Perfectionist
- Learning by association
- Thinking like an engineer
- Excellent IT skills
- Problem solving attributes
- Analytical & logical
- Quick thinker & efficient
- Craves self-development and learning
- Doesn’t settle for being average
Colm’s Top Tips:
I don’t personally have dyslexia, so it feels unfair of me to offer tips and advice to individuals that do.
Colm, however, has created a list of his top tips for anyone who feels they may have dyslexia, have recently been diagnosed with dyslexia or have lived with dyslexia for quite some time now.
1. Get professional guidance
If you’re unsure whether dyslexia is something you do suffer from or not, seek a professional diagnosis and get clarity on the topic.
2. Get a coach
Having an academic and/or corporate coach can help you massively when it comes to developing tailored solutions for your exams and career as you can work one-on-one to create the best possible outcome.
3. Understand what your best method of learning actually is e.g. Visual, Audio etc. –
My blog Pass Your Accountancy Exams By Understanding Your Learning Style is a great way to assess your learning style and see what steps you can take to study effectively.
4. Use a variety of study techniques
Colm found that YouTube videos were a great and efficient way for him to absorb information, so find out what works best for you and implement that into your routine.
My blog 6 Study Techniques To Help You Ace Your Accounting Exams identifies different methods you can test to help you settle on the one that is the most effective for you.
5. Find a way to relax
Whilst traditional methods such as going to the gym and practising meditation didn’t work for Colm, watching movies and playing pool proved to be beneficial to him finding peace during the stresses of exams.
If finding a balance between your leisure time, professional work and studying sessions is something you struggle with, read my blog 7 Top Tips To Get The Right Balance Between Your Accountancy Studies, Work & Life for a deeper understanding of how important it is to have periods of all three.
6. Be organised
Colm puts all his thoughts and plans into his phone to ensure he didn’t forget anything important, also acting as a great stress-reliever as he didn’t need to panic about relying on his brain to remember things.
7. Realise the bigger picture
Studying isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of life, however much emphasis you might be placing on it, so it’s important to take a step back and assess the grand scheme of things – you might find you’re less overwhelmed after doing so.
8. Focus on your own strengths
Tailor your learning to your individual strengths, rather than letting a set format of how you believe things should be carried out take over and hinder your progress.
The moral of the story is that, like Colm, if you can assess where you currently are, adapt, take action and work on your weaknesses, be fully aware of strengths and be motivated, you can actually do what you want, with or without dyslexia!