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Hi, I’m Faith. I’m 19 and from Essex. I love sport, gaming, and art, and was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was 13. I also have eight GCSEs, gained AAA in my T-Level childcare course, and have just started university aiming to be a teacher. Plus, I’m writing this blog for Ingeus where I’m a volunteer Youth Voice Ambassador.  

Until I joined secondary school, I was pretty much written off academically. I felt there was little understanding of special educational needs back then so there was no help. I was branded dumb and threw myself into sports instead. I loved hockey, tennis, badminton, basketball, and was the only girl playing football at break times. I failed all my SATS and was put in the bottom sets for everything at senior school.  

 

A remark I made about trying to learn Spanish when I can’t even understand English inadvertently changed everything.  

 

I was subsequently diagnosed with dyslexia and sensory processing disorder. There’s definitely ADHD and some autistic traits packed into my busy little brain too. My thoughts and comments sometimes get jumbled, my memory of little things isn’t great, and I get anxious trying to overcompensate. I leave early for everything and always have a Plan B in mind. My brain literally never stops. 

 

At 13, my diagnosis was scary and my friends definitely saw dyslexia as a negative thing. Secondary school helped me so much though; I was determined to take all the practical help they gave me and not let this hidden disability define my life. Having been predicted to fail everything, I slowly moved up the sets and, with a tailored curriculum geared towards my strengths, I passed my exams – including English and maths. 

 

Now I’m pretty vocal about dyslexia not determining your success – just look at Noel Gallagher or Jamie Oliver – or me! I led disability assemblies at school and used that experience to join Ingeus as a volunteer Youth Voice Ambassador in March 2024. I want to represent people with my kind of busy, brilliant brain. Eventually I want to be a teacher like my mum, to be someone for students with dyslexia and other disabilities to look up to. 

 

As I work towards that, being in the Ingeus Youth Voice is amazing. I’ve been part of a team developing a new skills-building residential experience for young jobseekers, called RISE. Going to London for planning meetings, Ingeus arranges a train buddy from the station to help me navigate the underground. Simple changes like using coloured paper and Powerpoint backgrounds also really helps. We modelled our RISE ideas in Lego – that was definitely up my street.  
I’ve just been on the first RISE experience with 60 jobseekers – it was totally fabulous!  

 

So, to other employers out there I’d say don’t ignore or dismiss the talents of dyslexic people. Dyslexia affects one in ten people, often many of them undiagnosed. Unlike a visual disability, it demands that people acknowledge and ask for help which can be difficult. Talking openly about dyslexia is therefore so important in my view as really simple adjustments and readily available technology can make all the difference.  

 

And if you’re someone with, or suspect dyslexia, don’t see it as a negative. Take any help that’s given – extra time for tasks, overlays, coloured paper, simple things that can put you back in the ball game. You have distinct talents to give, and thanks to the growing awareness of dyslexia now there’s help and opportunities for you to harness them. 

 

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2025 - British Dyslexia Association