Raising awareness of dyslexia
After years of struggling with spelling and reading, Pip Carr was diagnosed with dyslexia in her 40s. Now she’s working to raise awareness
‘It’s important to tell children that a diagnosis of dyslexia isn’t the end of the world’
When Pip Carr tries to spell a word or read a sentence, the letters just seem to scramble before her eyes. “While most people see the complete word in their heads, for me it’s like all the letters are swimming in fog and I can’t arrange them,” she says. “I also have to read sentences again and again as it just doesn’t go in.”
Pip is dyslexic, but she only found this out much later in life, after years of struggling at school and when she began work.
“At school, my reading and writing was well behind my age and I was always getting told off for not being able to spell,” says Pip. “Everyone said I was slow or even stupid and it made feel like I’d never get on in life.”
Having failed every exam except geography, Pip faced the same struggles when she began to work. “My supervisor once sent back an invoice I’d done five times as I just couldn’t get the address right. Bit by bit, this all affected my confidence.”
But it was in her 40s, while doing an adult training course at a local college for which she had to submit assignments, that the tutor asked Pip if she was dyslexic. “My reaction was ‘what’s that?’, but as they explained more, I realised I was dyslexic and shortly after got officially diagnosed by a private dyslexia association. It was a big relief.”
Determined to show what she could do even with dyslexia, Pip signed herself up to a Psychology course for which she earned a distinction. “After all those years of failing exams, I wanted to prove I could do it.”
Hoping to change attitudes towards dyslexia and raise awareness Pip wrote a children’s book, The Sea Rabbits of Greystones. She uses the book when she visits schools to show pupils that dyslexia isn’t the end of the world. “It’s important to tell children about dyslexia and that there is support out there. The book is a fun way of doing that.
“You have to focus on what you can do, not what you can’t. I also just want to get the word out there, as it’s good for everyone to know what dyslexia is so they can be more understanding of why some people might struggle with certain things.
“If I’d have known about dyslexia at school it would’ve made a big difference.”