Looking Beyond the Words: My Reflections on Dyslexia

This week is Dyslexia Awareness Week, and I’ve been reflecting on the ways dyslexia touches people’s lives — not just in the classroom or at work, but in their sense of self.

Dyslexia is often spoken about as a “reading difficulty,” but in my experience as a counsellor, it is so much more complex than that. It shapes how confident you feel, your relationships, and the way you feel understood (or misunderstood) in the world.

What’s Often Overlooked

When people think of dyslexia, they usually imagine words jumbled on a page. But for many of my clients, the deeper struggle is not with reading itself, but with the feelings that come from years of being told they’re “not trying hard enough,” “careless,” or “behind their friends and classmates.” Those messages can stay with someone, sometimes well into adulthood.

I’ve sat with clients who have described the exhaustion of working twice as hard to achieve what seems to come easily to others. Some carry old wounds from school — memories of embarrassment when asked to read aloud, feeling stupid after a spelling test or when being compared to peers. Others feel the ongoing stress of managing workplace expectations where they may feel they have to “hide” their dyslexia in order to be taken seriously.

The Emotional Weight
What strikes me most is how often dyslexia is accompanied by feelings of shame or low self-worth. When someone has heard “you’re not good enough” in one form or another for so long, it can deeply affect how they see themselves. Anxiety, frustration, and even depression can grow out of those experiences.

And yet, alongside this, I also see incredible resilience. Many people with dyslexia develop creativity, problem-solving skills, and a way of seeing the bigger picture that others might miss. These strengths can be life-changing when they are recognised, valued and felt.

The Role of Counselling
In counselling, I will create a space where these hidden stories can be spoken aloud, maybe for the first time. A space where the person is not defined by their struggles, but seen in their wholeness. It can be powerful to work through the shame and replace it with self-acceptance, to move from “I’m not good enough” towards “I have strengths that matter, and I am enough”

Counselling doesn’t “fix” dyslexia, but it can help to heal the emotional scars and build confidence for the future.

Dyslexia Awareness Week is a reminder for us all to look beyond the label, and to listen to the lived experience of each individual. If you’re living with dyslexia, or supporting someone who is, know that you are not alone in carrying the emotional weight that can come with it.

At Skyla Counselling, I offer a safe and compassionate space to explore these challenges and discover the strengths that are already within you. If this resonates with you, please reach out — I'll be there when you’re ready.