October is Dysautonomia Awareness Month.

October is Dysautonomia Awareness Month.

So what is dysautonomia?

Dysautonomia refers to a disorder in or with the autonomic nervous system. This is responsible for things like heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, kidney function, temperature control and more, basically all the bodily functions that occur without having to consciously things about it and it affects every part of the body.

"People living with various forms of dysautonomia have trouble regulating these systems, which can result in lightheadedness, fainting, unstable blood pressure, and abnormal heart rates. 

Dysautonomia is not rare. Over 70 million people worldwide live with various forms of dysautonomia. People of any age, gender or race can be impacted. There is no cure for any form of dysautonomia at this time but there is research bing done."

- Dysautonomia International, 'What is Dysautonomia?' 

There are several illnesses that are caused by dysautonomia. I don't have any particular dysautonomia disorder but I am affected by dysautonomia due to my M.E. and HSD. I have a low blood pressure and faulty heart rate which leads to dizziness, light headedness and fainting. I also struggle with temperature control, especially feeling cold all the time and finding it difficult to warm up and my digestive system is slowed down too. 

Although there is no cure there are things that can be done to help manage my dysautonomia I take electrolyte supplements, and I've had to get over my dislike of salt and increase my salt intake and eat smaller meals. The idea behind smaller meals is that the you have a big meal all the blood goes to the digestive system leaving less blood for the rest of the body causing symptoms like dizziness and light headedness. Changing my posture too like when I lie down can also help.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

So October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. I've had dyslexia all my life, but it took a long time for it to be picked up and diagnosed. I have a very vivid memory of being 4/5years old and struggling with my reading homework which including the word 'what' and I was insistent that the word was pronounced 'w-hat' and my Dad was desperately trying to get me to say 'what'. 

Dyslexia is a form of 'Specific Learning Difficulty' (very different to a 'Learning Disability')

Having dyslexia doesn't mean I'm not intelligent - my brain just works a bit differently and gets a bit more scattered than other people's and I think more in pictures rather than words.

Dyslexia runs in our family - both myself, my brother and my Dad have it.

I always struggled with reading and spelling. I hated being called out to read aloud in class as people would laugh at my reading aloud ability or dis-ability in my case. What I found most frustrating was I was so bright, when it came to writing our work out my head would be buzzing with ideas of what I wanted to say but putting pen to paper was slow and very difficult and I was always pulled up for not finishing my work or for my spelling errors. Despite my intelligence I was in the bottom set for work so some of the other students that where on my table preferred to pick on me rather than do their work so I didn't;t really enjoy school that much.

Finally when my dyslexia was picked up, assessed and diagnosed is was almost like a sigh of relief. I quite beating myself up and my IQ was higher than average but for things like reading and writing speak I scored so low it wasn't on the chart but other things I scored very highly on so I was able to work with my strengths. I also got introduced to assistive technology which has been a lifeline and I got a support worker in class as well as 1:1 teaching sessions to help me with the things I found difficult. I also got special arrangements for examinations.

Some of the assistive technology I use is Dragon which a voice controlled, so I can control my computer with my voice and i can talk and it will type for me. Read and Write Gold which has lots of different features like reading out text, having a more advanced spell checker, a word dictionary, screen overlay, high lighter organiser and many more. I also use Inspiration in which you can mind map out things such as essays, blog posts etc.

Looking back I think I would have done better at education if my dyslexia hod of been picked up sooner but I pleased with myself for how far I did get without the support and knowledge of my dyslexia.

So, what is Dyslexia?

• Dyslexia is one of a family of Specific Learning Difficulties.

• Many people who have dyslexia have strong visual, creative and problem solving skills.

• Dyslexia is not linked to intelligence but can make learning difficult.

• Dyslexia is a life-long condition which has a substantial effect on an individual’s day to day activities and is classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

• Dyslexia varies from person to person and no two people will have the same set of strengths and weaknesses.

• It often co-occurs with related conditions, such as dyspraxia, dyscalculia and attention deficit disorder.

• Dyslexic individuals often have difficulty processing and remembering information.

- The Dyslexia Association

 Alongside the dyslexia I also have Scotopic Sensitivity, or Irlens. Some people have this alongside their dyslexia, other can have it without having dyslexia. This was picked up a long time before my dyslexia.

Wearing tinted lenses - originally it was green, then blue and now purple they help to 'unscramble' the words on a page and makes it easier to focus on the text. I also have a colour filer on my laptop, iPad and phone which does the same thing.

"Irlen Syndrome (also referred to at times as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, and Visual Stress) is a perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information."

- Irlen