I am a Senior Tenancy Manager with Oxford City Council. I started with the council on a temporary contract and really enjoyed learning about the legal issues around housing. Since leaving school I have actually managed to gain a recognised qualification with the Chartered Institute of housing, as I have completed level 3,4 and 5 (level 5 being the highest level they have!) meaning I now have Chartered Membership with them.
I completely struggled at school, academically in all honestly it smashed any small amount of confidence I had. Socially I thrived, but people would often say “Are you sure you have dyslexia” I had no idea what they thought someone with dyslexia looks like, but I don’t think they had any idea how much I would try and hide it!
I remember crying to my mum, because I would be concentrating so much on the words in a book I never knew what the story was.
I just remember thinking I couldn’t do it, and when adults would say to me that they had struggled at school, but look at me now.
I always thought, but you’re not like me.
Louise talks about:
-
How so many of her family members are dyslexic
-
Working in housing, a customer focused role working with people all day
-
Assistive technology, using phone for spelling, and organisation
-
Things getting easier and easier through practice
Please follow the link to the interview.
“My Manager agreed to pay for me to do a Level 3 which I think is equivalent to GCSE level which totally terrified me. [...] She said, ‘no, you can do it, and we are going to help you’. [...] I sat with my mentor and put it back in and managed to pass, and it was amazing actually passing that - thinking my god I did it, I can do it. [...] I think it has done my confidence a world of good.”
“I always knew academically I was not where the other kids where - and I just felt like I wanted to be so much. I wanted to be able to read the book and enjoy the story, but I just really remember concentrating so much on the words - there was never a story and just finding that really upsetting. So it was really difficult, and because I knew I was far behind i felt i couldn’t do it [..] and not having that confidence to try I think really affected me, because I just thought - what's the point, I am not going to succeed anyway.”