Dyslexia with ADHD: Daryl’s Story

Daryl shares his journey with Aim Forward as he learned to manage his dsylexia with ADHD

I think I got through school by sheer force of personality. I was always the class clown, but when I was interested in a subject I got really into it. This meant I could always turn up and remember just enough to get through exams.

I did a BTEC in computing and then got a job in sales with a big retail chain. I was always busy chatting to customers and I understood the technology, but when they put me forward for a regional role I suddenly had to write reports and it felt like I hit a brick wall.

Challenges at work 

I could never get myself organised with all the data because I wasn’t interested in trying to put information together that way, and I could not get to grips with the style they wanted. Every month I would leave it until the last minute and then cobble something together. My boss got frustrated because she could not understand how I was so good at explaining things to people but hopeless at writing things down and organising them on a page. I asked to go back to the shop floor because I was miserable in the new role. Thankfully, my boss realised there was probably more going on, so she suggested I see my GP.

Taking the first step to getting a diagnosis

I resisted seeing the GP at first because I didn’t know what I would say, so I Googled, “Why do I leave stuff that I hate to the last minute and get stressed?” The results suggested I might have ADHD, and that seemed to fit me. I also saw loads of TikToks from people like me, who also had dyslexia, which made sense to me too. I still had those issues at work though, so I started looking at how to get diagnosed and found Aim Forward in my search.

Diagnostic and needs assessments with Aim Forward

I didn’t know what to expect, but they were really friendly from the start. They arranged for me to have a diagnostic assessment with a specialist assessor who asked me to complete different tasks to test my abilities. The tasks showed I had dyslexia with traits of ADHD, and my assessor was brilliant, explaining what was going on in my brain and how that could make it harder to write reports. Aim Forward then arranged a needs assessment for me so we could look in more detail at how my work was being affected and what could help me improve. The needs assessor showed me how to get the most out of Microsoft Office and recommended a brilliant programme that lets me speak, and then types out what I say.

It has been an absolute game-changer for me at work. I am back in my regional role and my boss now understands what I need and how she can help, including more support and better feedback about my reports (which actually make more sense now that I can say what I mean!) Without Aim Forward, I don’t think I would have realised that I am a capable, neurodivergent person with lots of skills who can do better when they have the right support.