James started coming to Helen Arkell for one to one tuition after finding out that he has dyslexia.

He is determined to raise awareness of dyslexia and other hidden disabilities as he feels lots of people don’t really understand what these conditions are. James wants to help others by raising awareness of hidden disabilities and how they affect people. This is why he has become a Young Ambassador for Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity.

James wants people to understand how difficult dyslexia can make some subjects at school, especially English – “When I see everyone else writing more than me and getting all the spellings right, it makes me feel annoyed because I find that difficult. It can also be hard to understand the lessons sometimes as I need more time and a bit of extra help. I feel some lessons suit most of the class and not those with dyslexia. Sometimes I feel that people get cross at me when I can’t write neatly, and I always get comments about my spelling when we are doing peer assessing.”

While dyslexia can make some things more difficult at school, James is also determined to help people understand the strengths that it can bring. James is especially good at science and seeing things in 3D in his head.

James has lessons with Ginny at Helen Arkell. Ginny helps James with his English work – “I’m able to understand things a lot more with Ginny. The lessons are more fun and I’m not so tired at the weekend.”

James gives the following advice to anyone worried about their learning:

• Stop thinking about the things you find difficult and start thinking about what you are good at – dyslexia can give you lots of amazing strengths!
• Try meditation – mindfulness can help.
• Do your homework straight away rather than leaving it and worrying.
• Don’t listen to people being mean.
• If you are able to have one to one tuition it really helps.

James believes that ‘’even though you have dyslexia you can still achieve amazing things.’’