S jo Share: Dyslexia and Dyspraxia awareness week
The dyslexia and dyspraxia awareness week started on 5th October. I wanted to take this opportunity to share my own experience of dyslexia and dyspraxia and create awareness of these learning difficulties. I only found out that I had co-existing dyslexia and dyspraxia while in the later stages of my PhD. I was told perhaps I would never have known if I had not attempted to do a PhD which requires a lot of analysis and comprehension as well as reading and writing. I do not have the type of dyslexia where I have problems with spelling or reading. But those that make it difficult to carry out tasks or think in a organised way or form my thoughts in concise clear sentences especially when complex concepts are involved. Structuring thoughts rather than motor functions is a more prominent part of my dyspraxia. What did I feel? A mixture of emotions of sadness, frustration and relief. All those times my school report cards read ‘bright but doesn’t apply herself’ or ‘is careless’ made some sense.
However, despite this as resilient human beings we develop coping mechanisms as we grow to deal with any shortcomings or struggles. These can also be learnt at a young age if diagnosed early. The thing, though, about coping mechanisms as I found out the hard way was that they go out the window when faced with a highly stressful situation such as a Viva. Everything unravels as you see yourself not being able to say what you want right before your eyes.
This post though is not about my struggles, it is about the important lesson I learnt of not giving up that I wanted to share. I finally managed complete and get my PhD awarded even after all the times I thought it was a near impossible task. I am sharing the link with you all:
https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/4479/
This post is also about the diversity about how each one of us learns and expresses ourselves differently. Our strengths lie in different mediums, not just language. Craft making is one such expression. Through my work with different textile artisans I could see this clearly. Although most of the artisans I work with may not have conventional education or literacy they have a wealth of knowledge that cannot always be articulated in words. Knowledge that is both tacit and embodied (through lived experience). The women’s work with S jo is one form of articulating their craft where they represent their styles of work and themselves in different unique textile pieces.
I do hope that you will continue to support and share our vision of providing that space where we can all learn together in the workshop environment about ourselves, our craft and others through making.
Seher x
S jo founder
