Inspirational Dyslexia Story by Mairi Sharratt

Here is an inspirational dyslexia story that brings a lump to the throat! Share

Mairi Sharratt, poet from Edinburgh, is an exceptional woman who, armed with the memory of inspirational parental support, has fought against all adversity, taken on extraordinary challenges, and pushed herself through the dyslexia pain barrier to surface as an accomplished poet!

We hope you enjoy Mairi Sharratt story as much as we did and that it inspires you to the extent that it has us.

A Lump in the Throat – Mairi Sharratt Inspirational Story

I was very surprised when Goga from Dyselxic Brain approached me and asked me to write my dyslexia inspiration story. I do admit, that for other people looking in on my life, degree, home, husband, child, career and published poet it must appear as though I should be completely fulfilled.  And I am, in so many ways.  But I still haven’t achieved everything that I have set out to, I still have goals I am aiming to reach, and challenges I want to take.  I in no way feel that my life is complete or fully developed.  What I feel I can share with you is how I have coped with my dyslexia, what has brought me to where I am, and the challenges that I still face.

I was born the third of four children and grew up in a small village called Munlochy in the Highlands of Scotland.  My father was dyslexic, and it appears that my Grandmother was probably dyslexic too.  My Dad grew up in the days when no one knew about or understood about dyslexia.  He left school with only one O level, having spent more time out of it than in.  He now has a Phd.  So in many ways my inspiration story is my father.

He wanted me to be able to achieve the things that he hadn’t been able to, he was a stickler for my spelling a perfectionist himself, and it was from him that I inherited my love of poetry.  The advantage that I had, which a lot of dyslexics don’t was someone at home who understood exactly how dyslexia made me feel, and what I was going through, particularly living in an area where the local education authority almost blatantly refused to recognise the condition.  It made the difference.

My parents also never limited me.  They never told me I couldn’t do anything and they always encourage me to aim high, work hard and do my best.  This was always typified to me in my fathers experience, he was dyslexic, but had achieved the highest level of academic award that can be reached.  Through a lot of my life I only paid lip service to these ideas, but when times have been difficult they have stood me in good stead.  I have become a person who relishes adversity (though not drudgery).  I am always looking for another challenge, and like nothing better than proving someone wrong when they say I can’t do something.  The document I have which carries my original diagnosis says that it will be unlikely that I would be able to get to the stage of tertiary education.  I didn’t get the mark in my degree that I want, but I did get a degree.

After the birth of my daughter I decided I needed a hobby, but given the limited time I had it needed to be something I was serious about.  I chose poetry.  Two years in I am now beginning to be published, and write a regular blog which I really enjoy.  I think dyslexia has actually helped me in my writing.  All dyslexics reading this will know that we think differently, or brains just don’t work the same.  In an artistic field where people are looking for new ways of approaching language a dyslexic approach will often appear new to those who are of a more nuro-typical mind.

This is not to say that I have overcome all the challenges that dyslexia has posed.  I still and often struggle with it, especially in the work place.  I work in public affairs, and I am often required to write at speed and with accuracy.  Why would a dyslexic take this kind of job?  Well, as I said, I relish adversity, and one of my many flaws is that I’m proud.

I have always concentrated most on what dyslexia gives me, my creativity, and the positives that it brings with it.  However I still have days where I have to admit, a disability is a disability and there are just some things I will never be able to do as well as nuro-typicals.  It is this acceptance which is the hardest part for me.

So how did I get where I am?  An inspirational father, and more patience and sympathy from others than I have necessarily deserved.  I sincerely hope it is not the end of my journey.  I wish you the best for yours.

Mairi Sharratt

See also my blog: A Lump in the Throat

I’m Luke, I’m five, and my dad’s Bruce Lee

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A HEART-WARMING song about a little boy riding in his father’s digger has become a sudden favourite for Christmas No1 2005. (Click here to watch video)

The track, called The JCB Song, came from nowhere to lead the charge for the festive top spot and will go head to head with the likes of Westlife, G4 and The Pogues. 

It was penned by 27-year-old Luke Concannon and tells how great he felt when he was five and his builder dad picked him up from school in a JCB.

Luke, of Leamington Spa, Warks, struggled in his studies because of dyslexia and says he was often bullied.

The JCB Song celebrates how all his troubles disappeared when he was riding in the cab of the big digger with his father Kieron.

The song and accompanying video — which can be viewed on the internet — has achieved cult status after web users started to spread the word.

The video features of animations of childlike drawings done in crayon on school notebooks.

Luke is one half of double act Nizlopi. He recorded the track with fellow dyslexic John Parker, who has been his best mate since they were 13.

Luke recalls: “My first school was rubbish. The teachers and pupils were real bullies.

 “My grandad and dad are Irish and both builders and my dad used to give me a lift home in his big JCB. He even let me drive it sometimes.

 “I was so proud of him. I thought he was really cool and when we were in the digger I was so happy.

“All that rubbish with school just used to be left behind for a while.”

The song begins: “Well, I’m rumblin’ in this JCB. I’m five years old and my dad’s a giant sitting beside me.”

Luke goes on to compare his hero father to martial arts legend Bruce Lee — whose name he rhymes with JCB — and hard man BA Baracus from TV’s The A-Team.

He also refers to his favourite childhood toys Zoids and Transformers.

Kieron, 51, is very proud of the tribute his son penned for him. 

He says: “It took a while to sink in when he came down and first played it for me. To think something I did with him as a kid had such a lasting effect really moved me.

“People say you must be proud, when they hear the song but it goes way beyond that.

“Anyone who is a parent knows what I’m talking about.”

Kieron has now given up the building business and is helping his son

to set up his own record label, Folk’n Deadly.

He even plays Irish pipes on the track, which will be released on the new label next month [story written in 2005].

Luke and John formed Nizlopi shortly after they first met on the school bus.

The bizarre name for their two-man outfit comes from a former schoolmate of Luke’s — Nina Nizlopi — who he had a crush on.

He says: “I thought her name was amazing. I think she lives in Chicago now but if we get a Christmas No1 I’ll definitely get in touch with her.”

Bookies reckon a festive chart-topper is not out of the question.

The odds against Nizlopi started at 33-1 and have gradually come down. They are now as short as 5-1.

The JCB Song has been dubbed this year’s Mad World.

That was the Tears For Fears number which Gary Jules covered two years ago for the soundtrack to the film Donnie Darko. It surprised everyone by storming to Christmas No1.

The JCB Song is being seen as a quirky but credible alternative to cheesy Christmas ballads. 

Luke says: “There is a lot of really bad music out there and I hope this offers something a little bit different and a little bit more thought-provoking than some of the other stuff.

“There’s a good story behind this track. I hope some people can relate to it and hopefully take some comfort from it.

“I don’t look at dyslexia as something that should hold you back and I hope other people don’t as well.

“I hope when people hear this song it leaves them with a stupid smile on their face. That’s how it’s meant to make people feel.”

Click here to listen to the song.

Story written by Derek Brown in 2005