In this article, students who struggle with studying at higher education, who may or may not be diagnosed with dyslexia (or other SpLD) will find the single most important factor that will make them successful on their course.

Before I share that information I would like to share some background on my thoughts and why I wanted to write this article.

My education stopped being conventional at 16.  I worked hard to get my G.C.S.Es but I was exhausted.  I was seeing peers effortlessly (or so it seemed) getting exceptional levels of attainment and who seemed to joyfully devour the educational content that teachers provided whilst I struggled to copy from the board and whilst I was struggling with that my peers were focusing on the learning.

It didn’t occur to me to speak to anyone about how I was finding studying.

I left school with an average set of results and the determination that I was not going to do full time education ever again.  I was going to get a job and study part-time.

So I embarked on a BTEC National Certificate in Science and did that on Tuesdays whilst I worked the rest of the week (which I loved).

Studying was still difficult.  I dreaded using text books to find information and I had to resit a number of my maths exams.

At the end of the BTEC, I decided to take a year out from study and that year out became four.

Then I decided that I really needed a degree so as to keep my options open in my career and I then embarked on a five year course which would ultimately give me a BSc in Chemistry.

In year four, I nearly gave up.  If it wasn’t for the encouragement of my wife, I would definitely have jacked it in.  I was exhausted again.

It didn’t occur to me to speak to anyone about how I was finding studying.

I got that degree, I got my 2:1 which I was aiming for (but only just – 1%!) and I couldn’t wait to turn my back on studying.

Present Time

In hindsight, I have realised that I was struggling with studying not because I was slow, stupid, thick etc, I struggled because the way I was taught to study did not play to my strengths.  Having reviewed hundreds of articles about dyslexia and strategies for studying I have come to realise that I was missing an essential element in my academic development.

Self-Advocacy

I have come to realise that I started to believe in my own self-defeating beliefs, an inaccurate narrative that made me feel like I was the only one struggling to study.  I believed that there was nothing I could do apart from work as hard as I could, when I could have worked smarter.  I could have got help.  I could have advocated for myself.

The point is, I was trapped in my thoughts of being the only one who was having struggles at college and the thinking is irrational.  Currently I am one person on a planet of 7 billion people and whilst we are all unique in many ways, we have many people surrounding us who struggle with different things in life.  I was simply not alone and I could have gone to my tutor and explained my struggles and he could have signposted me in the right direction to get support.

If you are a student who is struggling, do not think that you are the only one or that you are silly for having those struggles.  You can’t get support for your studies without having the courage to simply ask for help.  It starts with you.

It was a long time ago when I did my degree, and I still don’t know what support could have been available back then, but I know now that in Higher Education there is a wealth of support available.

I recommend first talking with your tutor about some of your struggles.  It maybe that all you need are some easy to implement strategies that you may not have thought of.

If that doesn’t work, then in every college or university there will be a student support centre who will be better equipped to help with concerns about studying and they will be able to give you some pointers for help.

If you feel that you are struggling with studying then don’t do what I did and stay silent.  You have a right to be the best that you can be and by not asking for help, you are holding yourself back.  Every young person has such potential even if they do not believe it for themselves.

I have come to realise that I started to believe in my own self-defeating beliefs, an inaccurate narrative that made me feel like I was the only one struggling to study.  I believed that there was nothing I could do apart from work as hard as I could, when I could have worked smarter.  I could have got help.  I could have advocated for myself.

The point is, I was trapped in my thoughts of being the only one who was having struggles at college and the thinking is irrational.  Currently I am one person on a planet of 7 billion people and whilst we are all unique in many ways, we have many people surrounding us who struggle with different things in life.  I was simply not alone and I could have gone to my tutor and explained my struggles and he could have signposted me in the right direction to get support.

If you are a student who is struggling, do not think that you are the only one or that you are silly for having those struggles.  You can’t get support for your studies without having the courage to simply ask for help.  It starts with you.

It was a long time ago when I did my degree, and I still don’t know what support could have been available back then, but I know now that in Higher Education there is a wealth of support available.

I recommend first talking with your tutor about some of your struggles.  It maybe that all you need are some easy to implement strategies that you may not have thought of.

If that doesn’t work, then in every college or university there will be a student support centre who will be better equipped to help with concerns about studying and they will be able to give you some pointers for help.

If you feel that you are struggling with studying then don’t do what I did and stay silent.  You have a right to be the best that you can be and by not asking for help, you are holding yourself back.  Every young person has such potential even if they do not believe it for themselves.

I have come to realise that I started to believe in my own self-defeating beliefs, an inaccurate narrative that made me feel like I was the only one struggling to study.  I believed that there was nothing I could do apart from work as hard as I could, when I could have worked smarter.  I could have got help.  I could have advocated for myself.

The point is, I was trapped in my thoughts of being the only one who was having struggles at college and the thinking is irrational.  Currently I am one person on a planet of 7 billion people and whilst we are all unique in many ways, we have many people surrounding us who struggle with different things in life.  I was simply not alone and I could have gone to my tutor and explained my struggles and he could have signposted me in the right direction to get support.

If you are a student who is struggling, do not think that you are the only one or that you are silly for having those struggles.  You can’t get support for your studies without having the courage to simply ask for help.  It starts with you.

It was a long time ago when I did my degree, and I still don’t know what support could have been available back then, but I know now that in Higher Education there is a wealth of support available.

I recommend first talking with your tutor about some of your struggles.  It maybe that all you need are some easy to implement strategies that you may not have thought of.

If that doesn’t work, then in every college or university there will be a student support centre who will be better equipped to help with concerns about studying and they will be able to give you some pointers for help.

If you feel that you are struggling with studying then don’t do what I did and stay silent.  You have a right to be the best that you can be and by not asking for help, you are holding yourself back.  Every young person has such potential even if they do not believe it for themselves.

I have come to realise that I started to believe in my own self-defeating beliefs, an inaccurate narrative that made me feel like I was the only one struggling to study.  I believed that there was nothing I could do apart from work as hard as I could, when I could have worked smarter.  I could have got help.  I could have advocated for myself.

The point is, I was trapped in my thoughts of being the only one who was having struggles at college and the thinking is irrational.  Currently I am one person on a planet of 7 billion people and whilst we are all unique in many ways, we have many people surrounding us who struggle with different things in life.  I was simply not alone and I could have gone to my tutor and explained my struggles and he could have signposted me in the right direction to get support.

If you are a student who is struggling, do not think that you are the only one or that you are silly for having those struggles.  You can’t get support for your studies without having the courage to simply ask for help.  It starts with you.

It was a long time ago when I did my degree, and I still don’t know what support could have been available back then, but I know now that in Higher Education there is a wealth of support available.

I recommend first talking with your tutor about some of your struggles.  It maybe that all you need are some easy to implement strategies that you may not have thought of.

If that doesn’t work, then in every college or university there will be a student support centre who will be better equipped to help with concerns about studying and they will be able to give you some pointers for help.

If you feel that you are struggling with studying then don’t do what I did and stay silent.  You have a right to be the best that you can be and by not asking for help, you are holding yourself back.  Every young person has such potential even if they do not believe it for themselves.