Lua Sundqvist and Her Experience With Dyslexia - “In Some Ways It’s Been Quite Positive That I Have Been Diagnosed”

Lua Sundqvist is a 20-year-old nursing student from Queen Margaret University. She shares her thoughts regarding the flaws in how the academic system caters to neurodiverse conditions alongside how her dyslexic symptoms have changed over the years. 

Lua was diagnosed with dyslexia around the age of 5, noting that both of her parents are also dyslexic. Regarding her diagnosis, she shares: 

"I don't remember how it felt to be diagnosed when I was little because I was quite young, but I was retested when I was 18 to ensure I could still get the accommodations through school, like computers for exams. That was a relief because I knew that I was still going to get the accommodation that I used to have, so it was useful to still be dyslexic." 

She goes on to share how coming from a family with dyslexic parents allowed her to grow up in a household of support and acceptance. Furthermore, such a household enabled Lua to understand her condition better as she could compare and contrast their experiences to her own.

However, she explains that dyslexia has impacted her performance in university assessments, as she notices it takes much longer to complete work than others. Additionally, she mentions that she experienced a difference in the support she received in school compared to university. Despite Queen Margaret University having support in place, she hasn't found this the most useful: 

"Our university is mostly online, so the services that we have access to are also online, and I don't really work well when I'm doing it through a screen. So, I feel like if we're getting support, we should be getting it in person, as if you take dyslexia into account and how people learn, you should consider that as an option."

Furthermore, she firmly believes there should be more variety in the types of assessments offered at university: 

Lua also recalls how expectations from school assessments were laid out more clearly, while in university the guidelines are:

"so unclear I can't make sense of it enough to actually perform well."

Despite this sometimes leaving her comparing herself to her peers, Lua explains that she feels quite lucky that this hasn't had a significant impact on her mental health. Additionally, she notes that she thrives during her nursing placements and has always felt accepted there.

Lua also shares that she doesn't feel as though dyslexia defines her as a person; she doesn't view it as a negative in her life: 

"In some ways, it's been quite positive that I have been diagnosed with dyslexia because I get the support that I need."

She ended the conversation by explaining that she learned that when girls with dyslexia hit puberty, their dyslexic traits tend to become more manageable. This is something she resonates with: 

"I learned about this when I was around 10, and I noticed when I turned around 15 that all of a sudden reading and writing got so much easier. I thought it was interesting how this can shift noticeably as you grow up."