A UNIVERSITY student who suffers from dyslexia inspired others with the condition when she gave a reading from her award-winning book.
Rebecca Constable, 20, read from her book called Impact at a dyslexia event at Sandal library.
Impact is a collection of short stories including Rebecca’s own experience with dyslexia, and is printed on different coloured paper to make it easier for sufferers to read.
Rebecca, from Swaithe View, Swaithe, said: “It went really well, a lot of older people with dyslexia told me they really connected with my story.
“Some of them were really emotional.
“It was quite a scary thing to do, but it’s another thing to overcome. It’s an achievement.”
Rebecca was invited to give the reading by Vanessa Goddard, a specialist dyslexia tutor from Penistone. She runs classes for adults with dyslexia for whom mainstream education didn't work.
She helps them to improve their English skills as well as looking at coping strategies to deal with everyday situations. The classes are held in Wakefield, but Vanessa is looking to set up a group in Barnsley or Penistone.
She said: "Many of the adults I teach have associated mental health difficulties such as anxiety, depression and OCD, so the classes help them in much more than purely developing their reading and writing skills, they help to build their confidence and self esteem.
"Rebecca was an inspiration to my learners as she read from her book and they could all identify with the difficulties and challenges she had faced at school, yet she managed to gain a place at university.
"I am open to the idea of starting a group in Barnsley, or in Penistone where I live - the difficulty is getting people to come forward as there is still a stigma around dyslexia and adults who struggle to read and write don't always feel that they can admit it."
