Versatile software engineer with a background in .NET consulting and CMS development. Working on regaining my embedded development skills to get more involved with IoT opportunities.
One of my old mentors was an IBM executive and he was able to oversee all of IBM's fabrications with dyslexia, he taught me to still dream big and set bold goals no matter what obstacles are in the way.
While I don't have dyslexia, I do have multiple mental illnesses and diagnosis was both a relief and a shock. I probably spent hundreds of hours sifting through research articles trying to understand why my brain was different from everyone around me, what it would mean in terms of my future neurological state and if there was some magic silver bullet that would "fix" things for me. And yes, that choice of words in that last sentence was intentional. I wondered if there was a worthwhile future for me or if I would always be broken and alienated.
It took me a while to stop identifying with the illnesses as a core characteristic of me. I don;t tell people that I am bipolar, I say that I am Scott and I have bipolar disorder, because the mental illness is not what is important about me and it shouldn't subtract from all the talents and unique abilities I have. I choose to view myself as a survivor and not a victim.
Because there is a genetic component to mental illness, there were some resentments towards my parents that I had to explore and that still resurface from time to time. It helps a lot to get to know some other people with the same condition. I can sympathize with you, but I don't truly understand your experience because I have not endured it, so I can't offer you the same reassurance and guidance someone else who has dyslexia might be able to.
I've never really considered where you said it's a state of mind. I can sympathize a little there too because of ADD; thank you for sharing that with us and letting us learn something new. I am truly blessed that in spite of all the mental illnesses that I fight through, I am able to sustain a career that I absolutely love. I forget to be grateful for that sometimes because many others with mental illness are struggling so greatly that they cannot do the same. I can't selfishly enjoy my circumstances, I need to advocate for others and make sure their voices are heard and that people are aware of their needs and always treat them with the dignity they deserve, because there is still a lot of ignorance surrounding mental illness.
It's frustrating and somedays you don't want to get out of bed and are angry that you woke up in the first place, but these things pass. Let yourself feel all of the emotions, the good ones and the bad ones. They don't last forever and they will go away if we let them.
I admire your courage in sharing this post and I'm proud of you for sharing your experience and educating all of us on what it's like to have Dyslexia.It might just be a label for a set of symptoms of varying degrees of significance, but it can feel like so much more than that. The most important things I know about you are that you have a passion for full-stack development, especially the user-facing part, and that you're a very active part of this community and I am glad we have you amongst our ranks. The dyslexia doesn't change any of that.
My inbox is always open if you need someone to chat with about literally anything.
How’s it going, I'm a Adam, a Full-Stack Engineer, actively searching for work. I'm all about JavaScript. And Frontend but don't let that fool you - I've also got some serious Backend skills.
Location
City of Bath, UK 🇬🇧
Education
10 plus years* active enterprise development experience and a Fine art degree 🎨
One of my old mentors was an IBM executive and he was able to oversee all of IBM's fabrications with dyslexia, he taught me to still dream big and set bold goals no matter what obstacles are in the way.
While I don't have dyslexia, I do have multiple mental illnesses and diagnosis was both a relief and a shock. I probably spent hundreds of hours sifting through research articles trying to understand why my brain was different from everyone around me, what it would mean in terms of my future neurological state and if there was some magic silver bullet that would "fix" things for me. And yes, that choice of words in that last sentence was intentional. I wondered if there was a worthwhile future for me or if I would always be broken and alienated.
It took me a while to stop identifying with the illnesses as a core characteristic of me. I don;t tell people that I am bipolar, I say that I am Scott and I have bipolar disorder, because the mental illness is not what is important about me and it shouldn't subtract from all the talents and unique abilities I have. I choose to view myself as a survivor and not a victim.
Because there is a genetic component to mental illness, there were some resentments towards my parents that I had to explore and that still resurface from time to time. It helps a lot to get to know some other people with the same condition. I can sympathize with you, but I don't truly understand your experience because I have not endured it, so I can't offer you the same reassurance and guidance someone else who has dyslexia might be able to.
I've never really considered where you said it's a state of mind. I can sympathize a little there too because of ADD; thank you for sharing that with us and letting us learn something new. I am truly blessed that in spite of all the mental illnesses that I fight through, I am able to sustain a career that I absolutely love. I forget to be grateful for that sometimes because many others with mental illness are struggling so greatly that they cannot do the same. I can't selfishly enjoy my circumstances, I need to advocate for others and make sure their voices are heard and that people are aware of their needs and always treat them with the dignity they deserve, because there is still a lot of ignorance surrounding mental illness.
It's frustrating and somedays you don't want to get out of bed and are angry that you woke up in the first place, but these things pass. Let yourself feel all of the emotions, the good ones and the bad ones. They don't last forever and they will go away if we let them.
I admire your courage in sharing this post and I'm proud of you for sharing your experience and educating all of us on what it's like to have Dyslexia.It might just be a label for a set of symptoms of varying degrees of significance, but it can feel like so much more than that. The most important things I know about you are that you have a passion for full-stack development, especially the user-facing part, and that you're a very active part of this community and I am glad we have you amongst our ranks. The dyslexia doesn't change any of that.
My inbox is always open if you need someone to chat with about literally anything.
I'm very sorry I haven't replied, I'm moving house. IL check back soon.