Overcoming Dyslexia at 28

Not long ago, I received an email that felt like a golden ticket: I had been chosen from a sea of 500 applicants to interview for a role at a foundation that supports low-income families with litigation costs. I had applied for this position months ago and, truthfully, had nearly forgotten about it, assuming my chances were slim. Thrilled by the opportunity, I quickly confirmed my interest and scheduled the interview for the 25th.

The next day, I logged onto my computer to check my emails, and my heart sank. To my shock, a message from the hiring manager awaited me, asking if I was ready to join the Zoom call. I frantically checked our previous messages, and it hit me: I had made a mistake. The interview wasn't on the 25th; it was on the 22nd, and I had missed one of the most exciting opportunities this year.

Regrettably, I have too many stories like this—each time, a different scenario but the same outcome. I take immense pride in valuing others' time and being diligent with my commitments. Yet, my battle with dyslexia has shadowed my reputation at times, leaving me to devise extra systems to keep myself organized. To those who navigate the world with ease, ‘neurotypical individuals,’ my additional measures might appear clumsy or incompetent. Trust me, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Then there’s my ADHD, adding another layer to the challenge. To stay on track, I often have to "gamify" my tasks, rewarding myself, and working in 25-minute bursts followed by 10-minute breaks. I often wrestle with guilt, fearing my coworkers perceive me as lazy or disengaged. But deep down, I care about my job immensely; I’m simply doing whatever it takes to thrive in this corporate jungle, one carefully plotted step at a time.

The lack of empathy from neurotypicals can be debilitating at times.

The saying, “people often lack empathy until they find themselves in a similar situation,” comes to mind when dealing with these situations. Neurotypical individuals seem to have endless tips and easy solutions for your problems, but they have no idea what it's like when your own brain constantly gaslights you. It's hard to explain the frustration of knowing you saw the 25th in the email, adjusting all your calendars to match, and double-checking the message multiple times to make sure you understood it correctly—only to find out days later that you were wrong.

I keep feeling like someone hacked my computer and performing a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack

It’s only been a few months since my diagnosis, so I can't say for sure what strategies are most effective yet. However, one thing I'm trying to incorporate into my routine is a text-to-speech app. This way, whenever I receive emails with important dates or tasks, I have an extra layer of support to catch my mistakes.

I don’t expect my life to get any easier, but all I can do is keep experimenting and refining my methods whenever something isn’t working the way I hoped.