I’m a dyslexic Enginere, Engenere, Engeneer – I’m good at maths

With Neurodiversity Week upon us, it seems only fitting to discuss this widely regarded movement and the implications it has on the STEM field (and personally within my own life). So, what is Neurodivergence and why is it so important to speak about? This umbrella term has emerged to describe a collection of atypical mental or neurological symptoms which cause a person to have difficulties learning language, mathematics, or social skills. The list includes conditions such as; Autism, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Tourette’s, and many others.

Studies show that in 2023 around 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent (that’s roughly 15% of the population) ^[1]. In particular, the institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) have estimated that 30% of the engineering workforce are dyslexic while 40% in the tech industry have neurodivergent traits ^[2]. But why? Why has this industry attracted this group of people? Well, the answer can be broken into two parts.

Firstly, in my opinion, this group of individuals are most comfortable in situations which require the least amount of reading thus drawn towards subjects which are number intensive and prioritises formulae. And secondly, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are all derived and propelled by the same skill set – problem solving. This link cannot just be coincidence? Further research shows that because some of the original brain function is impaired in neurodivergent patients, their pattern of processing information is wired completely differently making them extremely creative with a more holistic mindset ^[3]. This makes them excellent at visually identifying issues and producing unconventional solutions. In other words, the perfect problem-solver.

Despite all the great aspects which being neurodivergent brings, the reality is often a little different. I’ll take myself as an example, hopefully allowing others the window into a world they may not have experienced. Imagine writing an email to a friend, you get halfway through a sentence and suddenly you spend 20 minutes staring at the keyboard. You know the word you are wanting to write, you picture the word in your head but you keep writing “wen” instead of “when”. Not only is it infuriating, it is a thousand times more embarrassing. To appreciate the struggle, I have condensed my childhood below.

Initially during my primary school years – as informed by my mum – the first major identification of my dyslexia was that I simply never wanted to read. Now, before anyone suggests that all children don’t like reading and would prefer to be outside or nowadays sit indoors and play videogames/making TikToks, this was different! I would love bedtime stories, huddled around with my sister and brother while my mum did all the funny voices, flipping through glossy colourful pages and imagining myself as the main character. However, I differ from my siblings on two accounts 1) Never once did I read along with my parents and 2) When asked to read a sentence aloud I refused. As you can imagine, my sibling’s vocabulary evolved, and so did mine. The difference is, I could not spell a single word.

Moving onto high school, the sheer gap between subject grades became overwhelmingly frustrating. My Mathematics and Science grades were outstanding, but my English and History grades were showing a failing student. Why could I grasp algebraic concepts but couldn’t read a book aimed at a ten year old? This pushed the school to look into a series of “neurodiversity” tests, examining things such as memory, cognitive behaviour, and attention span. The results were transparent – I had severe learning difficulties with autistic tendencies. Interestingly, my short-term memory surrounding number recall was off the charts.

Relief soon turned into fear as the mountain of exams were looming, thoughts such as “How would I read exam questions?”, “What if I read the question wrong?” and potentially looking at separate teaching altogether. The next few years I tirelessly and persistently worked round the clock to overcome this issue. However, with hindsight, it was more my own embarrassment of not wanting anyone to judge or think less of me which motivated me to achieve top grades in school and eventually led me to obtain my master’s in engineering.

Why am I telling you this? Because the condition DOES and forever WILL inhibit myself from spelling. Yet growing up the stigma around dyslexia was more unbearable compared to the underlying condition. I now shout from the rooftops that I’m dyslexic because I no longer see it as a hindrance. Partially, this is due to the positive shift surrounding Neurodivergence within the professional setting. Companies are now far more willing to hire and support people with learning difficulties by providing extra time, specialised equipment, and even adapting interview processes to accommodate needs. Within my own consultancy, the neurodivergent team has exponentially grown, providing a safe and inclusive space for all individuals. No problem will ever be solved immediately, but this is a step in the right direction.

I leave you with this, twelve-year-old me could never imagine writing this many paragraphs on a topic that was the subject of my own irrational humiliation and further yet imagine graduating from a world class university. To anyone struggling, I promise it gets better, in my case - one word at a time.

P.S. I am forever grateful to my mum who spent hours reading/writing with me, this is as much your achievement as it is mine.