Woman who had dyslexia as a child now reads university standard books

A mother of six who had severe difficulties with reading as a child managed to overcome her problem by identifying she had dyslexia and now reads books that would be considered university standard.
Memories of her school days fill most people with joy and laughter but for Anne Mc Glynn these days were some of the darkest of her life. She recalls being filled with fear, anxiety and stress as a young child as she made her way to school in the morning.

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Told She Was Stupid
Anne Mc Glynn now lives in Machaire Rabhartaigh in a beautiful home overlooking the wild Atlantic ocean and islands. A mother of six, photo frames sit perched on presses and hang against walls in a home where the door seldom closes.
“I was always frightened of going into school. You couldn’t keep up with the class and you would fall behind and you couldn’t understand why. You were told you were stupid,” she says.
Anne feels frustrated as she looks back on her childhood days: “If someone were to have spent some time with you or even broken the words up and helped you along things could have been different.
“Learning should have been fun but for me it certainly wasn’t.”
Anne would return home sullen and silent and would begin her daily chores. She knew there was no point in trying to do her homework because she would be presented with the same issues, the same obstacles that plagued her that day at school.
“If someone would have helped me it would have made a difference. Lessons were not making any sense and it was putting a lot of pressure on me,” she says.

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Different Times
Anne appreciates that now the educational system is different and children get the help they need earlier. She is glad that teachers are aware of dyslexia and can help children along in a multitude of ways - ways she wasn’t.
“For me spelling was impossible. It was very hard. My school days were hell. I can’t recall any good memories,” she says.
The native Irish speaker said that during her time in school classes were bigger, there were more children to teach and those who were showing promise were given more attention from teachers who helped them along in a bid to progress their education. For children like Anne - there was very little hope, unfortunately. When Anne turned 14 years old - she was overjoyed to leave her schoolbooks aside and leave school behind her.

Shadows

She married Antóin mór in 1975 and they had six of a family, Antóin, Adrian, Pearse, Damien, Bridín and Mairéad. However, the dark anxiety that enveloped her as a child failed to dissipate and cast an overbearing shadow on her life as she always feared someone would ask her to read something for them.
“Many people don’t understand how big a part of life reading is,” she says.
It was one evening while watching television Anne realised she suffered from dyslexia.
She didn’t know about the condition until she saw it explained in a programme and with that explanation came relief and understanding.

Intelligent and Driven
Driven and intelligent, Anne who always wanted to read bought CDs and listened to them while she read. This method of reading made sense to Anne and she could see how the words sounded in relation to their lettering.
“I told myself I would be able to read. I have to say it was very hard to get help to be able to read. It was hard to learn to read as well, very hard.
“I kept going and today I am very content with where I am,” she says.
Not satisfied at being able to read works in English Anne began to push herself further and further and began to read literature written in her native Irish tongue. She began her wonderful journey through An Ghrá agus an Ghruaim.
“Nár truaighe nach bhfuil sé ar CD,” she says in beautiful seamless Irish.
This was a book that Anne worked her way through without a CD and says she would very much love to have a CD accompanying the work.
“I love books in my own Irish, I will listen and read and the words make sense to me,” she says happily.

Reading Irish
Many people of Anne’s age have the most beautifully spoken Irish, a spoken tongue that would rival the standard of some present day doctors of Irish however they many do not read Irish.
There are a number of reasons for this; many books were written in standardised Irish and not in the local dialects of native Irish speakers; books were not as readily available in Irish as they are today and many are accustomed to reading in English and fear they would not be able to read the ‘new Irish.’

Grá don Ghaeilge
Anne loves to read Irish especially in her own beautiful dialect - a fashion now that many associate with people who are studying at universities and academics. An inspiration to many, Anne has a word of guidance for those who teach or tutor young children: “Always praise and never condemn. Never make fun of them if they get it wrong,” she says.
She urges people to be gentle with those who are trying to learn.

Planting and growth
One of Anne’s favourite past times is planting flowers. She loves being in the garden planting seeds and watching the flowers grow. She finds great peace and joy outside her home which is overlooked by the Muckish and nearby Cnoc na Naomh. Anne continues to read books but concentrates mostly on Irish books. Her face lights up on hearing of a new Irish book that has recently been published in the Irish language.

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Book in Ulster Irish

Bláth na dTulach a new book published by the local publishing company éabhloid may very well be on her reading list this spring. The book composed of 25 stories written by by Ulster writers and those affiliated with the region. Those who are associated with the region also feature in the work.
One of the best aspects of this book is that they are read aloud on various Apps to ensure people can listen to the language and follow it in the pages of the book.
An avid and keen reader it is certain that it will not be the last book Anne reads as her love of books continues to grow and blossom and she looks forward to a new positive chapter of her life with joy.