WHY I ENJOY UNI AS A SPLD STUDENT:
At Uni you get to focus on your on goals - mine specifically is to become an Educational Psychologist. At Uni you have lots of flexibility and you organise your time its up to you to do your best - but being a SpLD student sometimes you need a bit of extra help - at Uni this comes in my different forms, specialised equipment, your personal tutor, lecturers, your disability tutor even your peers. I found all these resources very helpful sometimes you have to rely on one more than another - during my dissertation I was constantly in touch with my personal tutor e.g. sending work through via email and visiting him to make sure I was on track. I found at Uni if one person can't help there are other outlets you can go too - I never give up and always ask for help and work hard.I think you can achieve whatever you want, as long as your realistic, work hard, and you are determined to do well.
WHAT I WAS GOOD AT:
At school I was good at sport and was captain of netball and hockey but I excelled at hockey and reached the North of England squad, I was also good at English (!) up until 'A' level were I found I struggled to reach my potential. I made friends easily and tried to work hard at everything no matter how hard I found it.
WHAT I WAS BAD AT OR STRUGGLED WITH:
I always struggled with maths especially timetables (which still scares me!) and I found it hard to hold sums in my head and often got worked up and confused if I was put on the spot. I also struggled with foreign languages especially French I felt I got left behind and was petrified at speaking out loud - this led to me becoming introverted in this lesson and often I would distract my self and others to avoid being asked to speak out loud - I just missed out on a grade 'C' at GCSE in French. (I have since tried to conquer this fear through independently learning Spanish privately, whilst at Uni with m own tutor). I did seem to struggle more with English towards yr10/11 but nobody picked up on it - so I just persevered and worked really hard to achieve an 'A' and
'B' in Lang/Lit - my main struggle was reading as this was not quite up to speed but I still managed.
'A' LEVELS:
I choose PE STUDIES (A), PSYCHOLOGY (A), ENGLISH LITERATURE (C)
(I also did general studies). I found the transition hard but I had support from good teachers and I always asked for help. I never improved in English Literature - and the teacher never seemed interested in my efforts to improve my grades (as I always got 'C's) and focused on the 'intelligent' students. This was very frustrating and I lost interest as I never improved despite my constant attempts at asking for help and I only ever got above a grade 'C' once - however I believe in myself that with the right help and support that I could have achieved a better grade (at this stage I still was undiagnosed). My psychology teacher was a total inspiration (I actually got predicted a grade D/C for 'A' level through my GCSE'S) he was a brilliant teacher and was willing to help you if you were willing to help your self - I would always ask him to go through my essays so I knew where I went wrong and where I did well - this helped my structure and I could organise things better in my head and by the time I sat my 'A' levels I knew exactly what I had to do...... and succeeded. My PE teachers were just as good and because I was good at sport my practical mark was high, but also I scored very high on my oral exam as one of my strengths is that I am good at articulating things hence my good marks - I was nervous about this write exam, but I studied hard and my boyfriend at the time helped me to study (he was good at focusing on things and condensing info). However the exam went well and I stayed calm and did well.
UNI FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I was far from home (I had left Manchester to come to Brunel Uni in Uxbridge, Middlesex) it was big - and there weren't many northerners around so my accent stood out especially on the hockey pitch. You can make friends quickly as everyone is in the same boat so you all make the effort - I have met lots of interesting and unique people. My course ran for 4yrs during which I did two industrial placements - I choose this thin sandwich degree as it stands out from normal psychology degrees, and hopefully it will put me on top of the pile when I apply for jobs as I will have relevant work experience. I enjoyed my course and want to carry on studying and hope to complete a PhD.
BEST TIP: Always ask for help - even if the first person does not help somebody will - never give up!
