Upper Sixth leaver Jenna (M 17-22) featured in a Tatler Schools Guide 2022 article in which she discussed neurodiversity and how accepting and celebrating her diagnosis helped her to create the correct support structures throughout her education at Bradfield. Here is her featured letter:
Before my diagnosis, I could not understand why reading, writing, thinking and talking were so difficult for me. I always knew what I wanted to say but I could never write it down or communicate it correctly and I found formulating and sequencing thoughts very difficult. Untangling other people’s complicated instructions in my head was frustrating and I often felt too embarrassed to ask them to repeat or explain things in a different way. I never understood how so many of my friends seemingly managed this all so easily while it left me exhausted, worn out and feeling like I was just not trying hard enough.
Consequently, my neurodiverse diagnosis of ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia was the turning point in my life. Up until then I had tried to live by a set of rules, standards and expectations that didn’t apply to me. The diagnosis was imperative to my school journey as it gave me, the school and those around me a better understanding of who I was and made me realise that I was not the underachiever that I had led myself to believe. I was also now able to access the correct help and support within the school which allowed me to work in a way that reflects my different ability and not my disability.
Without the assistance of my parents and the school in accepting and celebrating my diagnosis and proactively putting the correct support structures in place to help me navigate through the obstacles and challenges that neurodiverse pupils face in school, I fear I may have drowned in this environment. I believe that parents and schools alike should not underestimate the part they play in a neurodiverse child’s life. For me, it has made all the difference, not just to my educational attainment but also to the way in which I value myself on a daily basis.
