In this episode Christel and Marlene talk about Christel's experience with dyslexia as a child. Topics include:

• What Christel remember about her experience before getting diagnosed.

• Her assessment experience

• The school experience

• The impact openness had on her life

• The impact of dyslexia on her social life

• Choosing a secondary school

• Needs assessment

• Her experience with school support

As parents it can sometimes be difficult to know or understand what your child is going though, our story is not going to be the same for everyone but we hope that our story will help you to understand what your child might be going through or might face in the future.You can watch the video version of this on:

We are meeting you on the couch today to introduce you to some faces behind Olive Tree Neurodivesity, and share a very personal story. Marlene gives you a front row seat to the roller coaster ride of the challenges and delights of raising a neurodiverse child, while discovering and managing her own learning differences at the same time. Marlene and Christel both talk freely about their experiences with dyslexia and the process of getting Christel diagnosed as a child. Following this, Marlene really wanted to support Christel with her dyslexia, so she studied further to become a dyslexia specialist. However, she soon discovered the many challenges when a parent tries to tutor their own child, and realised that what Christel needed more was a strong connection and relationship with her parents. The focus therefore shifted to supporting Christel in discovering and developing her strengths rather than trying to fix her difficulties. This gave Christel the necessary security and confidence to become a more independent learner, and the motivation to carry on with her studies.Marlene also discuss the emotions and lack of a support network when she had to deal with these things as a parent. It is not easy to share something this personal to the world, but we hope that by doing so we can help to normalise some of the experiences other families may be going though, as you navigate your own journey. It is a story of grace and hope.