0:00:02 > 0:00:05This is the public face of Kara Tointon.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07That was a stunning routine.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10You always stick your nose in, and you ain't got a clue.
0:00:12 > 0:00:18Privately, she's amongst the one in ten Brits born with dyslexia, which means she struggles to read.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20"A company..."
0:00:20 > 0:00:22"A company".
0:00:22 > 0:00:24"A company..."
0:00:24 > 0:00:28"..severally wounded" - oh, SEVERELY wounded.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Now Kara wants to confront what dyslexia is
0:00:31 > 0:00:33and why it's been holding her back.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37People of your age and intelligence are normally much quicker
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and more accurate when they're reading.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45For the first time as an adult, she'll have her condition assessed,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and undergo training in an attempt to help her cope with her dyslexia.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53This is really thick of me, but I can't think right now.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58You try, you really try, and yet it doesn't seem to go in.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01She wants to meet other young dyslexics to find out
0:01:01 > 0:01:03how their lives have been affected.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05"PE-DES-TRI-AN".
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Am I thick? What's up with me?
0:01:08 > 0:01:11It felt like a wall of words, numbers and people,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and it was just trapped.
0:01:14 > 0:01:20We need to wake up and think about how we teach kids, so that these kids aren't getting lost out there.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23'Can she gain control over her dyslexia...'
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I thought it was just K.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Are you whispering at the back?!
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Dad, I need to learn that right.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32"..and transform the way she lives?"
0:01:32 > 0:01:34It's like giving up an addiction.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39Can I suddenly U-turn and decide to do something different?
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I don't know.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I just felt stupid.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Kara Tointon's life as an actress revolves around scripts and stories.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07But behind the scenes, Kara has dyslexia,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11a neurological condition that makes reading difficult.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18I would love to be able to pick this up and just read it.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19"To Caroline's asser..."
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I hate it when they start using...
0:02:22 > 0:02:28"..assertion of her brother's being partial to Mr Darcy,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31"she said no... She paid no credit."
0:02:31 > 0:02:34"And much as she had always been..."
0:02:38 > 0:02:39This is terrible!
0:02:39 > 0:02:43"Always been deposed to like him...
0:02:43 > 0:02:45"to the caprice of their...
0:02:45 > 0:02:50in...in-sil-inations".
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Dyslexia makes it hard for the brain
0:02:53 > 0:02:58to recognise a written word and pronounce the way it sounds as a whole.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03It's almost as if each word is a...process.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It's as if it's broken down to its simplest form,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and I'm seeing "in-ter-fer-ence".
0:03:13 > 0:03:18And the way some dyslexic brains see the page can make reading even harder.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Certain parts of the page are brighter,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25and there's these little light marks throughout the writing,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29as if there's gaps and nooks and crannies in it.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32So it becomes so slow.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36So for me to read something fluently is just impossible.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41Since leaving school, Kara's never read a book cover to cover.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46It's having more and more of an impact on her everyday life.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Certain stories that have been written that are really important,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53those classics that everyone knows about...
0:03:53 > 0:03:57it would be a shame not to have enjoyed them as well,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59because they are fantastic.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05As an actress especially, I should be reading lots of plays and stories.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09That's where I feel almost a let-down to myself
0:04:09 > 0:04:13in the career I've chosen, that I don't do that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18She now wants to confront her condition and conquer her reading.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Dyslexia is almost holding me back,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26and I'm ready to find out why and to stop that.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Kara's younger sister Hannah is an actress too.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43She's a daily reminder of how dyslexia makes Kara different.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Everything we've ever done,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50we've always done together, because we've got the same interests
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and the same love for the career that we have chosen to go in.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55And you're very messy.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58All right, Han!
0:04:58 > 0:05:01- Kara's really messy.- Thanks!
0:05:01 > 0:05:02And I'm quite tidy.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07I come in here and Hannah's, every day, she's just in a book.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11The thing that's sad is that I know you want to be able to do it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16It's not like you just don't want to try. You actually would love to.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22One year, we both bought the same book, the Harry Potter book,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24the fourth one, I think.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29We were on holiday, and I saw the speed of Hannah's reading.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34By day two, I was just getting Hannah to tell me what was happening.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38She had her own world of Harry Potter.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It's so special when you create that in your own mind when you're reading.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It's so powerful.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47She had created this world.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51And I just couldn't get past the first few pages.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55I would love to, for a day, know what it's like for you to read something.
0:05:55 > 0:06:02If I could swap my head for Hannah's head for a day, I would make the most of reading.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04All the Harry Potters.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10Kara's decided she's let dyslexia rule her life long enough.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14I am definitely fed up with putting things on hold and having this vision
0:06:14 > 0:06:17that one day I'll be something different to who I am now.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21I just want to be the person I'm going to be.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Six million Brits are dyslexic.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31Kara wants to know what makes their brains different to everyone else's.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- Hello, Cathy.- Nice to meet you.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Professor Cathy Price is going to scan Kara's brain
0:06:37 > 0:06:42for research into how dyslexia disrupts the reading process.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The purpose of the study is to work out how dyslexic brains
0:06:46 > 0:06:51differ from people who haven't had any difficulty learning to read.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57We're trying to group people into different subtypes of dyslexia.
0:06:57 > 0:06:58Let's go.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I'm ready.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04By comparing Kara's brain to hundreds of other people's, Cathy will be able to tell Kara
0:07:04 > 0:07:09how her brain works differently to non-dyslexics when she's reading.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- Kara?- Yeah?
0:07:13 > 0:07:15We're ready to go.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18You're just telling us what you see.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23OK. "Saw, dress, bread".
0:07:23 > 0:07:29Kara reads out words and identifies images that appear on a screen inside the scanner.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34Cathy records which areas of Kara's brain are now active,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38to see if her brain connects up in the same way as non-dyslexics.
0:07:38 > 0:07:45She also measures the strength of Kara's brain signals to see how much effort she's putting in to read.
0:07:45 > 0:07:51Dyslexia has only been widely recognised in the last 15 years,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54so scientists like Cathy are still trying to work out what causes it.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01What they do know is that it can run in families.
0:08:01 > 0:08:08But Kara's the only dyslexic in her family, and sister Hannah knows it's tough on her.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12She's not necessarily made it the biggest issue of her life,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15but I do see it and she does get down about it.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20So yeah, maybe this is a thing of finding out who, really, she is.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23It's like being on a sunbed.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Look at this one.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Here's your nose. There's your eyes, your brain,
0:08:28 > 0:08:34coming through your face, basically. Looking straight the way through your face.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38And then down to your teeth. Look at those lovely teeth!
0:08:38 > 0:08:43It's hard for me to think, "How does Cathy work out that I'm dyslexic?"
0:08:43 > 0:08:46The intensity of the signal might be slightly different.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51They might be darker on one side and lighter on another side.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Cathy will now analyse Kara's brain patterns and compare them to others.
0:08:54 > 0:09:01When you come back next time, we might be able to tell you which bits of your brain here
0:09:01 > 0:09:06might show features that we associate with dyslexia.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Kara must now wait three weeks for Cathy's team to analyse the scans.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22The first signs of dyslexia often appear when children start learning to read and write at school.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25These are my old school books.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30Kara started to notice she was behind the other children when she was around six,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34but didn't understand why.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39I just remember thinking "Oh, goodness, it's just so hard.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42"Do they really expect us to do this?"
0:09:42 > 0:09:46And everyone else was finding it really simple.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49This is what I did a lot,
0:09:49 > 0:09:54the kind of writing the word how it sounds.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59So "friendly" would be F-R-E-N-L-Y.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Why would you design a word
0:10:02 > 0:10:07that doesn't spell the way it sounds?
0:10:10 > 0:10:14That's like just putting a Z in "where", just for the sake of it,
0:10:14 > 0:10:15as far as I was concerned.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19I remember even thinking,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23"Concentrate...and read".
0:10:23 > 0:10:25I'd even go like this with my eyes,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29as if the eyes being wider would help it going!
0:10:29 > 0:10:32And sometimes I'd go...
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and then I would go, "What are they asking me to do?"
0:10:35 > 0:10:37No, it didn't go in.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41I did feel stupid, really.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42I just felt stupid.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50Kara's teacher spotted she was struggling when she turned seven,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and dropped a bombshell on her mum and dad.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54We were flabbergasted.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58She was 26 books behind everybody else over a period of five weeks,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03and she had very low self-esteem coming up to that time.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08As a person naturally, she's fairly quiet and doesn't push herself forward naturally.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12So there is that lack of confidence sometimes.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I hated going to school.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Dad always dropped me off at school
0:11:18 > 0:11:22and I used to run after him nearly every morning until I was about 11.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Kara was sent for tests, which gave her parents a much-needed answer
0:11:27 > 0:11:29for why she was so behind.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33The fact that Kara was then diagnosed as being dyslexic,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35that pressure came off almost immediately.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I can imagine that if she wasn't doing so well at school
0:11:39 > 0:11:42for reasons that we didn't understand,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46then we would have been probably a lot less patient with her
0:11:46 > 0:11:48and there would have been more arguments
0:11:48 > 0:11:50and it would have been more stressful,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54which would have had a profound effect on Kara's upbringing over the next few years.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Kara's future as an actress began at that moment.
0:12:00 > 0:12:08'We wanted her to do speech and drama purely because it was important for self-esteem.'
0:12:08 > 0:12:12This is my last night as being a blonde.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It quickly became evident that she was good at those things.
0:12:16 > 0:12:23'She could stand up in front of people and, in a small way, start her acting career, I suppose.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:29Everyone has something that they can do and they can excel at, I believe.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34But it's whether you've got the support behind you
0:12:34 > 0:12:37from your parents to go and find what that may be.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41And it's not always going to be found in the school environment.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46Today, over three-quarters of a million British school kids
0:12:46 > 0:12:49are thought to be dyslexic.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53But many go undiagnosed, and schools can find it hard to cope with
0:12:53 > 0:12:57the 4% of children that are severely dyslexic.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Ten years after leaving school,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Kara's going back to the classroom to meet some of these children.
0:13:02 > 0:13:08She's visiting one of Britain's 14 registered specialist schools for dyslexics.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11It's a last resort for many of the pupils here.
0:13:11 > 0:13:18I'm really kind of excited about seeing a school that specialises
0:13:18 > 0:13:23in something that I've had throughout my life.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Shapwick is a private boarding school,
0:13:27 > 0:13:33where lessons are tailored to the needs of each of its 170 boys and girls.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39- Hello.- Good morning, Kara.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- This is a lovely, small class. - No snoozing in the back row,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45because the back row is only the second row!
0:13:45 > 0:13:48We've set you up a desk here.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51You can join in with our English lesson.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55- I'll try my best.- If there's anything you're not sure of,
0:13:55 > 0:14:02you can ask Will, because he's had lots of English lessons in this classroom. Before we start that,
0:14:02 > 0:14:07- who can tell me, what are these letters called? Patrick?- Vowels.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12- That's right. If they were people, what sort of people would they be? - They're cowards.- They're cowards.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18'Dyslexia doesn't just affect reading. It can obstruct short-term memory too.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:20What do we know about this letter?
0:14:20 > 0:14:23It's the big K. It's not very nice.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27So pupils here are taught new words by linking them to bright colours,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32shapes and stories to help store them in their long-term memories. It's called multi-sensory learning.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- What do we need to do to little vowels to help them?- "C-K".
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We give it a friend that makes the same sound.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42What I'd like you to do, boys and girls,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45is to make your alphabet with your plastic letters.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Listen carefully to this one.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48"Tank".
0:14:50 > 0:14:51Tank.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55SHE MOUTHS: Is that right?
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Oh, my God. Is it "C-K"?
0:14:58 > 0:15:00I thought it was just K.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Why did you think it was just K, Kara?
0:15:03 > 0:15:08I thought it was just K because the N is there to protect the K.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Exactly. You're right. It is.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- Thank goodness.- Don't worry!
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Kara's already breaking school rules.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19(Will, has it definitely got a CK?)
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- Yeah.- I hope you're not whispering in the back row.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24No, sorry!
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Most dyslexic schoolchildren don't get this kind of support.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34But to come to a school like Shapwick,
0:15:34 > 0:15:40parents must pay fees or fight for very few state-funded places.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45I just know that the normal way of teaching didn't go in for me.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47And actually, now, this is it.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50And it's kind of making me laugh because it's
0:15:50 > 0:15:56so funny how I know I would have... it just makes sense that it goes in.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Because you're learning in this way, you'll be so much more advanced than I am.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Will is ten, and like many dyslexics,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08he also has associated conditions which can make school even harder.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13He started boarding here two years ago after falling behind and being picked on.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17What do you remember finding the most difficult?
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- Maths.- I don't like maths either.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26I wasn't very good at spelling. And also, I wasn't... Oop!
0:16:26 > 0:16:30I wasn't very good at reading either.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33They just made me feel like I was awkward.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35I wished I could be somebody else.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40But then when I came to this school, I realised that
0:16:40 > 0:16:45I want to keep who I am now, because I know that I'm not stupid.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- What word were you practising, Will? - Pocket.- Pocket.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55As part of their English lesson, the children spell out words with physical movements.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59It helps the words to stick in their long-term memories.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Makes you remember. The shield protecting the K.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04The shield protecting the K.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I like that one.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- It just goes in, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Ten years ago, her old school did its best to help her.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18But for Kara, this way of learning is a revelation.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25I've just realised today that everything I learnt at school wasn't progressive at all.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It was just all staggered.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33I did use to put my hand up and I was confident enough,
0:17:33 > 0:17:39in an awkward way, to say... "I'm sorry, Miss Whoever,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"what did you say again?"
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Or "what do you mean?"
0:17:43 > 0:17:47And the teacher's answer was
0:17:47 > 0:17:51"You should have been listening, Kara." And I didn't hear that once.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53I heard that over and over and over.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59Actually, the teachers really thought I wasn't paying attention when I was paying 100% attention.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03And also, I was talking to the teacher today and we said how
0:18:03 > 0:18:07actually, some kids can then go into having behavioural problems
0:18:07 > 0:18:12because they're told so many times that they weren't listening
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and they weren't paying attention and they're bad,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20when actually naughty kids in other schools have come to this school and they're not naughty at all.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27On average, two to three kids in every UK classroom are dyslexic.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Will and Kara were fortunate to be diagnosed young.
0:18:31 > 0:18:38Kara's meeting an older pupil here, whose dyslexia wasn't picked up until his situation got really bad.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Oscar is 16. He's severely dyslexic and also has associated conditions.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49He came to Shapwick after he was diagnosed just 18 months ago.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53By then, he'd already been in and out of five regular schools.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57If I was at my old school and you decided to come and talk to me, I think I would probably run away.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59I didn't talk to people lot.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I didn't have any friends.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05I used to be the one that sat at the edge of the playground
0:19:05 > 0:19:09watching everyone play along and chat, laughing and playing.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14And then it is always, he's the weird one, because of his dyslexia.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16He's the weird one, let's move on.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21I remember the kids sort of saying, "Go away", and that sort of thing,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25to the point where some of them did tell me, "Why don't you go die?"
0:19:25 > 0:19:30I was a mess myself because teachers would, er...
0:19:30 > 0:19:32force me into the class.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Literally, there was five teachers, one on each leg,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39one on each arm, and one teacher telling them where to go.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41It was, you must get into the class.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43It was almost like escaping prison, you felt?
0:19:43 > 0:19:46That's what it was, it was a prison.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50It felt like a wall of words, numbers and people.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51It was just...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53- Trapped.- And uncomfortable?
0:19:53 > 0:19:55..to the extent I tried to...
0:19:57 > 0:19:59get out in a way that...
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Well, I tried to commit suicide.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03That's how bad it was for me.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05- Oh my God.- Yeah.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09The dinner lady stopped me.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Oscar was only seven at the time, but he didn't harm himself.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16He found the way through was to get the help he needed.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18His life has now turned around.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21This is the first time I've fitted in.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26At my old school, every other lesson I was stood outside the door.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- For being a naughty?- For being naughty, what they called naughty.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Even at my old school, it was, "get out, get out, get out!"
0:20:34 > 0:20:39Here, I've not been shouted at or anything like that once.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42I've not been told to get out. I've not been told I'm stupid.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47The whole world's gone the right way up.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Now, I know that I can pass GCSEs.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Now, I actually know what sort of thing I want to do as a job.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56I know what I want to do in life.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58What do you want?
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I want to be a teacher. I want to try and help other kids who were like me.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Oscar's story has made Kara realise how destructive it can be for
0:21:06 > 0:21:10young dyslexic people if their condition is undetected.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17You know, just Oscar going through what he went through
0:21:17 > 0:21:20is really quite sad and...
0:21:22 > 0:21:26You always think, oh it's not that bad, but it was.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28It was really hard.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31You don't really understand why.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36You try, you really try and yet it just doesn't seem to go in.
0:21:36 > 0:21:43That's a real lesson to pass on to people who just aren't aware of it.
0:22:09 > 0:22:15There's one piece of paper that I've been looking for for about a week.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17I can't find it.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20See, this is it. This is typical.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I've just lost my phone.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Kara's starting to suspect that dyslexia doesn't just
0:22:27 > 0:22:30disrupt how she reads, but how she organises her whole life.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35This is all I do all day, I just look for things that... Oh, here it is.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I literally spend my life looking for things.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42There's a few questions I need to find out, you know?
0:22:42 > 0:22:49I'm a little bit in the dark to where my personality begins and dyslexia ends.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54Kara's often at her parents' place, so it's a question her mum's asking too.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- Boo.- My mum.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Perhaps we're blaming the dyslexic on to the way you are.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Everything that's a problem - dyslexia!
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Mum, sorry, it's my dyslexia!
0:23:08 > 0:23:11That's the trouble. I don't know what I can and can't blame it on.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13You're so untidy, aren't you?
0:23:13 > 0:23:17It would make life easier if you'd do little things as you go along,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21but you don't seem able to do those things as you go along, do you?
0:23:21 > 0:23:23She's off on one now.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25I nag a lot, really, don't I?
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I do nag about things.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32The reason I'm nagging is because I'm trying to help you in a way,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36trying to make you more organised.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41I feel like I've been hiding any sort of problem in my life.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47I've just sort of papered across the cracks and pretend...
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- I think you need routine.- Yes.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53When you was in EastEnders, you had a routine.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Yeah, but I've got to work that out, really.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Because I'm so sick of just...
0:24:02 > 0:24:05..not getting anywhere, really, with my organisation.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Kara's own flat is close by to her family's.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15While it's being renovated, she sees it as a place to escape her difficulties.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I couldn't find my keys.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22But her disorganisation seems to follow her wherever she goes.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27This is awful. I just sort of press on a few numbers.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Isn't that awful?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31See who's in. See who'll let me in.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35- Hello?- Hello, I'm so sorry, I've locked myself out.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- Would that be Kara? - Yes.- Hello, Kara.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- Hiya! Thank you for letting me in. - You're welcome.- Mwah!- Bye, darling.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Au revoir.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58Some experts believe dyslexics have stronger visual memories,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01which can make them more creative than others.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I put the red lid back on the blue thing.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07If my mum was here right now, she would actually cry.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12She would just be upset about that red lid on the blue thing.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15No, that's not got a lid on it.
0:25:15 > 0:25:22But for Kara, painting is just her refuge from the constant feeling that she's made a mistake.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24There's no correct answer with art, is there?
0:25:24 > 0:25:30Whereas I guess in all my other subjects, there was always a tick or a cross, a right or a wrong.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35But in art, I think you have to be messy.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38You can't not be messy.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39That's the whole point.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44I just love it, and I could do it all day, every day.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50In a world full of written information, the words that
0:25:50 > 0:25:54surround us can be overwhelming for people with this lifelong condition.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Catherine Kindersley tests adults to see how dyslexia
0:26:00 > 0:26:03might be affecting them in everyday life.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Kara is meeting her for tests because she wants to know
0:26:06 > 0:26:10whether dyslexia is shaping the way she copes day to day.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13It's funny how everything happens at once.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18I left my job, and then me and my boyfriend are not together,
0:26:18 > 0:26:24and I'm moving flat and you can get a bit stressed, can't you, over silly things.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Just feeling the most unorganised I've ever felt, at the moment.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34It can make you feel a little bit worried about things, really.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40This is going to be a revealing session for Kara.
0:26:40 > 0:26:45Catherine is going to scrutinise how she copes with the information life bombards us all with.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Catherine checks how well Kara can hold on to exact sequences
0:26:54 > 0:26:57of numbers in her memory by asking her to repeat them back.
0:26:57 > 0:27:007, 3, 1...
0:27:00 > 0:27:054, 2, 3, 7, 1...
0:27:05 > 0:27:08This time, I want you to say the numbers backwards.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Oh my goodness!
0:27:11 > 0:27:147, 6, 2...
0:27:14 > 0:27:164.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Colours...
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Catherine now tests how quickly and accurately Kara can find
0:27:22 > 0:27:25the right words to describe the colours and images she sees.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Blue, red, green, black, brown, yellow.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33Red, black, black, black, brown, yellow, brown, green, red, yellow.
0:27:34 > 0:27:41Fish, pencil, key, chair, star, pencil, fish, boat, star, chair, key, chair, boat, fish...
0:27:41 > 0:27:43OK, well done.
0:27:45 > 0:27:51Kara sails through some of the exercises, but they're about to become more demanding.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55I'm going to say two words to you and I'm going to ask you how they are alike.
0:27:55 > 0:28:01Today's aim is to reveal Kara's difficulties, but she's now feeling
0:28:01 > 0:28:07exposed as her ability to describe the meanings of words is tested.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11They are alike because they're forms of, um...
0:28:14 > 0:28:17My vocabulary is really not good today.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I get really frustrated when I'm talking.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25I can't catch the word I'm wanting to use.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28It's just that it doesn't seem to pull out.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33- Exactly.- ..pull out of the right bit of the brain, from the brain, when you need it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36I'm just going to hear you read aloud.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42This is the most challenging task for Kara, especially under these test conditions.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Private Charles Nod-ler was attached to a...
0:28:47 > 0:28:50To a company... A Company.
0:28:51 > 0:28:58A Company, and was fighting in the jungles of Okin-awa...Okinawa.
0:28:58 > 0:29:04All the men in his squad and company had been killed, or severally wounded.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Or severely wounded!
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Where was Private Charles Nodler fighting?
0:29:13 > 0:29:14Can you remember that?
0:29:14 > 0:29:16In Okin...
0:29:16 > 0:29:17In Japan.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19In...Koneria?
0:29:19 > 0:29:23And how long before reinforcements would arrive?
0:29:25 > 0:29:27I can't even remember what I read.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33This is really thick of me, but I can't think right now.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Well done for working through all of that.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41I don't think my brain's worked this much in about ten years!
0:29:41 > 0:29:43It's a lot of concentration, isn't it?
0:29:44 > 0:29:46The way Kara processes language
0:29:46 > 0:29:49gives Catherine a clear-cut diagnosis.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Because of the dyslexic difficulty of decoding
0:29:52 > 0:29:56or breaking down words into their sounds,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59the effort that you are putting in to really making sure
0:29:59 > 0:30:02that you're reading the words accurately
0:30:02 > 0:30:05means you are not holding on to the meaning at the same time.
0:30:05 > 0:30:11Maybe sometimes I have to read it 8 to 10 times to get what it's meaning.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Yes.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17She's also detected that Kara's short-term memory is weak.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20There is a dip, if you like, in your ability
0:30:20 > 0:30:24to hold on to information in your mind in the short term.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25Hm-mm.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28This is the most common characteristic of dyslexia,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31but it's a real eye-opener for Kara.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35In normal life, we have to do quite a lot of remembering messages,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39- organising daily life, remembering where things have been put.- Yeah.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Are you well organised in that way?
0:30:41 > 0:30:45I would say all of those things are bad, very bad.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51I suspect that it's that memory challenge
0:30:51 > 0:30:54which is affecting your organisation as well.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It's just, you've lost it, it's slipped your mind,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01or you're now concentrating on something else.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06So, that is completely characteristic of dyslexia.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11The diagnosis has given Kara an explanation for her scattiness,
0:31:11 > 0:31:13but it's making her question
0:31:13 > 0:31:16why she's never faced up to her condition until now.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21I felt really, really naked in there.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Suddenly today, I was put in a situation
0:31:24 > 0:31:27where it was like I couldn't disappear.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32It's really weird, because you know, it's just a silly little test,
0:31:32 > 0:31:34but it just made me...
0:31:34 > 0:31:36Oh, God!
0:31:36 > 0:31:39It just made me realise that in life, we just,
0:31:39 > 0:31:41we choose to...
0:31:41 > 0:31:45To follow our comfort zone, and that's bad.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50You should push yourself to do things that aren't comfortable.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Kara now realises that dyslexia has been holding her back more than she'd imagined.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Since leaving EastEnders a year ago,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05she's been back on the audition circuit,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08where she has to be able to read and learn scripts fast.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10My first line is -
0:32:10 > 0:32:14"Ryan buys two breakfasts and doesn't eat both himself.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16"Am I still asleep?" What?
0:32:16 > 0:32:20"Ryan buys two breakfasts and doesn't eat both himself."
0:32:20 > 0:32:22"Ryan buys two breakfasts..."
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Over the years, Kara has developed her own ways of getting around
0:32:26 > 0:32:28the difficulties caused by dyslexia.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31My system is, I read a line, and then I'll write it down,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35and then I just keep adding a line every time, or more,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37until it really funnels in.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40But writing each line out more than ten times
0:32:40 > 0:32:44is a lengthy and painstaking process.
0:32:44 > 0:32:45I hate this part, really.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49If this was what acting was about, I probably wouldn't do it.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54But when you get there and start saying it out loud,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57that's when you realise that... it's how amazing it is.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01It's worth this part.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Kara often has to rely on her mum and dad to get the lines right.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- Mum?- Yeah?- Would you mind giving me a hand, please?
0:33:10 > 0:33:12- Do you know when you come in?- Yeah.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14So, Molly.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Four replies in three days.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18The box room there.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23It's small, but if you get rid of all the stuff, you can fit a bed in. No?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26It's not, it's "The box room, there."
0:33:26 > 0:33:30Dad! I'm not acting it at the moment, I'm just learning the lines!
0:33:30 > 0:33:31OK, all right.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Planning on staying long, just till...
0:33:33 > 0:33:36It's small, but... Dad, I need to learn that.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It's small, but if you clear the stuff out you can fit a bed in.
0:33:39 > 0:33:40It's small...
0:33:40 > 0:33:43It's small, but if you clear the stuff out, you can get a bed in.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46If you get the stuff out... Clear the stuff out.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51It's small, but if you clear the stuff out, you can get a bed in.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54Action.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59Many dyslexics find ways of getting around their difficulties,
0:33:59 > 0:34:01and relying on loved ones is common.
0:34:03 > 0:34:09When it comes to the audition the next day, Kara's on her own.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Kara is now wondering how much easier life is
0:34:23 > 0:34:26for people without dyslexia.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28During her four years on EastEnders,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32she was reading and memorising up to 40 short scenes a week.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Boo!
0:34:34 > 0:34:37But she never talked about her condition,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- not even to her closest co-star, Ricky Groves.- Hello.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43I bet you've got loads of women back in Walford?
0:34:43 > 0:34:47- No, not me.- Yeah, right!- No, I'm all about respect and commitment.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52- We never discussed my dyslexia at work.- No, we never did.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55- In the four years I was there.- No. It never really appeared with you.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00Well, you know, like all of us, we had our ups and downs
0:35:00 > 0:35:02with regards to good days and bad days,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06but it was never a case of, "Oh, no, here comes the dyslexic again!"
0:35:06 > 0:35:10So I'd do one line and then I'd write it down about seven times
0:35:10 > 0:35:13and then the second line, I'd add to that
0:35:13 > 0:35:18and write the two lines seven times and just keep adding a line.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Wow. I didn't know that. I did not know that.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- And then I'd learn your lines. - It didn't show.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26I've got it in here. Look, this is the way I do it.
0:35:26 > 0:35:27This is one of my books.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29There might even be one of our scenes.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Let's have a look.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35- So this was you every night when you got home after a day at work?- Yeah.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39This is where I punch Phil, do you remember?
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Yeah, this is our last episode.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46Episode 3,848.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Just for fun and a bit of reminiscing,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52would you learn it your way and I'll learn it my way
0:35:52 > 0:35:56- and then we'll see how good our memories still are.- Yeah.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- Off you go.- I'm going over here. - OK. I'll see what I can do.
0:35:59 > 0:36:00OK, good luck.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Non-dyslexics like Ricky take it for granted
0:36:13 > 0:36:16that they can read and retain information.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Kara and other dyslexics often have to work much harder
0:36:19 > 0:36:21to do the same thing.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- Have you learnt it yet?- Yeah.- Wow. - You've a lot more than me though.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28That's a point, you haven't got that much!
0:36:28 > 0:36:31I just said that to them, don't have a go at me!
0:36:31 > 0:36:34There's a big difference in the time it's taking each of them
0:36:34 > 0:36:39and this is just the last of over 150 episodes they acted together.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43To learn a scene like that would probably take me,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46on average, I suppose, you'd look at it for ten or 15 minutes.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49This was our last scene, so I'd probably have spent,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52goodness me, three hours, maybe?
0:36:52 > 0:36:55- Right. I'm ready.- OK.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56- Are you ready?- Yeah.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00I'm quite excited.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- Do you know what I've realised doing this though?- What?
0:37:03 > 0:37:05I have realised how good my long-term memory is
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and if they gave this to us a year before we filmed,
0:37:08 > 0:37:11- I'd be blooming amazing. - You think so?
0:37:11 > 0:37:13- Let's see how it goes.- OK.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15- Ready?- Yeah.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Gary!
0:37:17 > 0:37:18Gary!
0:37:18 > 0:37:19Stop the boat!
0:37:19 > 0:37:20Stop the boat.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21I don't know how to.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24You always make me laugh, Gary.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26Thanks for that.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28I'm not talking a little chuckle,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30I mean right from the pit of my belly laughing.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- I'm good for something, am I? - You're good for a lot of things.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36So what if you've got a paunch and you're losing your hair.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38It's just the way it's styled.
0:37:38 > 0:37:39Well, I think...
0:37:40 > 0:37:41Don't tell me.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46You've... Every time I've needed you, you've always been there for me.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48Da-dah!
0:37:48 > 0:37:50- I did all right there!- You done well.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51BOTH: Aww.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Happy days. Happy days.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- Take care.- Au revoir. - Bye-bye.- Mes amis.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03I'm going this way.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15The timescale of my learning, how slow I am,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18is a really odd factor that I hadn't thought about,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22so yeah, I've probably taken ages and ages to learn my lines
0:38:22 > 0:38:25whereas normally it shouldn't really take that long.
0:38:25 > 0:38:26That's quite interesting.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32Kara's realising how little she's understood until now
0:38:32 > 0:38:34about how dyslexia defines her.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39I had decided what dyslexia was, in my mind, what it meant,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43how it affected me and I'd put it in a file
0:38:43 > 0:38:46and accepted for me that was that.
0:38:46 > 0:38:54And it's as if someone has suddenly added all these things that are...
0:38:54 > 0:38:56kind of blowing my mind.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03She's now going to find out how different her brain function is
0:39:03 > 0:39:04to that of non-dyslexics.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Her brain scan results are through.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11When it came to reading familiar words,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14people of your age and intelligence are normally much quicker
0:39:14 > 0:39:17and more accurate when they're reading them,
0:39:17 > 0:39:22- so you were dyslexic in so far as you were slower to respond.- Hm-mm.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27Cathy has discovered that Kara uses the same pathways in her brain to read
0:39:27 > 0:39:31as those without dyslexia, but she's using much more effort.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35You were saying "horse" and "donkey" but despite reading easy words,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38your brain is still working particularly hard.
0:39:38 > 0:39:39To read out words,
0:39:39 > 0:39:44Kara's brain must visually recognise the letters of a word,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47put those letters together,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50work out the meaning of the word
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and then finally, say the word out loud.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58This red is how high your activity was
0:39:58 > 0:40:00and you can see that it's higher
0:40:00 > 0:40:02than all of the other typical readers.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05People who are speaking in a second language,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09when they're reading in English, they also show more activity.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13I'm almost working like a French person reading English.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Yes.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16Exactly.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Oh, God!
0:40:18 > 0:40:20That's not good then, is it!
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Despite the brave face,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27finding out that her memory and reading are significantly slower
0:40:27 > 0:40:29is troubling for Kara.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36I know this is a bit dramatic but I end up hating myself,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40because I can't seem to get anything right sometimes.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42It really is in my hands now
0:40:42 > 0:40:45and if I want to make certain changes in my life,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49it's really down to me putting the work and the effort in.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Dyslexia can't be cured,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59but specialist tuition can help adult dyslexics
0:40:59 > 0:41:01manage the everyday tasks made tricky.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06Kara has signed up for some one-to-one classes.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10- Hello.- Hiya.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Tutor Claire Salter wants to start by transforming the way
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Kara deals with her poor short-term memory.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19In the same way that you might have organisational problems in life,
0:41:19 > 0:41:21we can do that in our brain.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24If you put something down when you come in quickly
0:41:24 > 0:41:26and don't pay attention to where it is,
0:41:26 > 0:41:29when you go and find it later, it's really difficult to find.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32The better I store it, the more easily I can find it later.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35- 'How much?- Sixpence.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38'There's a shilling. No, keep the change.'
0:41:38 > 0:41:40She's putting on a performance.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Claire's showing Kara how to learn her script lines
0:41:43 > 0:41:46by associating them with colours, sounds,
0:41:46 > 0:41:48buzz words and physical movement
0:41:48 > 0:41:50to anchor them in her long-term memory.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54She's using the same multi-sensory learning technique
0:41:54 > 0:41:57that Kara had a taste of at Chadwick School.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00'Hide the Christmas tree carefully, Helen.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01'Be sure the children do not see it
0:42:01 > 0:42:03'until this evening when it is dressed.'
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- Does it matter where I put them?- No.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08As long as you can anchor and remember your movement.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13So what I do is get you to go round a number of times like that,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15listening and repeating, listening and repeating.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18'Hide the Christmas tree carefully, Helen.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20'Be sure the children do not see it
0:42:20 > 0:42:22'until this evening when it is dressed.'
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Hide the Christmas tree carefully, Helen.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30Don't let them see it until tonight when it is properly dressed.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Very close, yeah. It wouldn't take very long...
0:42:34 > 0:42:37- No, after a few times... - 'How much? There's a shilling.'
0:42:37 > 0:42:39How much?
0:42:39 > 0:42:41There's a shilling.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- 'Keep the change.'- Keep the change.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46'Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?'
0:42:46 > 0:42:50Yes, but we can afford to let ourselves go a little.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55This is the first year that we have not had to ecomo...economise.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57It's getting close. Yeah.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02And then she says, "Poo, but we can borrow until then."
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Exactly that. "Poo, we can borrow until then".
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Oh, my goodness! That's not bad, is it!
0:43:07 > 0:43:10I can see how it's working.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16That's the thing, I feel like I've been quite lazy in the past,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18just to think that there's one way,
0:43:18 > 0:43:22and there's so many different ways of doing everything.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26It's the opposite of lazy because you were giving yourself such hard work.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29Yeah, I know!
0:43:29 > 0:43:30I'm such a twit!
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Not any more.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37These techniques are a revelation.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Will Kara be brave enough to ditch the habits she's leaned on all her life?
0:43:41 > 0:43:48I could really benefit massively, and I mean really big-time,
0:43:48 > 0:43:50but just being stuck in my ways,
0:43:50 > 0:43:54being stuck in the same old... and being used to that...
0:43:54 > 0:43:57It's like anything, it's like giving up an addiction.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00That's the way I've done it for so long.
0:44:00 > 0:44:06Can I suddenly U-turn and decide to do something completely different?
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I don't know. It's a bit...
0:44:09 > 0:44:14I'm hoping that I take this on.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18I'm hoping that I don't go home today and think,
0:44:18 > 0:44:23I'm just going to stick to my old way of learning and my old routine.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41In Nottingham, another young dyslexic is trying to transform the way he lives his life
0:44:41 > 0:44:45by learning to read and write from scratch in order to help him find a job.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48Michael is the same age as Kara.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52He only learned a year ago that he's severely dyslexic.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56He relies on girlfriend, Karina, to help him job-hunt,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00because for most of his life, he's been unable to read or write at all.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04Hours can be flexible by...
0:45:04 > 0:45:07- agreement.- Arrangement. - Arrangement.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10- I nearly got it right, didn't I?- Nearly.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Position is temporary.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16- I haven't for a clue what that says.- Ongoing.- Ongoing.
0:45:16 > 0:45:21Please enter your ten key skills, separated by icons.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22Ten skills?
0:45:22 > 0:45:25- Yep. Kind.- Yeah, kind.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27K-K....
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Still can't spell kind.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31You can, try.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Go on, it's dead easy, honestly.
0:45:35 > 0:45:36- K.- Yeah.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38- I.- Yeah.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40- D.- No.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43- Kind.- I don't know.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45N-D.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50Flexible.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01Kara wants to know how Michael has coped since being excluded from school at 15.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03When it comes to reading and writing,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06I just couldn't do it at all.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10- Like, am I thick or what? What's up with me?- Did you know what you were going to do?
0:46:10 > 0:46:13I really wanted a job. I really wanted to stick at a job.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16As soon as they asked me to do a bit of paperwork,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19I felt embarrassed to tell them that I couldn't read or write.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23It's so embarrassing. When they say to you, "Fill this form out,"
0:46:23 > 0:46:28- I felt an idiot.- Because you just couldn't...- I just couldn't do it.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33Michael turned to crime and spent time in prison for a string of offences.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37I was a tearaway.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40In and out of cop shops, in and out of jail.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44And I used to get fed up, thinking, "Surely there's something better in life than this."
0:46:44 > 0:46:50I'm not going to blame it all on me being dyslexic, the way I've turned out and the things I've done.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Not at all.
0:46:55 > 0:47:01After his last stay in prison a year ago, the Probation Service sent Michael for a dyslexia test.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06How did it make you feel when they told you you were dyslexic?
0:47:06 > 0:47:08What was that like?
0:47:08 > 0:47:12I was over the moon, really, to tell you the truth,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16that they found something that... that I wasn't just thick at school.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23Since then, he's been attending weekly dyslexia support classes.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26I felt things changing.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30First, when I went, I couldn't even do the alphabet!
0:47:30 > 0:47:33I couldn't spell "Nottingham" but now I can spell it.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36And that's a big word to me, Nottingham. It's like, woah!
0:47:36 > 0:47:41Now Michael wants to take responsibility, find work and stay out of trouble.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46What would be the ideal job? What would you be looking for?
0:47:46 > 0:47:49I'd do anything now, to tell you the truth. I'd work as anything.
0:47:49 > 0:47:50Give me a chance,
0:47:50 > 0:47:55because I'm not embarrassed now to go to them and say,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57"Look, I can't read or write."
0:47:57 > 0:48:00I'd love to grab a book,
0:48:00 > 0:48:03- a big, thick book, read it from start to finish.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05- Wow.- I would love to do that. - Me too!
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Just get lost in the book, do you know what I mean? I really would.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12If you can read and write, you get a lot further in life,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14I think, anyway.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16Oh!
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Oh, we caught a fish!
0:48:18 > 0:48:23Michael hopes he can slowly turn his life around with the help of his dyslexia classes.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28Talking to other young dyslexics for the first time in her life
0:48:28 > 0:48:30is making Kara realise that what can really make
0:48:30 > 0:48:34one dyslexic's life different from another's is whether they get support.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38When you meet someone and hear what he's been through,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41I think it's more upsetting and it makes me feel angry
0:48:41 > 0:48:46that there's hundreds and thousands of kids going through that every day.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49I would have been one of them, no doubt about it.
0:48:49 > 0:48:50I would have been one of them.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53But I had the support that they should have all had.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58We really need to wake up and kind of think about how we teach kids
0:48:58 > 0:49:02so that these kids aren't getting lost out there.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Things are brightening up for Kara.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08A month into her dyslexia classes,
0:49:08 > 0:49:14and she's trying out the new techniques for real, after she had news from that audition.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I got the job, which is brilliant.
0:49:16 > 0:49:22I'm playing a really lovely guest lead role,
0:49:22 > 0:49:27and I was able to use what I'd learnt in my last training session, for that job.
0:49:27 > 0:49:35Kara's now becoming a natural at re-routing information from her short- to her long-term memory.
0:49:35 > 0:49:41By associating her lines with colours, buzzwords, and her physical movement around the room,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44she's learning her scripts in just half the time it used to take her
0:49:44 > 0:49:47and she no longer needs the help of her mum and dad.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It's in!
0:49:50 > 0:49:56Using the new way of learning my lines was definitely a deeper way of learning
0:49:56 > 0:49:59and helped with that job so much.
0:49:59 > 0:50:05When I got on set, I realised that I wasn't thinking so much, and it had just gone in.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08This is something that I will take on
0:50:08 > 0:50:10and practice for ever now.
0:50:12 > 0:50:20Now she's seen how much her life can improve, Kara wants to read a book cover to cover more than ever.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25For some dyslexics, the way words are laid out on the page adds to the difficulty they have reading,
0:50:25 > 0:50:29so Kara's going to see optometrist Nigel Burnett Hodd.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33When you're reading a book, do you see all the words all in a line
0:50:33 > 0:50:35or do you sometimes see them swirling around?
0:50:35 > 0:50:40Yeah, I just get these marks in the page.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43The white really comes through in the gaps.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48Nigel thinks the white background can trigger this visual stress.
0:50:48 > 0:50:49If you're in a dark room
0:50:49 > 0:50:54and you suddenly go into bright surroundings, it's like, "Cor!"
0:50:54 > 0:50:58For you it's like that all the time, for a white background.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02Every colour has a different wavelength.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06For some dyslexics, white is too intense for the brain to process easily.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10What we do is we use colour filters to slow down the wavelength of the light.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15So a book that used to take you four hours to read, you'll read in two hours.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19And after the two hours, we'd ask you what happened in the book and you'll say,
0:51:19 > 0:51:23- "Oh, I remember this, this and this."- Sounds like my miracle!
0:51:23 > 0:51:25But if I put this over it...
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Yeah, that straightaway makes it comfortable.
0:51:28 > 0:51:34The black looks kind of raised and almost brings it back to the white.
0:51:34 > 0:51:35- So it calms it down?- Yeah.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39So if I put this one over the front, the greeny colour...
0:51:39 > 0:51:41- That's really good.- Uh-huh!
0:51:41 > 0:51:45Next, Nigel tests Kara's eyes to make sure there are no other problems.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56The green colour Kara has chosen is now broken down into a spectrum
0:51:56 > 0:52:00so that she can choose just the right shade to help her read more easily.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04I think this one's better.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Yeah, it makes it more comfortable. That's my colour.
0:52:08 > 0:52:14Nigel has prescribed Kara dark green lenses.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Look very, very intelligent.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Kara now has to wait for her new specs to be made up
0:52:24 > 0:52:29to see if they'll help her fulfil her dream of diving into the world of Harry Potter.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36Kara's still going to her one-to-one classes, and for the first time
0:52:36 > 0:52:43she's beginning to tackle the disorganisation that was casting a cloud over her life.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45At the moment, it's fantastic.
0:52:45 > 0:52:51I'm filming that drama that I got in Manchester
0:52:51 > 0:52:55and that's going really well, and I'm doing Strictly Come Dancing.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59It's just funny that everything comes at once.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04She's learned how to divide up her diary into colourful hourly slots.
0:53:04 > 0:53:09Suddenly everything becomes timed,
0:53:09 > 0:53:12and you can visualise yourself doing the things
0:53:12 > 0:53:15rather than just putting 20 things into Tuesday.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19It's the first time I've gone into another busy phase
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and been a bit prepared for it and not had to stress
0:53:22 > 0:53:26and be upset and angry with myself all the time
0:53:26 > 0:53:29because I'm so unorganised and I'm turning up to things with five bags.
0:53:29 > 0:53:36I'm kind of getting rid of all of that baggage that once made my life a nightmare.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41Well, almost.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45I still lose things all the time.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48It hasn't kicked in just yet.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50Kara will never stop being dyslexic,
0:53:50 > 0:53:55but her power to change some of the habits of a lifetime is starting to sink in.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57I'm getting it slowly.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01I'm understanding what makes my life easier.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10It's been five months since Kara set off
0:54:10 > 0:54:13to discover what dyslexia is and the impact it can have.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18I thought I had the word dyslexia wrapped up in my brain,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20knew exactly what it meant,
0:54:20 > 0:54:24when in fact, I look at dyslexia in a completely different way.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27It's not something that just affects reading.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31It's everything you take on every day.
0:54:31 > 0:54:38Everything you take in is taken in in a certain way because you're dyslexic.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41So if, in a word, we have a little vowel...
0:54:41 > 0:54:48It has changed me and it's made me aware of who I am,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52why I was the way I was,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55and I needed to answer those questions for myself
0:54:55 > 0:55:00in order to get better at all those things that I didn't like about myself.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03This is really thick of me but I can't think right now.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07The most important thing I've learned is that dyslexic people
0:55:07 > 0:55:11don't have to walk around with a massive cloud hanging over them.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15They don't need it to control and wreck their lives.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20Being dyslexic doesn't mean you're stupid. It doesn't mean you're thick.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25It just means that you need to be taught in a certain way
0:55:25 > 0:55:29that fits your brain and works for you,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31and that is all it is.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37My glasses have arrived!
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Kara's now ready to try out the life of a bookworm.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44They're so beautiful!
0:55:44 > 0:55:50I'm going to look... I've been so excited about getting these.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54While there's no easy fix for the difficulty she has processing words,
0:55:54 > 0:55:59she's hoping her new green specs will make it easier for her to visually process the page.
0:56:02 > 0:56:07"Tom woke Harry next morning with his usual toothless grin and a cup of tea.
0:56:07 > 0:56:13"Harry got dressed and was just persuading a disgruntled Hedwig to get back into her cage..."
0:56:13 > 0:56:18Who would have thought that a little bit of coloured glass
0:56:18 > 0:56:20would change that so much for me?
0:56:23 > 0:56:30There's so many books I want to read, so I'd better get started on ticking off the list.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:56:59 > 0:57:02E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk