School is the place where children are first introduced to the real world. They leave their cozy nest and enter an unfamiliar world. Soon, they find solace in similarity- similar people, similar interests, similar progress. But, when that familiarity is lost, they feel alone, different, and deserted. This is how many children with learning difficulties feel. Meet Sarah Sedky, an Egyptian woman diagnosed with dyslexia, took to Instagram to share her story, tips, and experience with dyslexia.
Journey with Dyslexia
Sedky was first officially diagnosed with dyslexia at seven years old. She reminisced, “It is hard to accept your diagnosis immediately. When you are younger, you always try to fit in. I wanted to fit in with everyone”. She constantly compared herself to her peers and felt it was not an equal fight. “When I first got diagnosed, the first thing I felt was relief. I was so so happy that I finally knew there was a reason why I was struggling so much”, she recalled happily.
Dyslexia is not a life sentence of struggle. While improvement is not a steady paved road, it is achievable with outstanding advancements. Sedky cited her hardships and was determined to work on them. She urges starting one-on-one or group sessions with a learning difficulty specialist. Every dyslexic person has unique struggles and needs a specialized plan to light the road to improvement.
The Birth of Dyslexic Community Worldwide
Her diagnosis was the starting point for changing her own life. It is a jumping point to improve your quality of life. Struggling to find resources in Egypt, her family moved to Dubai. She said, “In Dubai, I got all the help I needed. They had all the resources and tools that I needed. They had programs that they used for years”. She explains that it was a turning point for her mentally, educationally, and socially”. After three years, she came back to Egypt and found a gap in knowledge regarding learning difficulties. This birthed the idea of the Dyslexic Community Worldwide (DCW).
DCW was an idea that roamed Sedky’s mind ever since school. She explained, “I decided to make it worldwide so I can transcend Egypt and the MENA region and help dyslexics worldwide”. The Dyslexia Community Worldwide founder expressed, “The emotional part is always going to be a rollercoaster even when you grow up. Until today, I have some difficulties that I am trying to deal with or that I have adapted to”
The Public Feedback
Sedky expressed her gratitude with the public’s reaction to her Instagram page. Speaking about a passion of yours on social media can get discouraging when you do not get the reach you want. But she acknowledges that her message transcends any platform. She reflected, “What I appreciate is that people would send me direct messages, and a mother would send me an entire paragraph thanking me for my videos. These types of messages are what keep me going and it touches my heart”.
Sedky is weaponizing her social media to take down stereotypes and raise awareness about dyslexia. When asked about the biggest misconception about dyslexia, she said “ We are stupid, lazy, or that we are not working hard enough”. Raising awareness can transform someone’s life. She explained, “Rising awareness will help other dyslexics to know they have it and will help them to improve by working on it.” She likened dyslexia to a sport, so you need to continue working on it to improve it and build your strength.
“Every dyslexic that I have spoken to, who is an adult, every single one of them was labeled or called stupid when they were in school. Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence”
Sedky wants to take her platform and provide every school with the information they need about dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Ultimately, she wants every school in Egypt to have its learning difficulty department, or at least have a dyslexia-friendly environment in their classrooms.
“I want people to know that dyslexia is very normal. Around 15-20% of the world’s population are dyslexics. It doesn’t make you any different. You can achieve anything you put your mind to. There is no shame in it, and you should be open about it and your experience with it. You are not alone and we are here for you and we all support each other”
