Dyslexia in Adulthood: Late Diagnosis Stories and Their Impact

🌟 Introduction: Why Late Diagnosis Matters ⭐️

For many adults, discovering they have dyslexia is a moment of clarity and often a mix of relief and grief. Many strong mixed emotions and reflections on life until now.

In therapy, I’ve met clients who’ve spent decades believing they were “slow” or “stupid.” A late diagnosis often brings a powerful shift: the realisation that they were navigating life with a different learning style all along.

💭 The Hidden Struggles of Growing Up Undiagnosed

Dyslexia often goes unrecognised in childhood, especially for women or those who developed good coping strategies.

Adults who were diagnosed later in life frequently share stories of:

• Feeling anxious or overwhelmed at school

• Spending extra hours on homework without understanding why it was harder

• Avoiding jobs or studies that involved lots of reading or writing

• Believing they were “not clever enough”

  
  

This lack of recognition often leads to long-lasting self-doubt and perfectionism.

📎 Learn more about how dyslexia is assessed in adults

🧠 Dyslexia and Mental Health 🧘

Living for years in a world design for non dyslexics with unrecognised dyslexia can take a toll on emotional wellbeing and a core sense of self worth.

Some common experiences I see in therapy include:

• Persistent self-criticism and low self-esteem

• Anxiety around exams, work deadlines, or paperwork

• Avoidance of reading

• Perfectionism and fear of making mistakes

• Exhaustion from constantly masking difficulties

  
  

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) can help by:

• Helping you to identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts and assumptions - “I’m bad at learning”, I’m just not good enough”

• Building practical coping strategies for stress

• Encouraging self-compassion for past struggles

• Enabling you to have the confidence to ask for support, adjustments, challenge stigma and advance for yourself.

  
  

📎 Read about how CBT can support adults with anxiety

🌱 Turning Understanding into Empowerment 💪

A late diagnosis often unlocks a sense of relief, the understanding that past struggles weren’t due to laziness or lack of intelligence.

Therapy can help people:

• Reframe their story from “I’m a stupid failure” to “I learned differently”

• Build confidence to pursue education or career goals they once avoided

• Develop personalised strategies for challenges at work or home

  
  

This process is about reclaiming agency and embracing neurodiversity. Creating a more compassionate and balanced way of relating to yourself in your own head.

💬 A Personal Reflection 💬

In my work as a CBT therapist, I’ve seen the moment when a client realises:

“It wasn’t that I am stupid and not capable, I needed support to find a different way to learn”

That shift is often the starting point for healing self-esteem and unlocking strengths that were overshadowed by years of self-doubt.

📣 Taking the Next Step 📢

Here’s what you could do next:

• Visit the British Dyslexia Association → for guidance and adult assessment referrals.

• Seek workplace support - the Access to Work scheme in the UK can help with funding for assessments and tools.

• Explore therapy for anxiety, self-esteem, or perfectionism linked to dyslexia. If you’re looking to self fund therapy or to use private health insurance and you’d prefer a therapist who understands what it’s like you can book an initial consultation with me here.