SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT
Determination and a dream
‘I have overcome a great deal to achieve my dream of publishing a children’s book,’ writes subscriber Catherine Brown.
‘At school I was identified as dyslexic. This condition was poorly understood and left me struggling to keep up. I was assessed as having a phonological processing deficit, a difficulty in both hearing and seeing phonics. With no assistive technology available back then I just had to get on with it.
‘Despite my creativity and love of art my teachers said academically I would not be able to attain the qualifications to go to art school. My careers advice was something along the lines that they saw me at best as a checkout operator.
‘I couldn’t wait to leave school as I hated it so much. At age sixteen, with few qualifications to my name, I became a hairdresser. A recession in the eighties saw this choice short lived, leaving me drifting between jobs.
‘An opportunity arose to become a Special Police Constable which later led to me taking the entrance exam, albeit several times, for the regular Police. I later took a six-hour exam that they told me I would never pass to become a Sergeant, spending over two decades in that rank. However, in 2011 I was forced to retire after 25 years after receiving an injury in the line of my duty leaving me with a permanent foot disability.
‘Defying my lifelong dyslexia, I employed my childhood love of art to, a dyslexia-friendly book for children, which has sold worldwide over 750 copies to date.
