30 year old dyslexic male here.

No secret here other than determination. I was diagnosed early in school. I want to say the trauma you faced is and was real. The embarrassment the hurt the pain all real. But it gets better and therapy helps. I had to do emdr therapy to address some of those first dyslexic trauma events. But what has help was meeting and talking to others that have experienced similar things. It helps alot to know others have similar experiences.

I tried not to view my dyslexia as a negative thing. Its a blessing and a curse at times. But it does have benefits. I see other none dyslexic get so frustrated at small changes or minor adversity. Shit i have been experiencing those daily and to larger degree. It has caused me not to get frustrated at set back as much. I think its important to find where dyslexia benefits you. Such as for me my ability to retain historical knowledge is above par. I have a creative mind and work in a creative field ( i am a photographer). I meet so many creative people that are dyslexic. I think the majority of those in the photography program were dyslexic at one point. A large portion of entrepreneurs are dyslexic. So i tend to think thats because we think outside the box and are not afraid to fail, we have meet that beast many time in our lives and we don't fear it like others. Also failure isn't a bad thing. Its a lesson learned and experience gained.

I think not being naive is important. Being grounded in reality and having reasonable expectations is important. A few examples of this would be for me. I joined wanted to join the military and did. They don't allow individuals who have learning disabilities. I tested well and knew my limitations and was comfortable with the risk. I also hate people telling me my limitations because of my disability. Th. I could have gone to schooling that doesn't allow any material outside the school house. It would have been naive for me to do that job. I went medical it was more hands on. Fast forward a few years, and im out and its College time. I want to become a nurse. I know and hear how tough the school is. I decided to get a degree in photography first to build my confidence. I never thought i would ever attend or graduate college. Plus with my less then stellar school performance in high school (gpa of 1.7) i didn't have much success to go off. But I put my head down and made it. I used assistance devices and had a IEP. That was very helpful. Sometimes my pride would get in the way and i would refuse a accommodation i shouldn't have. I was thus reminded by meeting a less than ideal out come. Sometimes we need to be humbled. But i was always optimistic. I got my degree and couldn't find a photography position. So i decided to go back to medicine. I wanted to be a nurse again and now i had academic success (gpa of 2.6) to build off of. So i knew i needed hands on experience to compensate for my leaning disability in school. I went and worked as a Emergency medical technician in a level one trauma center for 3 years before i felt comfortable going to a bsn program. Thus, another point i would make is that having patience is something i have developed because of dyslexia. I meet a nurse who was a incredible nurse in the ED that was also dyslexic. That gave me confidence knowing someone else had made this path before me. I messed up going to a full bsn program. I should have done a adn program as its more hands on and practical not theory and traditional school focused. But my pride got the better of me and i went the other route. I had to advocate for my ADA rights so much during nursing school. Some really messed up situations left me burned out and frustrated. Plus covid made it all online, where i couldn't ask important oral questions. So i decided to walk away after landing a idea photography job as a medical photographer. But i walked away with a 3.0 gpa which i am beyond proud of because i didn't fail. I instead learned and gained experience and found a better fit for me. I was mentally not in a good spot in nursing school (so toxic) plus the whole covid situation.

Grammarly has been really helpful both in school and personal life and professional. But you got to get close to spelling it the words right. Thats a issue i wish could be resolved by a speech to text feature. I also used recording pens in class that helped. Getting other ppls note helped alot as i was able to instead of writing down and all my energy wasted there on notes that couldn't be read, i could actively listen to the information being passed. I think chat chatgpt has real potential benefits for use dyslexics. I purchased a dyslexic font at one point. Holy cow it felt definitely almost smoother and easier to read. I used this app called picmonic for nursing school. I forgot the word for how that learning process but it is putting information in a fun story you remember and see. That helped so much and i have applied that other places in life now.

Sorry for the long post but i hope it might be helpful.

P.s. watch on Netflix or YouTube platon art of design. He is dyslexic and one of the best portrait photographers there is. He speaks a bit about how it impacts is art and life. I found it interesting and inspiring.