Don’t let whatever you’re facing defeat you – the story of Holly-Ann Boyle

A GCU student has spoken openly about the importance of seeking support when you need it most.

We spoke with first year BSc Nursing Studies (Mental Health) student Holly-Ann Boyle, who candidly described her personal journey to studying at GCU.

Holly-Ann discussed the challenges of coping with a learning disorder throughout her life and why we should be prepared to ask for help – whatever it is we’re faced with.

This is her story:

Diagnosis

“I was diagnosed with Semantic Pragmatic Disorder when I was in Primary One. The reason they caught it a bit later was because I came from an Army background, so didn’t attend nursery because we were moving about between Germany and England at that point.

The best way I can describe it is; when I’m trying to read something, all the information goes into my brain and that information is stored away like a filing cabinet system, but when I try to put out that information, it all gets thrown up in the air and all muddled up. This means I struggle with things like communicating, pronunciation, spelling and doing things like maths.

My mum works in a primary school with autistic children, so she was a huge support to me – it was great for her to have an understanding of it all. My dad didn’t really believe in it and just thought I was late in developing – he was almost in denial about it if I told him I was struggling.

School

It was difficult for me to understand it all at an early age. I got speech therapy once a week and the other teachers also helped me out, but this led to me being taken away from my class quite often. I think they all thought I was doing fun stuff when I was actually getting tested.

I began to get used to my diagnosis and recognised the support available to me. At that time though my parents were still in control of that, so they were contacting the high school to get things like extra time at exams. I didn’t really have much of a say on it, but I’m thankful because it led to me passing my exams.

College

I think when I got to the point of college, I began to think that I was better than my condition. I didn’t tell anyone that I had a learning disability because I wanted to do my HNC Nursing Practice course all by myself. At first it was a bit challenging because I’d been out of education for a while – I left school when I was 18 and didn’t start college until I was 27. I had been working in a hotel as a receptionist, so going back to reading and remembering things wasn’t easy, but I managed to get there in the end.

GCU

Before my dad passed away, he really suffered with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from his time in the army. From a young age through to when he passed away, I was witness to his mood swings, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. I was working in the hotel at the time and decided that I wanted to help people for the right reasons. It was actually my godmother who that told me I could be a mental health nurse and she really put me on that path towards university.

Seeking support

I knew there would be a jump between college and university but I didn’t realise how big the jump was. At University, there are quite a lot of technical terms used – in comparison to college, where they really try to soften it. That was quite difficult for me to progress and I realised that I needed to get help.

I emailed the Disability Team and asked for their help. My mum had all my paperwork, so I was able to give them a proper idea of my needs as a result of my disability. It was great to finally have a meeting with them and for them to understand where I was coming from and see the challenges I face. They spoke about what I can do to help myself and also what GCU can actually offer me. They gave me software that I put on my MacBook – it basically means that if something is a lot to process then it will read it out to me. Also, for my exams, I’ve now got extra time and I’ve also had confirmation that I’ll be in a room by myself, which will help me to relax and not have that worry hanging over me.

New-found confidence

I now feel like I can go to class and not have to worry about people laughing at me because I can’t say things correctly. It also means that lecturers know about my disability and have that background to know what to expect.

There’s always a bit of anxiety when you’re faced with a new environment but I now know, for the next two years, that I can go to someone to help answer anything university related – it’s really helpful. I now have the confidence and skills to inform my workplace beyond university that I have a learning disability and know how to face that. I’ve also had amazing support from others on my programme, all the lecturers and students have been amazing with me – no-one has ever judged me.

Looking back

At the time of my diagnosis, the psychologist told my parents not to expect much from my life, and that I’d probably just work in a supermarket all my life. My number one mission in life became to go to university – I wanted to be the first in my family to achieve that. When I was 18, I didn’t get the grades I wanted but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until I was 27 that I had that realisation and decided to go on this journey. When I finally got accepted to GCU, I had a wee party to myself!

Message to other students

I would remind everyone that there is help out there for you – don’t let whatever you’re facing defeat you. It will definitely improve your current situation, but also the rest of your life.

It’s important to just accept it. I felt defeated in myself when I went to get help but I knew if I didn’t go then there was the chance I would have to drop out of university. It’s also important that we share with friends and family – and if all else fails then I would be happy to help too!

By Ross Clark                  
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter