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The weather’s hotting up, the beach is beckoning and there’s nothing we want to do more than pack up, head to the station and get going on some adventures (safely, of course). But travelling when you’ve got dyslexia can sometimes get a little complicated – arrivals boards, reading a map and keeping track of the time can all be a little difficult when you’ve got literacy differences, and the experience can get a little stressful.
But not to worry- many people with dyslexia are avid travellers, and jet off to have amazing experiences all over the world! That’s why we’ve put together a list of our top 4 tips for travelling with dyslexia that could make the journey feel a little safer and easier, meaning that you can head off into the wide blue yonder with a pinch more confidence.
Where are we again? Place names can get a bit muddled when you’ve got dyslexia sometimes. What’s the difference between Shore, Rochdale and Shaw, Greater Manchester? Unfortunately, about seven miles, and an awkward if scenic journey through the northern countryside. And that’s not to mention the monsters that complicate the relationship between the grapheme and the phoneme by sounding literally nothing like the way they’re written, like Cholmondeley (pronounced ‘Chum-lee’) in Cheshire, UK, or Magdalen College (pronounced ‘Mawd-lin College’) at Oxford University. Familiarising yourself with all the places where your transport stops on a journey can actually be really helpful when it comes to making sure you’re in the right place, as can making sure that there’s no weird pronunciations that could send you off in the wrong direction if you’re waiting to hear a list of arrivals or departures.
Take a buddy! Everyone fantasises about that gap year voyage to far-off places, whether it’s cocktails in Croydon to wild swimming in Croatia – but what’s even better than taking on new places and new faces as a fearless solo traveller? Pals. Friends. Buddies. Having someone with you if you’re not confident with map-reading or public transport can make a world of difference when it comes to enjoying your time away, and it also means that you get to share the experience, too! Some people with dyslexia can struggle with reading overly wordy station signs or travel updates. It can also affect processes like remembering which order to do things in, or make you a little forgetful on occasion – so having a buddy who’s a whizz at platform-hopping and map-reading could be a great way of making sure you stay on the right track.
Maps and Apps... Before the advent of the cell phone, map-reading was one of those skills that had to be developed by practise. Usually this was done as part of a soggy gym lesson or Duke of Edinburgh experience, stood in the rain in the middle of a field with nothing but an OS Map and a compass for company. People with dyslexia can sometimes struggle with map-reading and orienteering, as well as discerning between left and right , and this can make things difficult when all you have to direct you is a piece of paper that doesn’t even tell you which way up it goes in relation to where you’re standing.
Fortunately, there are now hundreds of map apps that can make the experience a lot easier. As they automatically locate you, there’s much smaller danger of you heading off in the wrong direction, and using tools like Google Maps’ Street View can even provide you with a visual of the direction you need to be headed in.
Get Technical! Even in a paperless age, most transport providers still produce paper copies of their timetables- and whether bus, train, Tube or ferry, these are handy for people with dyslexia as it means that you can use a Text-to-Speech scanning device like a ReaderPen to help you work out where you need to be and when. Some transport providers will also produce their timetables in a large font that could make them easier for somebody with dyslexia or visibility impairment to read, and most have their timetables online, meaning that screen readers can be a big help – unless the timetable is formatted as an image, that is, in which case most screen readers won’t be able to pick up the textual information. It’s also important to note that even during the Covid-19 pandemic, most stations and terminals will have people available for you to chat to if you need some help working out where you need to go – just stay safe, wear a mask when appropriate and try to maintain social distancing when you can.
So there we have it! 4 fairly easy ways to make sure that adventures aren’t derailed by complicated timetables or mapping misadventures. Shame we can’t combat the weather quite so easily – but even if it has to be with a brolly in hand, it’s fun to step out and make some memories for Summer 2021.