A PROPER diagnosis for dyslexia has helped a Truro man realise his life's potential.

Toby Peters, who is in his early 40s and studying performing arts at St Austell College, said: "I was first diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 11, but it meant nothing. I was bottom of the class, then went to a special school and left at 15. I didn't do any exams and was completely misjudged.

"I didn't know what dyslexia was and felt very sorry for myself – like an outsider living in a reading world. It was crippling from a very early age.

"I got a guitar and learned to play it by ear and that was the way I communicated with people. I got a tremendous buzz from music which I'd like to have got from reading but it just didn't happen."

Toby became a busker, but his life began to fall apart and he eventually found himself homeless with various other problems which seemed insurmountable.

He said: "I'd been on an alcohol and drug rehabilitation course and then someone gave me a flyer for the Cornwall Dyslexia Association – a little bit of paper, that's all it took to turn my life around.

"It was brilliant. They found out what my problems with dyslexia were, got me a computer, and things suddenly took off.

"I thought, these people are clean, brilliant, understanding, and for the first time I met people who had the same problems as me. It was so refreshing and I became hungry for knowledge.

"The computer opened up everything for me. It was like giving someone who was blind the power of sight.

"Words needn't be the same – they can be in different fonts and sizes and colours, which makes it easier to read, so the words don't dance about on the page like they used to. Once I began to look at words as pictures and not be intimidated by them, I was all right."

Now Toby is finding a new life as a mature student.

"It's something I never thought I'd be able to do," he said. "It makes me feel alive and it's all thanks to them. I can go home and talk about what I'm doing like everyone else."

Tam Martin manages Cornwall Dyslexia Association's Dyslexia Awareness Information and Support Initiative (DAISI) project which helped Toby.

She said: "Toby is a fantastic example of how dyslexia, when identified and successfully managed, can switch from a disability that may cause chaos and despair into a gift of enhanced creativity and heightened potential.

"Toby is showing great promise as a musician, performer and film-maker. He is hoping to go to university on completion of his current course, and is filled with enthusiasm about the new life he is now living.

"It's never too late to tackle the problem. Sometimes it's only when parents come to us because they have concerns about their children that they realise they are dyslexic too. But the condition is hereditary, so it's not surprising.

"Dyslexia affects people in diverse ways, sometimes more with organisation skills than literacy, so it can be extremely liberating as an adult that you suddenly find out why you've had problems in some areas all your life – things finally fit into place."

Toby believes we are all missing out if we fail to understand that dyslexic people have as much to offer as gain from greater understanding of the condition.

He said: "I am a creative person, but I wasn't allowed to be so before because of dyslexia. It made me realise that teachers are missing out on so many really bright people in the classroom who want to be part of the group but aren't because teachers don't understand how to bring them into it. Dyslexic people have so much to offer – look at people like Einstein and John Lennon."

The Cornwall Dyslexia Association has a drop-in centre at Kenwyn Street in Truro.

To find out more, call 01872 274827 or e-mail helpline@ cornwalldyslexia.org.uk