{"id":27,"date":"2026-03-07T11:47:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/?page_id=27"},"modified":"2026-03-07T11:47:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T11:47:55","slug":"coming-in-from-the-cold-my-56-year-journey-with-dyslexia-therapy-and-the-ai-revolution","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/?page_id=27","title":{"rendered":"Coming in from the Cold: My 56-Year Journey with Dyslexia, Therapy, and the AI Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For most of my life, I\u2019ve stayed on the outside. It wasn’t always a conscious choice; it was more about avoiding the emotional discomfort of being judged something that happened far too often “back in the day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, I lived under the weight of a label I gave myself: “stupid.” My school never noticed my struggle; I was simply the boy who was constantly told to “just learn to spell.” It wasn’t until I was 56 years old<\/strong> that the truth finally hit home. Seeing my son\u2019s diagnosis was the turning point we are so similar in how we handle words, thinking, and memory that I finally realized I wasn’t “stupid.” I was dyslexic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, at 65<\/strong>, I look back and realize I spent over half a century fighting a battle I didn’t even have a name for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Dark Start and a Turning Point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pain of not fitting in started very early. By the time I was only 12 years old<\/strong>, the unhappiness was so deep that I decided to end my life. Thankfully, fate intervened. Shortly after that time, a friend gave me a book called “The Third Eye” by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa<\/strong>. It taught me about meditation and gave me a way to navigate my own mind. In many ways, that book saved my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

400 Pages of Hidden Fantasy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even with a new way to cope, the shame remained. When I was 14, inspired by A Wizard of Earthsea<\/em>, I wrote my own fantasy novel. I developed characters, drew detailed maps, and wrote about 400 pages<\/strong>. I never showed that work to a single soul. My deep sense of shame ensured those pages stayed hidden; it was purely a form of escapism where I finally made sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Overwhelm of School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the final six months of school, I simply stopped going. I hadn’t failed; in fact, I had been improving in my mock exams. But as the real exams approached, the pressure became too overwhelming to bear. The most hurtful thing was the silence, the school never chased me down or contacted my parents. To a struggling teenager, that silence confirmed that they simply didn’t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Therapy to the Call Center: The Sensory Toll<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The strange thing is, my dyslexia and autism<\/strong> never hindered my work as a therapist<\/strong>. In the therapy room, I am highly engaging and present. However, after Covid, I had to close my online practice. Between the financial strain and the demand for further expensive qualifications, I had to find employed work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no openings in my field at the time, I became a call handler<\/strong>. I now understand that this is probably the worst type of job I could do. The constant connection overload is exhausting. I often come home and need to go straight to bed just to recover from the sensory drain. It is a “needs must” situation\u2014a stop-gap while I work on my next chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Digital Equalizer: AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This is where AI<\/strong> has truly been a savior. This resource bridges the gap between my ideas and the world. I don\u2019t have to “swap” my words to play it safe anymore. For the first time, I can say exactly what I mean. I finally sound like “me”, human, warm, and authentic. I see AI as an accessibility tool, no different from a wheelchair. It doesn’t write for me; it allows me to finally be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building for Healing, Not Just Profit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am using this newfound clarity to build things that matter. I have developed a phone app<\/a><\/strong> for journaling that prioritizes total privacy\u2014no leaked data, no hosting on servers people don’t control. I\u2019ve also launched a website<\/a><\/strong> to provide options for healing and personal discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m frequently told I need to find the “business model” in what I do. To be honest, the concept of being an entrepreneur feels alien. My priority is providing for my family, but my passion is providing tools for healing. I create because these resources should exist, not to chase a status. Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself if I\u2019m being self-sacrificing to a fault, or if there\u2019s a part of me that is still too afraid to put a price on my own worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking Forward: The Podcast Journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Despite the occasional “avoidance mode,” I am incredibly excited about the future, specifically my upcoming podcast<\/strong>. I have the equipment ready, the hosting found, and a head full of topics I can’t wait to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My main goal is to educate people on what “good” versus “bad” therapy looks like, acting as a safety guard for those just starting their journey. I am particularly passionate about discussing neurodivergence in therapy<\/strong>, the unique challenges and strengths that come when the therapist and client navigate the world differently. I also want to talk about how AI is changing the world of therapy, the messy reality of recovery, and how “wellbeing” has been hijacked by companies as a tool for productivity rather than real help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge isn’t a lack of ideas; it’s just deciding which vital conversation to start with first! I know I will still be avoidant from time to time, but I keep chipping away at it. I\u2019m heading in the right direction, one episode at a time. It\u2019s never too late to come in from the cold<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most of my life, I\u2019ve stayed on the outside. It wasn’t always a conscious choice; it was more about avoiding the emotional discomfort of being judged something that happened far too often “back in the day.” For decades, I lived under the weight of a label I gave myself: “stupid.” My school never noticed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31,"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27\/revisions\/31"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinetherapyservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}