To mark Dyslexia Awareness Week 2025, we’re spotlighting the experiences of people in our own team. Sean McAllister, Senior Product Designer, sat down with Natalie Bull to talk about growing up with dyslexia, navigating education and the workplace, and how his perspective has shifted now as a parent.
“When I see walls of text, my brain just says, ‘no thanks’.”
Sean recalls how overwhelming traditional approaches to learning could feel. In one job, he was asked to complete mandatory online training:
“All the policies I needed to read were massively long text files. It was the only source of learning. Videos would've helped me so much more.”
At school, the challenges were even clearer.
"I very much stood out, complete with varifocals and my tinted overlays. I did a lot of nodding along and pretending I understood stuff when I didn't, trying to keep under the radar and from being 'exposed' in front of the class. The annoying thing was that I desperately wanted to understand and listened SO hard, but nope, that information just wouldn't stay put.”
Sometimes that frustration boiled over:
“One of my most vivid memories is from secondary school, during a history lesson. It was a really text-heavy subject and one which I didn't enjoy for that very reason. The teacher put me on the spot to answer a question but I didn't understand it. The teacher said I wasn't trying hard enough and wouldn't let it go. Out of frustration, I shouted, ‘but you're not listening to me!’ My outburst landed me in a disciplinary.
I also remember reading out loud in an English lesson and coming across the word, yacht. Of course, I said 'yachett' and promptly got told off for getting it wrong on purpose for a laugh. I wish that was the real reason. It's a stupid word anyway. Posh boat is much better.
Despite all this, I’ve always believed things happen for a reason. I ended up moving schools, and although it was tough at the time, it gave me the chance to explore the subjects I loved – PE, art, graphics, and photography – and that really shaped a new chapter in my life. It’s also where I met my future wife, so it was clearly meant to be!"
Sport and art became a lifeline, giving Sean confidence and community.
"As soon as I got outside playing sports or in the art room – I was flying. I fitted in and found my people.”
And when it came time to choose a career path, those interests pointed the way forward:
“Sport and art carried me through school until I had to make a decision about careers. Art was an obvious path, I just hadn't realised it was an option. Another door opened; this time in graphic design, and suddenly I had a whole new world of digital tools to work with.”
Sean reflects on how his experience of dyslexia shapes the way he approaches his role as Senior Product Designer at Booost Education.
Fatherhood has given Sean yet another lens on difference and learning.
“I'm much more aware and accepting of the differences I see in my daughters. I'm not going to make them fit a mould, or do things a certain way because that's what everyone else does. I tell them we're all different shapes and they'll find their own people, just like I did. I wish someone had told me that when I was their age.”
He also sees his creativity as a strength:
“I will often recreate information in a more visual way so I understand it better and have even been known to get involved in my daughters’ homework by giving it another, more creative angle – stories told in Lego, or doodles bringing facts to life.”
And he’s encouraged by how far things have come since his own school days:
