At the age of 12 Gillian Edwards struggled to read the grocery list her parents gave her.

?I had to recognised the boxes. If I came out with the right things ? that was a good day,? she said.

Ms Edwards, owner of Gillian?s, a beauty salon in Devonshire, was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 16.

?My mother noticed a difference with me at the age of two. By age six I could not really differentiate between colours.

?I used to hide the school books at 15 and 16 years old because I was so intimidated by them.

Ms Edwards found difficulty reading and writing.

?I isolated myself because I could not do what the other students could.?

While in school her parents fought the exam board to give her extra time, although she was only granted ten minutes.

In her teens she knew she wanted to do some kind of skin care and worked for free to gain experience.

?I still don?t like writing skin analysis for clients or writing cheques because my hand writing looks like a spider ran through it.?

The opportunity arose for Ms Edwards to open a skin clinic in a section of the Bermuda Florist building.

?It was a dream come true. I saved $20,000 and pumped it into the building doing most of the work myself. The business opened it April 2002 and is doing very well.

?The drive came from my dyslexia. I try to prove to myself that I can do it.?

She admitted keeping her learning difference a secret for a long time.

?When I started helping my children with their homework I went public with it.?

One of her children also has dyslexia.

Ms Edwards praised The Reading Clinic?s efforts.

Her advice to those wrestling with learning differences is to be prepared to put in the time.