I posted this to my dyslexia blog because I thought Maggie has a #fab inspirational story to tell about being dyslexic.
Sky At Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock 'confused with tea lady' and she is dyslexic.
It was a love of the children's TV show The Clangers that got the new The Sky At Night presenter interested in space science. Now Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock - who has faced many adversities in her life - is on a mission to get other women into the field.
"I've studied and worked in very male-dominated environments," says leading space scientist Dr Aderin-Pocock.
"When I got my first job with the Ministry of Defence there were a few times I walked into a room and someone would say, 'three coffees, love'.
"There's the initial shock because people aren't used to seeing black female scientists or engineers.
"I always tried to show them straight away I was competent and get their respect. That's when colour and gender disappear."
For Dr Aderin-Pocock, overcoming adversity has been a lifelong theme.
Born in 1968, her parents divorced when she was four years old and she spent her childhood moving from school to school in London - more than a dozen times in all.
"I was put in remedial class and people assumed I was not going to achieve very much," she says.
"I did feel written-off. It was like people put me at the back of the class where I couldn't do any harm. It was a bit depressing.
"But I always had a dream."
For the young Dr Aderin-Pocock, it centred around exploring the wonders of far-away planets and stars, especially those she watched on children's TV.
"I think The Clangers made me into a space scientist," she says fondly.
"I wanted to go and visit them.
"My problem with education was that I had dyslexia so I found reading and writing quite difficult."
'Saved' by science
But rather than hindering her, the frequent school moves eventually proved beneficial as she "outran" her file.
"My new school didn't have it and so they asked me what stream I should be in. I told them the top one," she said.
"I did well at science. In that respect, science 'saved' me. I knew it was a way to get my goal."
Encouraged to study by her Nigerian father, exam success followed and she went on to gain a physics degree and a PhD in mechanical engineering at Imperial College London.
From that job with the Ministry of Defence working on landmine detectors, her career has featured everything from telescopes in South America to building instruments that look into the heart of stars.
Her innate ability to communicate her passion in an engaging way previously saw her enlisted by the BBC for TV series including Do We Really Need the Moon? and In Orbit: How Satellites Rule Our World, while Stargazing for CBeebies is scheduled to air next month.
Her expertise was recognised in 2009 with an MBE for services to science and education. But despite her success, Dr Aderin-Pocock is still something of a rarity - only 13% of all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) jobs in the UK are occupied by women.
That is a situation she is keen to see change.
"When you look at some of the figures - in physical sciences it is about a 30:70 split between women and men, and 10:90 in engineering - you wonder, 'how far have we come?'
"We have to change people's mindsets."
I think she is correct about changing mindsets. Not just societies we dyslexics have to change our own.
That's why I founded Dyslexia Pathways CIC and that why I promote the social model of dyslexia through social enterprise.
Please share ,share, share and hmmm share
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