A woman who felt like an "imposter" her whole life finally understood herself after receiving a "shock" diagnosis at the age of 59.
Julia Hardman, 62, remembers a teacher calling her "a numbskull, stupid and thick" and throwing board dusters at her because she "didn't learn like other kids". The woman from St Helens struggled to read and do times tables, and at five years old, she was placed in the "dunce" class, for which she was bullied, leaving her feeling "humiliated and embarrassed".
These emotions followed her into adulthood. Even in jobs she excelled at, Julia said: "I've just thought I'm a bit of an imposter, just flying by the seat of my pants, not really understanding the problems with my short-term memory, my time blindness, I could go on and on."
