Dyslexia makes me who I am! Are you wondering if this is referring to some of the typical descriptive words used for an individual with dyslexia- “lazy”, “stupid”, “if only the child would work harder”?
A child with dyslexia may have a gap between his potential and his academic performance. Remedial teaching will help in narrowing this gap by training the child to use appropriate strategies to cope with difficulties in learning, visual processing, phonological processing, auditory processing, reading and writing. Whilst working on the areas in which he needs support, it is important to hone his strengths too. This could in fact help him receive the support actively and close/reduce the gap.
People with dyslexia are endowed with strengths that enables them to give a unique perspective to the problem/situation on hand, making them ideally suited for some interesting career choices.
People with dyslexia tend to think in pictures. They have better peripheral vision enabling them to take in the entire scene. They see the bigger picture, and can hence approach a problem/situation holistically.
Dyslexia and the Creative Arts
Their ability for global visual processing, facilitates detection of patterns and to make sense of large quantities of visual data. They can see what others don’t. Research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics confirms that individuals with dyslexia are better at identifying and memorizing complex images. These capabilities make these individuals well-suited for careers as a detective, astronomer and scientists.
Similarly, many individuals with dyslexia, exhibit exceptional skills in manipulating 3D objects in their minds. This skill is an essential peg for professions like fashion designing and architecture. Tommy Hilfiger struggled in school with reading due to his inability to track while reading, but how we love to wear clothes designed by him!
Creativity is another gift in many individuals with dyslexia. Famous actors Johny Depp, Abhishek Bachchan and artist Picasso are such individuals. Strategic and creative thinking provides advantage to business ventures. Richard Branson created a successful business empire and acknowledges that his dyslexia guided effective communication with his customers.
Unconventional and unorthodox thinking gives people with dyslexia insights to solve problems. Out-of-the-box thinking is their hallmark. They are intuitive and appear to be day-dreaming; but their brains are silently letting connections to be made to solve the problem.
There is no debate that the individuals listed above are all adults and are now acclaimed as successful in their respective careers; but ask them about their journey in school-primary, middle, probably even high school, they are most likely to share experiences filled with frustration and despair. They probably had lost all their self-confidence and felt very excluded!
Evidently, the individuals with dyslexia are bestowed with a lot of intelligence and capabilities. However, the existing education system typically gives opportunities to be assessed only through academic performance that showcases only their abilities to read, write, spell, do maths and take exams! This definitely puts them at a disadvantage and is not a fair deal. A popular quote summarises this- “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
A school system that creates opportunities to exhibit and hone innate talents, will be able to buoy the self-confidence of a talented but dyslexic child. Appreciation and recognition of these abilities, would make the child comfortable in the class, making him more receptive to the teaching-learning process. When this conventional teaching is supplemented with structured, multi-sensory, individualised remedial instructions, the child will be motivated to work towards closing the gap between his potential and his academic performance. The validation of his abilities that he receives from his peers paves the way.
This approach enriches the teaching-learning process for a child with dyslexia. Dyslexia makes me who I am! - can become a positive statement- that is made possible by this approach.
(Mala R Natarajan is a Special Educator, trained to teach children with dyslexia, currently working at Madras Dyslexia Association)
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