Dyslexia from a different point of view
Dyslexia, a specific learning disability affecting 20% of our school population, can result in many of these children not being able to identify the differences between and among the sounds of letters in the alphabet. As a result, spelling is nearly impossible and pronouncing words correctly is difficult at best. So, writing and reading aloud are near-disasters for many. What does that mean for their future in the job market? It could be bleak!
WELL THAT’S ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT!
Richard Branson, Henry Ford, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates Warren Buffet, Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Blackburn, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kevin O’Leary have dyslexia! These people did not become famous in spite of their dyslexia, but rather because of it!
According to R. Davis, 1994, “The mental function that causes dyslexia is a gift in the truest sense of the word: a natural ability, a talent.” It is something special that enhances the individual. Here are some of the gifts that are shared by dyslexics:
They can utilize the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability).
They are highly aware of the environment.
They are more curious than average.
They think mainly in pictures instead of words.
They are highly intuitive and insightful.
They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses).
They can experience thought as reality.
They have vivid imaginations.
(Davis, Ronald Dell. (1994, 2010) “Chapter 1 – The Underlying Talent”, from The Gift of Dyslexia (Perigee, New York)
These creative, problem solvers often become entrepreneurs, hands-on people leaving the paperwork for someone else, are making use of oral communication instead of reading and writing, and delegating authority in their own businesses.