Famous people with dyslexia include:
Cher-actor/singer, Robin Williams-comic/actor, Keira Knightley-actress, Albert Einstein-scientist, Pablo Picasso-artist, Richard Branson-entrepreneur, Caitlyn Jenner-Olympic champion, Charles Schwab-financier, Guy Hands-financier, Erin Brockovich-lawyer, Steven Spielberg-filmmaker, and Leonardo da Vinci-artist/inventor.
IntroductionDyslexia is another condition within the spectrum of Neurodiversity, and is known as difficulty with reading words, however is part of a family of difficulties (dys is greek for difficulty):
Dyslexia - difficulty with words
Dyspraxia - difficulty with fine and gross motor skills
Dysgraphia - difficulty with fine motor skills/handwriting
Dyscalculia - difficulty with mathematical concepts
Whilst dyslexia may highlight difficulties in the abilities and skills valued at school: reading, writing, spelling, handwriting. There is life after school, and many with dyslexia excel post-school, the challenge is to survive school with your emotional well-being intact to excel after school.
Educationalists use the term ‘specific learning difficulties’ rather than dyslexia, as they believe it better describes a condition that allows individuals to have both strengths and difficulties (called a spiky profile) and that it covers more than just reading difficulties. This is true as it commonly covers difficulties with: reading, writing, spelling, short-term memory, balance, fine motor skills, and organisation.
Causes of dyslexiaDyslexia tends to have two main causes, illness during the first 5 years of a child’s life when they learn to hear and decode language. Secondly it can be highly genetic, running through families from parents to children.
Symptoms of dyslexiaDyslexia is a spectrum of difficulty, and is known to be a collective of difficulties with few with dyslexia having the same difficulties or severity.
Late talking
Problems forming words correctly, such as reversing sounds in words or confusing words that sound alike
Can spell a word differently in the same passage of text
Difficulty reading words fluently
Short term memory difficulties
Problems remembering or naming letters, numbers and colours.
Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing rhyming games.
Difficulty learning and remembering facts and times tables
Camouflaging dyslexia in the classroomMany with dyslexia will disguise their difficulties by avoiding reading aloud, using shorter words they can spell than longer words they know how to pronounce, using messy handwriting to cover up for their poor spelling, and avoiding the teacher’s radar by avoiding eye contact. Those with literacy difficulties can be very creative in avoiding highlighting their difficulties e.g. losing their pen or book on purpose, or going to the toilet before a test. This camouflaging is the main reason why many with dyslexia remain undiagnosed at school and as adults. Camouflaging to survive school.
Success at schoolWe know of many present day famous dyslexics Sir Richard Branson, Lord Alan Sugar, Lord Richard Rogers, Lewis Hamilton. They all have said they hated school, but developed strategies to survive it. Guy Hands the financier told me that he developed many businesses whilst at school (along with playing the stock market and poker) which allowed him to prove to himself he had self-worth, and that there was life outside school. That set him up for life as a highly successful investment banker after working for Goldman Sachs.
The research for my books ‘Surviving school as a dyslexic teenager’ and ‘The successful dyslexic: identify the keys to unlock your potential’ found several keys to being successful and dyslexic at school’ identified the keys to success:
Parental praise: praise effort and not achievement e.g. ‘you worked really hard, well done’, rather than ‘you only got a C, you really should have worked harder’.
Developing talents: immerse your child in as many activities as you can until you find what they both enjoy and can do really well in (for me it was art and ceramics leading to going to art college and a 20 year career in design), then support them to be the best they can in it. No matter if it's skateboarding or knitting, golf or swimming. These may turn out to be their careers post-school, or just allow them to believe they have worth.
Positive mindsets: parents need to share their own childhood experiences, how school was not easy for them but they survived. If our children see us as a finished article then it's going to be very hard for them to attain their own success, and gain the resilience needed for life’s struggles.
Dyslexia and Mental HealthMy own research in the area of Dyslexia and mental health has importantly highlighted what everyone guessed, but no one had researched and written about. That school is hard and that it's easy to develop learned helplessness if you believe that having dyslexia means that you will always struggle, at school and as adults.
Many adults with dyslexia developed PTSD from their own childhood experiences e.g. recalling primary school experiences of sitting on small chairs, seeing their work publicly displayed, and feeling very small. This meant many parents with dyslexia avoid returning to school as a parent, even to watch their child in a school play!
Setting a positive self-narrative is very important, along with children hearing from their own parents about their own difficulties at school and importantly how they overcame it. My book ‘Dyslexia and Mental Health’: Helping people identify destructive behaviours and find positive ways to cope’ is a means for those with dyslexia and their families to better understand why dyslexia can be negative and to develop positive strategies to move forward.
At Edge Grove we have many staff and children with dyslexia, and see this as a strength, as they can offer alternative and creative ways to think and work. The school offers a wide range of extra curricular activities which can help a child to shine, not just in the classroom.
