Dyslexic minds often possess strengths in creative problem-solving, big-picture thinking, strong visual/spatial skills, empathy, and interconnected reasoning, allowing them to see patterns and connections others miss, leading to innovation, strategic thinking, and success in entrepreneurship, design, and science, despite challenges with traditional literacy. Key strengths often highlighted by the acronym MIND include Material, Interconnected, Narrative, and Dynamic Reasoning, focusing on 3D thinking, systems understanding, storytelling, and future prediction.
This means that where neurotypical people have strengths in analytics, language, and numbers, which is on the left side of the brain, dyslexic people have strengths in creativity, problem-solving, ideas, and intuition, which is on the right side of the brain.
The dictionary definition of Dyslexic Thinking is: 'An approach to problem-solving, assessing information, and learning, often used by people with dyslexia, that involves pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, latering thinking, and interpersonal skills.
Dyslexia-related challenges can sometimes lead to social and emotional difficulties. Dyslexic children may experience frustration, anxiety, or a sense of being different from their peers. However, these challenges can also foster empathy, resilience, and the ability to connect with others on a deeper level.
Memory. Dyslexia can affect short term memory, so your partner may forget a conversation, a task they have promised to do, or important dates. They may also struggle to remember the names of people they have met or how to get to places they have visited before.
Oftentimes, parents fear that a dyslexia diagnosis indicates their child is less intelligent than their peers. Nevertheless, dyslexia is not exclusive to any particular level of intelligence; it can affect individuals with average, above-average, and highly gifted intellect.
Dyslexic individuals have a greater ability to learn through experiences and recall information with more efficiency, whether they have actually experienced or simply imagined these experiences. REASONING: Understanding patterns, evaluating possibilities or making decisions.
Highly intuitive – Dyslexics often have a strong sense of intuition and heightened emotional intelligence. They can quickly grasp complex concepts and situations, often arriving at conclusions before others.
Do you:
The right hemisphere of the brain is typically dominant in those who have been diagnosed and live with dyslexia. Due to increased dominance of the right hemisphere, people with dyslexia have a natural weakness for skills controlled by the left hemisphere, for example, language processing, reading, and writing.
Many of the world's most successful entertainers are very creative. Famous actors like Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom all have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that disrupts how your brain processes written language. People with dyslexia have trouble with reading and related skills.
These creative processing skills allow dyslexics to see the bigger picture, and visualise new solutions. This skill is really valuable to employees, in fact, 50% of NASA employees are dyslexic. They are deliberately hired because of their excellent critical thinking skills and spatial awareness.
Inventiveness and big-picture, long-term thinking are among the skills and strengths linked to these explorative behaviours. The researchers link dyslexia to human evolution over hundreds of thousands of years, where humans – and our brains – have had to adapt to constant change, rather than one fixed environment.
Strong visual and spatial abilities
Many dyslexic individuals have exceptional visual and spatial reasoning. This is why we often excel in areas like architecture, engineering and the visual arts.
Behavior, Health, and Personality:
Easily stressed and overwhelmed in certain situations. Low self-esteem. Self-conscious when speaking in a group. May have difficulty getting thoughts out – pause frequently, speak in halting phrases, or leave sentences incomplete.
Research by the University of Strathclyde has found that people with dyslexia are much better at being curious and exploring new ideas and more likely to be found in careers where this is an advantage, such as art, media, architecture, creativity, engineering and inventing things!
Common Misconceptions about Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a sign of low intelligence: Dyslexia does not impact your child's intelligence in any way. As a matter of fact, many dyslexic students are super intelligent and bursting with talent. The only challenge they have is that their brains process language differently.
Yes, trauma – both physical and emotional – have been cited in potentially causing the onset of dyslexia. Trauma Dyslexia, also commonly referred to as acquired dyslexia, can develop after a person has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), such as a fall from a ladder, a car accident, a sports injury, etc.
Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world didn't let his dyslexia hold him back.
Firstly, it is theorised that dyslexics may have high levels of emotional intelligence, sensitivity, and awareness of others' emotions because they frequently experience 'secondary symptoms of dyslexia'.
Many of us struggle to process and remember the information we see and hear. There is a common misconception that dyslexia only affects the ability to read and write. In reality, dyslexia can affect memory, organisation, time-keeping, concentration, multi-tasking and communication.
Establish a routine
Dyslexic learners may find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time and may get tired quickly, so it's a good idea to create a routine which emphasises 'a little and often' rather than trying to squeeze too much work into a longer session.
Remember, children with dyslexia may be incredibly artistic, gifted in music or drama, or have an uncanny ability to take things apart and put them back together. They might be brilliant with computers, which use logic-based programs and systems. Or they might be amazing athletes.
A Deep Connection to Empathy
The first being a genetic factor, harbouring the 'dyslexic brain' to be more attuned (compared to a typical neurotypical brain) to its emotional connective pathways, to be specific the ventral amygdalofugal output pathway.