Because dyslexics think in pictures and not words they learn and perceive differently. This picture thinking allows them to solve problems by seeing the bigger picture. Once they learn how to use their talent to study they excel rather quickly. Why do we say dyslexia is a gift? Because you are provided a talent not everybody was fortunate enough to receive.
Dyslexia is a gift as explained in the book by Ron Davis
Dyslexia the holistic outlook
Artist, engineer, entrepreneurs and architects all fields where you often find dyslexics reaching great heights often outperforming those without dyslexia. The entrepreneur Richard Branson, the engineer Paul MacCready, the architect Jørn Utzon artists like Ian Marley from South Africa and a number of other entertainers like Cher, John Lennon, Vince Vaughn and Jay Leno are just some of the dyslexics making an impact on the world. The reason why dyslexics excel in these fields is because they have the ability to look at their problems in a holistic manner.
Dyslexics often have a holistic outlook on life. This means they do not see only one part of something in isolation, but rather consider “all the parts of something intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole”. You can compare this holistic way of thinking to something sequential like reading.
When reading you need to think in a sequential manner letters follow one another to make words, words make paragraphs and paragraphs make sentences. To make sense of reading you need to step by step in a sequential way build up a sentence something that the holistic thinker is no good with. The holistic thinker much rather prefer seeing the whole like a painter before he starts painting or an engineer considering the complete solution before working on the individual parts.
Prof John Stein on the dyslexic holistic outlook
According to Wikipedia Prof Stein holds PhD CBiol FIBiol FRCPath FMedSci degrees and is a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, where he is a professor in physiology. He has research interests in the neurological basis of dyslexia. Watch a detailed interview below where he explains the holistic outlook of a dyslexic and why this is a gift.
In the interview he explains why dyslexics are more creative, why dyslexics struggle to manage sequence and time, why they are more open to new ideas and why they are more resilient and determined.
Prof John Stein ends by saying something very true: “Dyslexics are so successful because they never give up” if you feel like giving up wait! There is help available in the form of the the Davis Dyslexia Correction® program. The program presented by Familyzone Learning will teach you to use your dyslexia to your advantage.
Original image courtesy of Wikipedia modified by Familyzone Learning.
