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Tiffany Sunday

Author | Poet | TEDx Presenter

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If I had a dollar for every time someone said

October 8, 2014 By Tiffany Sunday

Tiffany Sunday, Author and Speaker October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and when I was in school, very few educators and teachers knew about dyslexia or how to help dyslexic students.

Even today there is still a misperception that dyslexic individuals are less intelligent than their peers.

When I tell people that I’m dyslexic, their immediate response is “Oh, you are smart, I would have never guessed that you were dyslexic?” If I had a dollar for every time someone has said this statement to me I would have enough money to purchase a tropical island.

Last week, I spoke at The Winston School about being dyslexic and how dyslexia can be a competitive edge.

During my speech, I told the audience that I am determined to educate and change the perception of dyslexia.

Instead of individuals questioning our intelligence, I seek the day that their response would be this instead:

  • Which company do you run?
  • How many startups have you launched?
  • What books have you written?
  • What movie did you create?
  • How many patents do you hold?

I believe it our duty to ensure a better future for all dyslexic students. 

We are part of a unique group of intellectual thinkers.  Members of our group (dyslexia) have profoundly changed the world from Thomas Edison to Albert Einstein and John Chambers just to name a few.

I now understand the brilliance within the dyslexic brain and the creativity that is generated from its mishap wiring.   The side effective of having dyslexia is that I have become the Master of Adaption.

My brain has developed sophisticated measures for adapting on the fly from scanning the room for possible spelling words to having a photographic memory.   These actions that are now second nature and have become most powerful assets.  I see and process details that others most often are miss.

For all the frustration, I have felt and the tears that I have shed dealing with dyslexia, I would not trade being dyslexic.  I cannot spell.  Sometimes, hunting down the correct spelling of a word can take thirty minutes or more.

I could not live without the creativity energy or the ability to think in 3-D and am passionate about helping dyslexic students learn how to use this gift to their advantage.

Persistence, determination, tenacity, creativity and being a Master of Adaption, are just a few of the characteristics that make dyslexia unique.

Use these characteristics to unleash the power of the dyslexic brain!

Filed Under: Dyslexia

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