Dyslexia

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!

On Monday December 3rd,  I posted Technology Releases Dyslexia’s Hidden Gift.  Several readers requested more information about my tech toolkit for dyslexics.

The photo about is a picture of a note card that sits on my desk. These three words are very difficult for me to spell and I have written them on a paper note card.  Having these words written down and easily accessible on my desk reduces the stress of digging through Word and Google in attempts to find the correct spelling. I still use note cards even though they are low tech.

Internet

Finding the correct spelling for a specific word creates the most difficulty during the day. I spend a lot of time writing each day for work and rely heavily on Google Search to find the correct spelling.

I’ve learned to include the misspelled word in a sentence when using Google Search. Google’s algorithms find the correct spelling 99.9% of the time.

For example:   Are Dianorse extinct?  I do not know the correct spelling for dinosaurs.

I enter the entire sentence in the Google search box and Google will ask “did you mean “dinosaurs are extinct?  Yes!

By entering the entire sentence in the search box you increase your odds of finding the correct spelling.

Apps 

Merriam-Webster App for both the iPhone and iPad.

What I love best about the app is the voice command and its two features: you can say the word that you are seeking or you can listen to the vocalization of a word that you have entered. Many times, I think the word is spelled correctly; however, when the word is vocalized it is different. I voice check between 25% – 30% of the words I enter into the app. I rely on my hearing to confirm that I have the correct word.

We use this app frequently for my son’s homework and for my business. Another great feature is the ability to select “favorite” for words you look up frequently for future reference.

Dragon Dictation [itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8]

We’ve used Dragon Dictation with moderate success. I’ve learned that for the app to work you must wear ear buds and speak slowly. Secondly, the room must be quiet with limited background noise. When the app works, its great and makes it easy to dictate book reports and documents.

 Smart Phones and Tablets

I utilize the note feature on my iPhone and iPad to store difficult words. For individuals whom are not dyslexic, you may wonder why I need these constant word reminders. Some words are just difficult for me to remember and spell. I look at them over and over, yet these words fail to imprinted into my brain.

Taking notes during client business meetings is faster and easier on the iPad. I’m less intimidated about writing in front of people and use the iPad for presentations. My son key boards his homework using the iPad and can complete his work sitting on the couch or at the dinner table.

I believe having the ability to write digitally is the greatest benefit we’ve gained from technology.

 

In May, Betsy Morris wrote a great article about famous dyslexic CEOs titled “Overcoming Dyslexic“.  My favorite quote from her article is by Bill Dreyer, an inventor and biologist for Caltech “I think in 3-D Technicolor pictures instead of words.”  Thinking in 3-D Technicolor is part of dyslexia’s hidden gift.

Today’s blog post is more personal than my past writings.  I am dyslexic and until today only my family and friends knew this fact.  For years, I wore a Scarlet D just like the CEOs mentioned in Morris’ article.

My mother taught AP / Honors high school English for thirty years.  The irony of life can be bittersweet as my parents worked hard to hide the dyslexia that it took years for me to discover its hidden gift.  I believe the mental prison my family built around dyslexia and the fear of what others might think did more harm than telling teachers, family and friends the truth.   Employers can be different as there is still discrimination in the workplace.

The picture is a painting by my son, who is also dyslexic.  We discuss dyslexia and spend little time hiding the fact.  His entrepreneur spirit is strong and he is working on his second business, all his ventures have generated revenue.

Technology gives dyslexics the ability to participate on a level playing field.  My son has a Kindle Fire and I have an iPad which makes reading and writing easier.  I write more now than ever before because the iPad makes it is so easy to compose my thoughts.  I am forever grateful to Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and all the great programmers at Google.

Dyslexia is simply a different programming design within the brain.  Wiring everywhere, different path ways, circuits and mental duck tape.  This programming design is amazingly fast, unique and fascinating; producing a constant flow of creative energy.

This past year, I discovered dyslexia hidden gift that Morris discusses and believe these traits are common among most dyslexics.

Unlimited Supply of Energy: Creative, Mental and Physical

Most dyslexics are Turbo Energizer Bunnies with an unlimited supply of energy.  We are passionate and creative individuals with boundless energy for launching companies, creating new concepts, writing novels and screen plays, developing new programming code, composing music and painting.  Thinking creatively is natural to us and hardwired into our dyslexic motherboard.

Problem Solving

In grade school, I developed strong problem solving skills quickly to maintain my grades.  I had to strategize and think differently to complete my work and not fall behind in class.  Taking notes and writing on the board was a slow and painful process.

Problem solving has evolved into one of my favorite consulting services.   I love the mental acrobatics required for problem solving and believe in developing simple effective methods rather than generating long drawn out processes.

Tenacity

One of my high school teachers said when you looked up the word “tenacity” in the dictionary Tiffany’s name is listed beside it.  In college, I taped all my classes and would listen to the lectures over and over; this is how I wrote my class notes and studied for tests.  By finals, I had the majority of the class notes and my professors’ lectures memorized.  All my life I have refused to give up.

Pivot

I learned to pivot in Kindergarten before Silicon Valley made the word cool.  I believe all dyslexics learn to pivot at an early age.  We have a deeper understanding of the concept and pivot more frequently than most people.   I like the word pivot better than failure because failure carries mental baggage that prevents people from moving past the fear of failure.

A Few Thoughts on the Word “Failure”

When I was a high school junior, I registered for Intro Spanish knowing that I would probably fail the class at some point during the school year.  My parents disagreed with my decision and I assured them I understood the consequences.  At the end of the first semester, I took a W/F.

Did the F I received in Spanish have any bearing on my life now? No

Did the F prevent my acceptance into Texas A&M (BA) and later into SMU’s Graduate Business program (MBA)? No

Registering for Spanish in high school has been one of my best decisions.  I realized my own internal strength which gave me confidence to take risks without the fear of failure.

Thomas Edison understood what failure meant, that failure is a process of elimination.  If A and B do not work together then how about A and C?  If one combination does not work; stop, reassess the situation and if needed pivot.  By taking action each time you move forward until the right combination is discovered.

Inventive

Being inventive goes back to the creativity aspect of dyslexia, we can invent just about anything out of foil, duck tape and cardboard.   Dyslexics wrote the book on being inventive as it is in our programming.   We see the world differently, thus giving us the ability to see pathways most people overlook.

Learned to Max Strengths Early

In grade school, I unconsciously started relying heavily on my strengths to counter the dyslexia.  I realized early that I had the ability to memorize large amounts of data which later developed into a photographic memory.

I am unable to phonetically process the sounds of letters, thus I cannot sound out words.  To learn my spelling words, I created unique sayings or tricks so I could memorize the pattern of letters associated with the word.  By high school, I had a full tool kit that I used to navigate school and later college.

What most individuals take for granted can still be a struggle.  I’ve become an obsessed spell checker and have more grammar books than a school teacher.

From years of keyboarding, my brain has learned to memorize the patterns of words which greatly improved my spelling.  With this new pathway, I “see” the typing pattern when my son asks me how to spell a word.

Self-Reliant and Gratitude

In school, I learned to become my own advocate, focus on what mattered in the long run and that knowledge was power.   I was fortunate to have several great mentors during school and college.

I believe the true blessing of dyslexia is gratitude.  Dyslexics like myself, know just how hard we have to work to achieve success and how many pivots it took to achieve our goal.

Yet, through all the tribulations, my passion for learning grows each year and with technology dyslexia is becoming a smaller blip on my radar screen.

This blog is in Memory of my mother, who shared her passion for learning and reading with me.