THE GIFT OF DYSLEXIA | STEDTNITZ. DESIGN YOUR LIFE
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What do Albert Einstein, Cher and Walt Disney have in common?
Aside from being greats in their respective fields, they all had or have dyslexia.
When people hear the word dyslexia, they often think of a reading disability or difficulties with learning. However, people with dyslexia are actually very often talented, creative thinkers. In fact, the way of thinking that causes dyslexia can be a natural ability and gift that enhances other skills.
Dyslexic people all share the following basic traits and abilities.
They
- can utilize the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions
- are highly aware of their environment
- are more curious than average
- think mainly in pictures instead of words
- are highly intuitive and insightful
- think and perceive multi-dimensionally – using all the senses
- can experience thought as reality
- have vivid imaginations
These eight basic strengths can result in high intelligence and extraordinary innovation. People with dyslexia are visual-spatial thinkers – they think primarily in pictures rather than in words. Verbal thought is linear in time, performed by making sentences one word at a time. However, picture thinking is evolutionary. The picture grows as the mental process adds more sub-concepts to the overall concept. This visual imagery allows ideas to be interconnected and rather than arriving at conclusions in a linear fashion, allows the individual to see the whole picture and think holistically.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”. A visual thinker can imagine a single picture that might take thousands of words to describe. Thinking in pictures also occurs six to ten times faster than thinking in words. Because of this, people with dyslexia are able to master many skills much faster than the average person could understand them.
This brings us to the concept of intuition, which can result from visual-spatial thinking. As pictures appear in the brain faster than verbal thought, a person might know the answer to a question without being able to explain the process that took them there. People with dyslexia also have amazing abilities to read people. Rather than relying on speech for information, they can effectively read body language and facial expressions. By reading cues and observing people, they can tell a lot about a person before one word is exchanged.
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Another strength that often arises in people with dyslexia is creativity. Visual thinking enhances multi-dimensional thought and curiosity. Creativity allows us to imagine new concepts or new combinations of things that we’ve never seen before. From that experience, we can bring new things into existence.
Individuals with highly developed visual-spatial abilities often excel in the areas of art, technology and business. These individuals may turn into creative leaders in society. Often, they become entrepreneurs or CEOs in major firms because of their innovative thinking and ability to see the relationships between large numbers of variables.
The gift of mastery develops in many ways and in many areas. For Albert Einstein, it was physics; for Cher, it was music and entertainment; for Walt Disney, it was art. What will your area of mastery be?
If you’ve been diagnosed with dyslexia, or think you might have dyslexia, and would like to explore how you can utilize this aspect of yourself as a strength, you can
book a free intro coaching here. We believe in taking a strength-based approach to our coaching work and look forwarding to supporting you with developing your unique interests and talents.
Warmly,
Sources:
Davis, R.D., (1994). The Gift of Dyslexia. Perigee Book
Silvermann, L.K., & Freed, J.N., (1991). The Visual-Spatial Learner.
The Dyslexic Reader (4)