The Gift of Dyslexia?

The Gift of Dyslexia is not a gift. Dyslexia by definition means a student has significant differences between their learning abilities and that usually means they are good at something but because they are dyslexic they struggle with reading, spelling and written language.

Adult dyslexics are often found in creative professions – artists, musicians, dancers, actors, chefs, boat builders and surgeons.

Everyone knows a doctor can’t spell and their handwriting can’t be read. Doctors can be visually-spatially gifted adults who have compensated with a great deal of effort to minimise the limitations of their dyslexia.

In some countries like the US dyslexia is a medical disability and here in NZ it is recognised as a learning disability and for some teenage students it means they can be eligible for exam accommodations, e.g. a reader, writer and/or more time.

Is there any intelligent, reasonable, rational human being who truly believes living with a disability would be a blessing or a gift?

I have not had even one student or adult who is limited by identified dyslexia say how lucky they are or how wonderful it is to have been ‘given’ dyslexia.

Dyslexic students find meeting school expectations hard. Schools focus on reading and writing, recording and presenting. Schools focus on what students with dyslexia cannot do.

It is hard to achieve school success. Those who do achieve in their fields of expertise all say they could do better or would have been even more successful if they had not been limited by dyslexia.

— Lynn Berresford, Registered Psychologist