Stupid. Dummy. Retard.  Just a few of the names I remember being called as a child undiagnosed with Dyslexia.  Way back in the olden days, when I was a tot, teachers and parents were not as aware of learning challenges as they are today.  Let’s just say I spent a lot of time in the “special” class.

Luckily for me I had a very unique and magical Dad who saw my peculiarities as perks. Perks that included being told that I was born on a star and that I had secret super powers. Perks that trained me to infuse my imagination with uber effervescent sparkle. Perks that lead me to hone in and celebrate my own unique way of expressing my observations, ideas and feelings.  Perks that ironically helped me to become a very clever and creative writer.

Here are interesting facts…in no particular disorder…

1. Dyslexics are not stupid. In fact, they are gifted with a unique mindset that is more intelligent, more creative and more innovative than others. Duh.

2. Dyslexia is not the result of neurological damage, but the product of neurological development. It’s a difficulty in processing linguistic and symbolic codes, letters, numbers and speech sounds. Translation – things get mixed up.

3. Dyslexics think in pictures instead of words. Non-dyslexics have verbal thoughts, (thinking in words) which is a linear process that occurs at a speed of about 150 words per minute. Dyslexics have non-verbal thoughts, (thinking in pictures) – the picture grows as the thought process adds more concepts. It’s much faster, possibly thousands of times faster (a picture is worth a thousand words). Because of its speed, it happens in the subconscious mind. When there is no mental picture for a particular word, it causes disorientation

4. Dyslexics have amazing thinking skills in the area of conceptualization, reason, imagination and abstraction. Yay unicorn thinking!

5. Dyslexics have a strong ability to see concepts with a “big picture” perspective. I call it my “stand on tippy-toes” view.

6. Dyslexics have excellent comprehension of the stories read or told them as well as a better sense of spatial relationships and better use of their right brain. Just don’t ask me to remember my phone #.

7. Some of the most brilliant minds of our time have been known to have dyslexia: Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Lennon and Patty Lowry, to name just a few.

8. Worse game to ask a Dyslexic to play is Scrabble.

9. My worse Dyslexic spelling mistake – using Ingenuous instead of ingenious in a full-page newspaper ad when describing world-renowned designer and architect Philippe Stark.

10. A Dyslexic’s BFF – a synonym dictionary to find a word used in place of the one you can’t spell.

11. Favourite Dyslexic saying: “If life gives you melons then you’re probably dyslexic!” Or “Good punctuation means not to be late.”