Upon clicking on this article, you might think it is another sob story about dyslexia. Perhaps you would even mistake it for a boring school research paper. On the contrary, this article will demonstrate that dyslexia is not a disability, but rather a hidden power. Let’s play a game! I will name a bunch of your favorite celebrities and at the end you can guess what they have in common. Ready? Set. Go! Remember the man who gave birth to magic? Walt Disney! What about Einstein, Picasso, Thomas Edison, da Vinci and our favorite top gun star: Tom Cruise? All of these renowned figures have one thing in common. Dyslexia!

First, let’s see what dyslexia is. By definition dyslexia is "A learning difficulty that mostly affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.” When someone has dyslexia, the letters in a word mix up like one of those word unscrambling puzzles. Dyslexia is not a joke but here’s a funny fact, everyone sees the letters O, H, W and many more backwards too. The problem is, most dyslexic people don’t get support right away. Dyslexics are even teased so much that they become unconfident and feel stupid. What the aggressor doesn’t know is that if the dyslexic person meets a supportive teacher or friend, their intelligence can fly off the charts. “Over 50% of NASA employees are dyslexic.” Often, these people are classified as disabled, but I prefer to call it a talent. 

Dyslexic people often have artistic and creative minds. You might have noticed that most of those famous icons I listed at the beginning were artists or creative people. They have all been told off at one point or another and now, look at them go! For example, Albert Einstein was once accused of not being smart enough. However, he still made breakthroughs in physics and made major contributions to science. A further example is when Walt Disney was once told he wasn’t creative enough by a publishing company, now he is widely known for “creating magic”. That is unbelievable! I bet the people who teased these talented superstars regret it now. This just demonstrates that disabled people who are sometimes called stupid, or unsmart are the most talented. Things like dyslexia can’t change that if you don't have people to support you.

There’s this idea that many anti-racist educators and supporters have come up with. That there’s an imaginary box that many people will try to fit you into. Anti-racist educator Tiffany Jewell states, ”This box includes what we call “the dominant culture.” If you are white, upper middle class, male, educated, athletic, neurotypical, and/or able-bodied, you are in this box.” I’m not saying they are better or worse than anyone. When people call you perfect, they refer to this imaginary box. Whether you have straight hair, and a flawless smile it's all being compared to this idea of normal. Dyslexia is considered a disability and doesn't fit into that box. When people find something different about you, they don’t know how to express it so they might make fun of you. You need to know that this imaginary box should NOT be what you compare yourself to. They are not more or less perfect than you. To conclude, dyslexia is seen as a disability, but it doesn’t have to be. If a dyslexic person gets support and gains confidence, they can be incredibly successful.

Sources
“Dyslexia Facts and Statistics.” Austin Learning Solutions, austinlearningsolutions.com/blog/38-dyslexia-facts-and-statistics. Accessed 19 April 2023.