How To Overcome The Dyslexia Mindset? Think Of It As A Gift, Not A Curse!

For most of us learning to read was a remarkable experience because it set our imagination free and introduced us to limitless possibilities. Imagine not being able to do that till you turned 14. How many of us would feel grateful for having mastered a new sentence which goes “Janet and John got a dog.”? I bet you would if the only other sentence you were able to read for five years before that was “Janet and John had a ball”!!!

Imagine not being able to express yourself because you couldn't read or write till you were a teen. Imagine being thought of as stupid by everyone around you despite being clever but having no means to show it. 

Sally Gardner is an award winning child writer and illustrator based in London, England. Sally was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 12 and she only learned to read at the age of 14.

The remarkable fact about Sally Gardner is that she chose not give up on her dreams and fought for what she wanted.  Sally was able to overcome her struggles because she thought of dyslexia as a gift which blessed her with extraordinary skills - great visualisation and the ability to paint with words. 

The message to carry with you is to constantly examine things with a fresh perspective. You will suddenly become aware of a new piece of the puzzle which can give you hope to keep going. It is similar to looking at one of those 3D graphic artworks which require that keep your focus on a particular portion, for a long time it looks the same and then all of a sudden a formerly hidden dimension is revealed to you.

The experience of living with a dyslexic child is similar, for years you might believe your child is making no progress but hidden talents may suddenly be revealed. It’s all a matter of what you choose to focus on. This poem shared by Sally Gardner echoes the same belief.

Disobey Me - A Poem By Sally Gardner.

They told me I was dyslexic

it didn’t describe me

belonged in the library

of words I can’t spell

no matter how many times they tell

you just try harder sound it out

simple when you think about

it. Stop giving me the third degree

don’t put me down

don’t make me fret

I can’t learn my alphabet

it doesn’t go in any logical order

the stress gives me attention deficit disorder

at school I wanted to go it alone

they told me that’s unwise

they called me unteacheable

I was unreachable

stuck in the classroom, broken by rules, by buttons and ties.

But I don’t like the little words they always disobey me

the does doses up and is higher than a dude should be

So they tested me

they corrected me

and found my results poor

and told me I wasn’t concentrating

they expected more.

I tried to get along

I never made the score

And I think about Chaucer in those freedom days

when no one found your spelling faulty for the extra Es and As

Mr Shakespeare I wonder would they let him write his plays?

Oh woe is me

might just be

graffti in a bog

And Hamlet the name

he called his prize-fighter dog

But I don’t like the little words they always disobey me

the doe doses dope and is higher than a do should be

You say that you’re a writer

but that’s absurd

how do you write

if you cannot spell the words?

listen, it’s not the way I spell

that makes me want to write

It’s the way I see the world

That makes me want to fight

I challenge you – see the words as I do

feel them sting your skin

the meaning often shocking

the way the nib goes in

to relish discombobulate not to moderate your passion

not to murder language in an artificial fashion

words are our servants

we are not their slaves

it matters not if we spell them wrong it matters what they say

But I don’t like the little words they always disobey me

the does doses dope and is higher than a dough should be.

This is a condensed version of this original post.