Rosalie Fink Solves Jennifer Aniston's Famous-Despite-Dyslexia Mystery

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It is not at all surprising that Jennifer now considers the hugely delayed diagnosis of dyslexia a blessing. Even though she did not find about her dyslexia until she was an adult, Jennifer was at least able to understand the reason for all her childhood troubles retrospectively.

    In modern western society, the whole concept of education is hinged on our ability to make sense of the written word. We are surrounded by a deluge of information in the form of books and other printed materials. From the time we are kids until the time we reach adolescence, our parents and teachers constantly drill home the fact that a “good education” implies effective reading and writing skills. Economic and social competence is determined by how well we do at school. Those individuals who are not able to meet these exacting standards are written off for good. In such a scenario, little Jennifer would have given up on herself long before she passed school. The mystery is, how did she make such a big turnaround in life?

Rosalie P. Fink's findings  show how individuals with dyslexia become successful, have productive life and satisfying careers. Her research is focussed on highly accomplished individuals with dyslexia and uncovering their alternative pathways to success.  Rosalie's study in 1997 examined how, when, and under what conditions severe dyslexics developed high literacy skills, as well as the role of gender differences in literacy development and professional success. Her subjects were 60 highly successful dyslexic adults (30 men and 30 women) and 10 non-dyslexic male and female as normative controls.

Rosalie found that some key factors were responsible for the success of these individuals-

• They pursued passionate interests and all their residual energies were targeted towards their areas of interest.
• They developed persistence and empathy as result of their own struggles.
• There were gender differences in the progression of individuals with dyslexia; men had more mentors to support them but there were lowered career expectations from women. Women were encouraged to develop their femininity by focussing on their attractiveness and enhance their social relationship skills. 
• They were discouraged from taking up a career in Math and Science.

It is possible that some of these factors may have been responsible for Jennifer's hugely successful career as an actress. Considering the things Jennifer was passionate about, it is also possible that Jennifer may have pursued a totally different path in her life. She could have ended up as an equally famous painter or sculptor or a stand up comedienne! In fact, there is a little known fact about Jennifer’s passionate interest in art. Jennifer is a huge supporter of the idea of imparting curriculum through the medium of art. Jennifer has donated her artwork to generate funds for LilySarahGrace. LilySarahGrace is an organisation that aims to support children in underfunded schools by supplying them with art materials.

We all can take a leaf out of her book and admit that it is never too late to make a new beginning. Start today by accepting yourself as you truly are. Take time out each day to explore things around you and uncover your overriding passions. Come what may, persist with your efforts to attain the goals that you've set for yourself. One day, not too long from now, you'll find yourself building a new life for yourself. A life that you've always dreamed of!

Photo Courtesy- Women's Health Mag

Breaking Away From Dyslexia: A Writer's Inspiring Struggle

A Very Short Story

In expression of regret, of pain, he sat at the desk in his head. A beautiful, roll-top affair he’d have been embarrassed to own had it been real.

Smooth paper, the pen like an extension of his arm and it dragged ink across the unblemished white with the slickness of a pond-skimmer. Trails of a deep and constant black, sentences never finished and paper discarded.

Thousands of words, started and finished as he tried to realize the truth of her. Finally, it comes like a haiku, a single-barrel bourbon or even the cliché strike of lightning: fine and burning bright the lines on the page like road flares and hazard lights.

"I loved you because I never had to explain to you why, as a grown man, I am still afraid of the dark."

The author of this amazingly succinct short story is Justin Porter.  Justin grew up in Lower Manhattan and left his home to live independently at the age of 18. All throughout childhood, Justin battled a host of health problems along with dyslexia. At school, Justin was part of the special education programme in order to remedy specific difficulties with reading and writing. 

Justin began writing at the age of 22 and despite all the issues he suffered with as a child, he put in all efforts to make sure that his first piece of writing got published immediately. He started out with hardboiled crime fiction and gradually moved on to writing with shades of magic realism, the occult and historical fiction. Justin has also done a lot of travel writing.

Justin considers getting published for the first time his biggest achievement. For him, moving onto writing with touches of magic realism and historical flavour was another major accomplishment. He thinks being part of the Januariad is yet another important feat. The Januariad is a writing project created by Jack Rusher in which those involved write new, complete and readable fiction every weekday for the first month of the new year. Initially that felt as a big challenge and he felt completely out of league but watching his stories change for the better in the course of that month renewed his belief that he was on the right track.  

Justin is highly appreciated for his dialogues which make his characters sound very natural and realistic. One would think that having established himself as a successful writer, writing has become more effortless for him. Yet Justin admits that he finds each word difficult and for him the hardest part of writing is allowing his own vulnerability to creep into the writing and taking risks that his depiction of characters might be seen as cheap, exploitative and two-dimensional by some of his readers. But when his readers confess that his writing resonates with them deeply, Justin just smiles feeling incredibly grateful and he feels the same about all the people who have published his work.

Most people, like me, suffer from “the perfect word syndrome” struggling for hours or even days before making a piece of our writing public. If we look at Justin’s struggle to overcome dyslexia and his other childhood health problems, even our worst writing nightmares will seem silly by comparison.

People seek fame, recognition and instantaneous adulation for their writing but few would admit as candidly as Justin, that  writing even a single word is difficult and the fact that writing is sheer hard work which doesn’t get any easier with time.

Justin serves as an inspiration to all of us as well as many aspiring writers. His life and work reinforces the fact that self-belief, determination and hard work can make anything possible.

Justin’s case would make even the harshest sceptic believe that dyslexia is an invaluable gift. We just need to break away from the mindset which makes us regard dyslexia as a curse.

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.