The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain
by Brock L. and Fernette F. Eide. Hudson Street Press, 2011
Perhaps the most challenging part of being dyslexic is the misconception that it makes people unintelligent or slow. In response, Brock and Fernette Eide have delivered a compelling call to action in their new book The Dyslexic Advantage: it is time to stop classifying dyslexia as a learning disability and start appreciating that different brain-wiring patterns allow people to process information in unique ways. When it comes to learning, they argue, there is no good or bad, right or wrong, only a difference in style, which should be fostered rather than corrected.
Although people with dyslexia may struggle with the fine-processing skills of reading and writing, often unintentionally interchanging letters and words, they can excel at “big picture” thinking. People with dyslexia frequently prefer thinking in narrative form, a proclivity that makes them natural storytellers, and they tend to have exceptional spatial navigation skills, visualizing 3-D structures with ease.
The Eides present functional MRI studies to illustrate what is different about the dyslexic brain. For instance, imaging shows that when people with dyslexia read, the right side of their brain dominates, which might help them absorb bigger themes in a text. They also exhibit deficits, however, in parts of the left hemisphere associated with reading and writing and understanding symbols. The nondyslexic brain splits the task more evenly between hemispheres.
The authors interweave case studies from their own psychological practice with current research on dyslexia. They also highlight a few of the world’s dyslexic elite, such as acclaimed novelist Anne Rice and entrepreneur Richard Branson, both of whom struggled with traditional schooling before using their unique skills to thrive. Although it would be easy to assume that Rice and Branson flourished because they triumphed over their disability, the Eides contend that they succeeded because of their condition. Being dyslexic allowed them to break from conventional ways of thinking to dream of fantastic new worlds and create alternative solutions to vexing problems.
Despite offering a fresh perspective on dyslexia, the Eides agree with traditional psychologists on the need to intervene at an early age. But unlike their contemporaries, the authors are looking not to fix perceived weaknesses but rather to foster the individual strengths each child displays.
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Add CommentGood job, couldn't agree more. I am mildly dislexic, I hate the written word in general. At the age of 5, I remember thinking I had no need for the written word, everything I needed could be accomplished via mathematics.I was wrong in this assumption of course, and it hurt me a bit since I didn't learn to read until a later age, but these early thoughts I suspect show the differences in brain functionality. If the written word were more based on math and logic, and less on historical traditions, I suspect dislexia would be a thing or the past. Anyway, I'm an engineer now and I can definitely say my dislexic brain does do things different than most engineers. The large majority of the time, I have a major advantage; a small portion of the time (like dealing with inefficiencies or bureaucracies) it can get me into trouble. I definitely feel my pre-college education was a complete waste. We need to separate classes based on brain type; the AVERAGE brain type is not the majority, rather the majority is a range of brain types. We are unnecessarily hindering our population's abilities by trying to change and unchangable quality that shouldn't be changed to begin with. I made it out and am a testiment to the advantages of this type of brain... the majority like me are not so lucky, dealing with the average is very difficult for people like me... we need to excel.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSomewhat wishful thinking. Having a defect does not make one better at some other task.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's the same baloney that states blind people have better hearing. No they don't. They have average hearing.
Cherry picking elite dyslexics is silly and grasping at straws. One could name non-dyslexic individuals who have excelled in life.
"Having a defect does not make one better at some other task."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-hmm, actually it can in fact, doesn't mean that it always does though. Blind people don't hear better (meaning their sensor is superior) true, but they make far better use of the information, thus it appears as if they hear better. Ecolocation, for example, is used by the blind far more effectively than those who can see.
-Another example would be autism. In the most extreme cases, these defects result in massive loss of functionality, but you MAY also have massive increases in organization and mathematical skills. I'm not saying it is worth the trade off, just showing examples of how deficites often do result in advantages.
-Einstein was an aspergers, obviously. No normal person would be able to shut himself away like that, wearing the same clothing everyday so he didn't have to waste time thinking about what to wear. 100%, this perceived disadvantage provided him with a great advantage that has pushed society forward massively.
I'm not nitpicking, I could simply point to myself, my father, and just about every person I know. We are all imperfect and these imperfections make us what we are, as do our compensation techniques used to help negate our imperfections.
A lot isn't known about dislexia. What they state is correct though, the brain operates slightly differently. Why do you assume that just because this difference is a real disadvantage when it comes to reading, that it cannot be an advantage when it comes to other skills?
-I mean, my dislexia really hurts my reading ability, but I find that it really really helps my math ability. I mean, reading it is very bad if you can't read word after word in sequence, you screw up the meaning often. But in mathematics, where an operation at the end of a long equation may actually accur before the first opperation... people good at reading often have problems with this. Literally, it's like they are mathematically dislexic by assuming the first operation shown in a long equation is always the first to be performed.
I'm not entirely sure how one person could be wrong on so many magnitudes of resolution while technically being correct.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA defect does not inherently render someone more capable in another field, granted. However, can a defect in one field result in a more advanced level of functioning in another? Yes. Furthermore whether or not defects inherently render someone more capable in other aspects isn't even being asked. We are talking about a particular defect possibly providing a particular benefit.
Also, those suffering from blindness do tend to have "superior hearing" in that the brain is more capable to process auditory information. The brain retools itself, taking up components of the brain devoted to vision and dispersing them to other senses such as hearing. As a result those suffering from blindness for prolonged periods also seem to exhibit advanced auditory processing abilities exceeding that of non-blind entities.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/blind-people-hear-better-truth-or-myth-1
Finally we can start looking at how differences can make us stronger. However, it's a fine line. Simply because a deficit enhances our capability in another area, does not make it any less of a disfunction. We still need to try and catch that deficit up as much as possible. For example, a right handed individual with an amputated right hand, will perform tasks with his left hand much more effectively than a right handed person that retained his hand. Maybe even come up with some techniques to be used by everyone that would have otherwise been overlooked. Let's not fool ourselves, that individual would have been better off with his right hand intact.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn other words: "Don't Help the Disadvantaged; We can exploit their personal struggles and suffering."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust realize the differences between symptoms and causes. Dislexia is a symptom of a larger issue, there are many symptons associated with this larger issue, some are disadvantagious, some are advantagious.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso realize that a "defect", may also be called a mutation. Although the large majority of genetic mutations are disadvantagious, mutation is still the driving force behind evolution. Now, these brain differences aren't necessarily any recent mutation since they are so prevalent in the world, but still, it wouldn't suprise me in the least if this type of brain wins out in a thousand years... reading is almost obsolete as it is with all these modern things we have.
One thing I can say for sure, is that the world and society would be far worse off if we all had the same thinking processes. The brain isn't just organic, it's dynamically organic and the resulting differences provides a variety of ways of looking at the world... each providing a specialized advantage in certain settings.
Rainman couldn't think of much, but he was certainly the best the world has ever seen when it comes to baseball statistics.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt the moment the exact "cause" of Dyslexia is unknown. We do know that it is due to malfunctions of language processing components of the brain, but what causes these malfunctions eludes us. Furthermore, so far I haven't found any reading suggesting dyslexics show any other symptoms resulting from this condition.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReference:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002379/
Most mutations are actually neutral, they do not harm nor benefit a creature. This is because most mutations occur within parts of the genome that are not being expressed at any given moment and those that do occur in parts of the genome that are being expressed don't necessarily impact the proteins generated in meaningful ways. Those that do impact the proteins that are made in meaningful ways are generally useful depending on the environment, the main determinant of whether or not a mutation will be helpful or hurtful to an organism.
Reference:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html
"Furthermore, so far I haven't found any reading suggesting dyslexics show any other symptoms resulting from this condition."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-I would suspect you haven't, it's realitively new and practiacally in the conception phase. But there does appear to be various correlations. Forexample, people with ADHD have been found to be more prone to dislexia...
The only point I'm trying to make is that all these little differences (ADHD, dislexia, aspergers, etc) are not a bad thing, there actually a very good thing for society as a whole... but it hasn't been proven and isnt very quantifiable.
"Most mutations are actually neutral, they do not harm nor benefit a creature."
-True, good catch.
"Those that do impact the proteins that are made in meaningful ways are generally useful depending on the environment, the main determinant of whether or not a mutation will be helpful or hurtful to an organism."
-I would agree so long as we are talking about an expressant truely non-distructive mutation (under most cercumstances). I mean, a child born with no hands or feet really wouldn't have any advantage in any normal conviable environment, so that mutation doesn't really depend on environment.