Contents
- What is dyslexia?
- Will dyslexia hold my child back?
- Are dyslexics geniuses?
- How can I best support my child with dyslexia?
What is dyslexia? How does it affect people? Who has it? All of these questions race through our minds when we realise that our children have been diagnosed with something that we don’t quite understand. In this post, we will explore the reasons why we should be celebrating that our children have the gift of dyslexia.
What is dyslexia?
There are lots of different learning difficulties in children but dyslexia is unquestionably one of the most common. An estimated one in ten people in the world are thought to have dyslexia. 🌍
For thousands of years, people with dyslexia were misdiagnosed as just being plain stupid because their brains worked in different ways to the rest of society – this was also true for famous people with dyslexia! We now know that that isn’t the case. In fact, the creative and imaginative ways in which dyslexic brains operate often means that people with dyslexia can solve problems which the rest of society simply can’t even begin to understand.
There is no doubt that having dyslexia will make certain areas of life harder: particularly reading, spelling and grammar. However, if these obstacles can be overcome, dyslexic people often have a lot of potential.
If you are worried about your child having dyslexia, fear not! There are study methods to help children with dyslexia learn.
Sadly, throughout history there would have been countless people with dyslexia who could have shaped the world in marvellous and brilliant ways who were not give the proper support from society to be able to fulfil their potential and lived their days believing that they were stupid and incapable. Despite all of the problems that dyslexia poses, there are still countless famous people with dyslexia throughout history – some of those were famous because of their dyslexia and some despite it.
Will dyslexia hold my child back in life?
There is no need for dyslexia to hold your child back in life. Yes, some things will be harder for them; however, with the right help and support they can work to overcome some of the symptoms of their dyslexia. Dyslexia certainly shouldn’t hold back their ambition to succeed in life. Dyslexic people go on to become bankers, teachers, scientists, politicians – some of the world’s best and brightest have been people with dyslexia.
Who are the famous people with dyslexia and are they all geniuses?
Not all people with dyslexia are geniuses and not all geniuses have dyslexia. However, there is an increased chance that a child with dyslexia will have potential to succeed in certain areas of thinking and creativity where more neurotypical children struggle.
Here are three of the world’s most successful and famous people with dyslexia:
1) Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein is one of the most famous dyslexic thinkers to have ever existed. Commonly accepted to be the smartest man to have lived in recent history, the world-leading theoretical physicist came up with the theory of relativity and also made major contributions to the development of quantum mechanics.
As well as being a scientific genius, he was also dyslexic. He was so dyslexic that he couldn’t read or write and, as a child in school, his report card said that ‘he will never amount to anything’ (1985). Remember to bear that in mind when you are at your child’s next parents evening! 🧑🏫
As a result of his dyslexia, Albert Einstein was able to think in ways that no one else had before him and revolutionised the world of physics. 🪐
2) Richard Branson
Another famous person to have struggled with school because of their dyslexia was Richard Branson. Despite not having attended university and leaving school at sixteen, he went on to found the business empire Virgin and now has a personal net worth o $3.9 billion making him one of the wealthiest people in the world. 💰💰💰
Branson openly talks about his struggles with dyslexia and questions whether university is the best way to make money and lead a successful and fulfilling life – a question that lots of people are asking themselves at the moment, especially as coronavirus has had a monumental impact on the services offered by universities.
Richard Branson is an excellent example of someone who wouldn’t let their poor academic grades or inability to succeed in school stop them from going on to be successful.
3) Leonardo da Vinci
Whilst dyslexia was only recognised in 1877, around 400 years after the time of Leonardo da Vinci, looking at his written work, there are many signs that the great artist was dyslexic! The creator of the Mona Lisa (the most famous painting on earth), Leonardo da Vinci is considered to have been one of the greatest artists that ever lived. 👨🎨
There are people who claim that Leonardo da Vinci’s dyslexia is the reason for his brilliance.
How can I best support my child with dyslexia?
If your child has dyslexia, you can help them understand the greatness of this gift: something which, if they harness it correctly, can allow them to go on to do brilliant things. You can even talk to them about some of the famous people with dyslexia to show them that their ambition should not be limited by their learning difficulty.
Whether that is encouraging them to read books (or even reading books to them), booking them some private tuition or exploring treatments for dyslexia, there are many ways that you can support your child.
If you would like to know more about what dyslexia is, who it affects or how people deal with it, you can watch our GoStudent interview with a dyslexic teacher.
