dyslexic gift NOT a curse

[paulo]

Strengths of Creative Thinkers *
Many people with learning differences of Dyslexia and ADD are capable of some extraordinary
thinking and can be extremely successful once they learn some coping strategies. This is why
we prefer to call them, more appropriately, Creative Thinkers. Some of the Creative Thinkers
strengths are:
Persistence,
Concentration,
Perception,
Vivid imagination,
Creativity,
Drive and ambition,
Curiosity,
Thinking in pictures instead of words,
Superior reasoning,
Capable of seeing things differently from others,
Love of complexity,
Simultaneous multiple thought processing,
Quickly mastering new concepts, and
Not following the Crowd.

[Catwoman42]

There was an article in the Guardian a couple of Saturdays ago about a new book which described dyslexia as a gift as it encourages people to try harder and achieve more. Can't remember the name of the book mentioned but it was about famous dyslexics.It suggested that we should see dyslexia and other neuro disorders as a gift,not a curse

[Tom fod]

There's possibly another book out there, which I'm pretty sure is entitled The Dyslexic Advantage. I believe it's been about for a while so may not be the same book featured/discussed in the Guardian.

I'm afraid I can't really comment on it as I have not had time or inclination to read it myself. To be honest I'm not sure I would be able to apply much to myself as I consider myself to have little in common with dyslexia though I have learned I don't necessarily know as much about dyslexia as I thought because people are unique. I'm aware that there are some inter-relations and I suspect many dyspraxics would be able to draw some parallels with some of the things considered to be Dyslexic Strengths.

We're still waiting for our Dyspraxic Strengths book. I'm not sure I'm the man to write it yet/or know where I would go with tackling that project if I could make the time to be able to try.

[Tom fod]

Taking Paulo's examples I thought I'd add my own thoughts and ideas. Feel free to pitch in with your own thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Persistence - Definitely
Concentration - When I'm in the zone and not stressed
Perception - can be a pain when It's not aligned to that of others around me
Vivid imagination - at times I like to escape into my own world
Creativity - in developing personal coping strategies
Drive and ambition - Yes when I can be bothered with the game
Curiosity - definitely
Thinking in pictures instead of words, - think that is more a dyslexic one to me
Superior reasoning, - I guess I'd say so
Capable of seeing things differently from others - definitely
Love of complexity - Though I do like the challenge of at least trying simplify it for myself/others
Simultaneous multiple thought processing, - yes I'd say so my mind does tend to whirr along, have to be careful though
Quickly mastering new concepts, - sometimes depending whether I can or want to identify with it
Not following the Crowd - definitely

Empathy for others
Big picture thinking
Process design and analysis
Drawing threads together and spotting connections or things that are out of place