Dyslexia

 Take a minute and read these short couple sentences.

                                           

Did you find it difficult? Here's what it actually says. 

    This example, from TedEd on Youtube, is a simulation that is supposed to show what having dyslexia is like. A majority of people believe that have dyslexia means that people with this disorder see words backwards. Example, "d" and "b". However, having dyslexia is much more complex than that. People with dyslexia can still see the same way an average person can, they just have difficulties analyzing words. Words like "schedule" can be broken down into smaller parts in order to fully be able to be understood such as "sched-u-le". This is why a people with dyslexia may be slower in writing an essay than an average person. 

    An average person have two hemispheres in the brain, the right and the left. The left is responsible for things such as a language and communication whereas the right is responsible for things such as creativity and actions. People with dyslexia have more access to the right part of the brain and the frontal lobe of the left. Since there is little access to the left part of the brain, language and writing is more delayed since it has to be forced to travel in that part of the brain. This is why we see a lot of artists and singers such as Cher and Picasso who have dyslexia, but are able to channel more into the creative side of their brain. Some cases can be more and less severe than others. Dyslexia can also be genetic. One member in the family can have trouble spelling and another could have trouble decoding simple words. 

    Everyone's dyslexia is different and none of them are the same. My roommate, who is very open about her dyslexia, has trouble spelling and decoding and analyzing words. She usually zooms in very close on the screen to depict what she is writing about. She can take a longer time to write something, but at the end her work is immaculate. She has had straight A's because of the hard work she has always put into everything she does for school even with dyslexia. She is also very creative when it comes to art. She uses the right side of her brain to create amazing things such as bracelets, rings, shirts, bags, paintings, etc. She is an example of someone with dyslexia who doesn't let it hinder her, but challenge her to do better and be the best she can be. Because of this, I was ecstatic to write and educate myself more on dyslexia and I hope you can educate yourselves, too.