By: Lubnah Abdulhalim
DYSLEXIA;
LOOKING BEYOND THE DISABILITY
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| Photo Courtesy: doctorwellgood.com |
Have you ever heard of a disability yet
it is at several times considered a gift? Yes, dyslexia it is; one of the common
yet not known disabilities that have miraculously led to many being outstanding
in the society.
Dyslexia is characterized by difficulty
with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal
or above average intelligence. It is the most common learning difficulty and
most recognized reading disorder. There are three subtypes of dyslexia,
‘auditory, visual and attention’. Although dyslexia is the result of a
neurological disorder, it is not an intellectual disability and it occurs at
all levels of intelligence: average, above average and highly gifted.
Among'st the symptoms of dyslexia are:
·
Delay in speech in
early childhood
·
Letter reversal or
mirror writing
·
Difficulty knowing
right from left and directions
·
Easily distracted by
noise
·
Difficulty identifying
rhyming words
·
Very poor spellings
·
Difficulty in blending
sounds into words
Adolescent and adult dyslexics may have
trouble with summarizing a story, memorizing, reading aloud and learning a
foreign language. Adult dyslexics tend to be slower in reading even when they
have good comprehension.
There is no cure for dyslexia but the
victims can learn to read and write with appropriate education or treatment. Several
special education and therapies approaches have been developed for students
with dyslexia. Adaptive technology such as specialized computer software is
used. There are controversial treatments such as nutritional supplements,
special diets, and homeopathy and osteopathy manipulation.
The most interesting part of this all is
that quite a large number of our stars, role models, musicians, artists, actors,
scientists, athletes and many more were victims of dyslexia and yet they were
able to overcome it and achieved what many non-dyslexic couldn’t. Amongst the
famous victims examples that are always going to be remembered are as follows:
Agatha Christie- was the world’s bestselling
book writer of all times equaled by Shakespeare. Her books sold approximately 4
billion copies worldwide even though she suffered from dyslexia. This in no way
stopped her from being creative and learning how to write and her mystery
novels have always been some of the most captivating of all times.
Albert Einstein- was one of the most
known scientists and inventor of all times. He suffered from dyslexia mainly
because of his bad memory, his constant failure to memorize the simplest of
things, his inability to even tie his shoelaces properly and even not
remembering the months of the year yet his scientific contributions and
theories still have a great impact in our science knowledge today.
Hans Christian Andersen- he was an author
of children’s fantasy books such as ‘the emperor’s clothes, the princess and
the pie, Thumbelina, the snow queen, the ugly duckling and the little mermaid.
He was a victim of dyslexia and showed the world that when you want something,
nothing can stop you from obtaining it. His books have been translated into
many languages and are distributed worldwide in millions of copies.
Walt Disney- Walter Elias Disney was an
American film producer, screen writer, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
He was known to have dyslexia, a learning disorder characterized with reading
difficulties but yet still, he emerged as one of the most influential and
innovative figures in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century.
Tom Cruise- the famous American actor
and film producer was also a dyslexic which partly led him to be abused as a
child. His father went hard on him when something went wrong and was also a
victim of bullying at school. He had gone through fifteen schools in twelve years
but yet still emerged to be appreciated by the society by his work.
Other famous individuals who were
victims of dyslexia are: Orlando Bloom-actor, Pierre curie-physicist, Thomas
Edison, Michael faraday- scientists and inventors, Leonardo da Vinci-artists/designer/architect,
Pablo Picasso, Cher- Musician, Muhammad Ali-boxer, Steven Spielberg- Film maker
and Abhishek bachan-actor
These individuals and all the others not
mentioned here have proved beyond doubt that disability is NOT inability. When
life offers us challenges then let us make the best use of them to emerge
stronger that the challenge itself and thus, become outstanding in the
community.
