busting myths about learning differences

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be sharing – and busting – some common myths regarding learning differences such as dyslexia, ADD/ADHD and autism.

Myth #1: Dyslexia is a learning disability.

Dyslexia is a different way of thinking, processing and learning. There is nothing ‘broken’ about a dyslexic brain. It certainly does not need curing or fixing. In fact dyslexia brings with it many great strengths and gifts.
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​Dyslexic learners rely heavily on their right brain, thinking predominantly in pictures. Because they are highly visual, they will often show strengths in areas such as:

• creativity
• the arts
• design
• engineering
• leadership
• problem solving
• science
• building
• and much more….

John Britten, talented dyslexic, designed and built the Britten Superbike

People with dyslexia generally learn things easily when they are taught in a way that works for them – which is visual and hands-on. What they do tend to experience is some isolated challenges when it comes to the written word (and sometimes numbers).

So when talking to your child about dyslexia, let them know that their brain learns in a different way, which brings many gifts that other people don’t have. Instead of calling it a learning disability, you could tell them they have a learning difference – or even a learning preference (as let’s face it – they do prefer to learn in a certain way – just not the way a lot of schools want them to!)

You could also spend time looking at some famous, successful people who have succeeded because of their dyslexic thinking style. This often does wonders for a child’s self esteem, to know that they are in the company of some great achievers.

For more information on dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, autism and other learning differences, drop me an email at melanie@optimumlearning.co.nz.  I’d love to hear from you 🙂