Dyslexia Benefits in the Workplace
Written by Sandie Barrie Blackley, Speech-Language Pathologist
Published on April 8th, 2016
Many regard dyslexia as a disability, however, learning disability experts Brock and Fernette Eide present an argument that dyslexia is simply an alternative way that our brains can be wired. According to the Eide's, this alternative wiring comes with multiple advantages and even more misconceptions.The Eide’s are the authors of “The Dyslexic Advantage,” “The Mislabeled Child” and the founders of a nonprofit called “Dyslexic Advantage.”In an interview with WIRED magazine, Fenette said, “It’s a huge mistake to regard a dyslexic child as if his or her brain is trying to follow the same pathway of development as all the other kids but is simply doing a bad job of it.”She continued by saying that society holds a misconception that dyslexic brains only differ in the ways they process printed symbols, adding that dyslexic brains have different processing styles and therefore develop in different ways.“Dyslexic brains are organized in a way that maximizes strength in making big picture connections,” Fenette continued in the interview, “at the expense of weaknesses in processing fine details."They have discovered dyslexics are exceptional in four categories of strengths:
Spatial Reasoning: Putting together three- dimensional spatial perspectives
Professions dealing with this strength:
Design, 3-D art, architecture, be engineers, builders, inventors, organic chemists.
Interconnected reasoning: The ability to shift perspective and view an object or event from multiple perspectives, or the ability to see the “gist” or big-picture context surrounding an event or idea
Professions dealing with this strength: Highly interdisciplinary fields, fields that require a background in multiple subjects, management.Narrative reasoning: Remembering facts as experiences, examples or stories, rather than abstractions
Professions dealing with this strength: S ales, counseling, trial law, teaching professional writer.The ability to reason well in dynamic settings when the facts are incomplete or changing
Professions dealing with this strength: Business field, in financial markets or in scientific fields that reconstruct past events, like geologists or paleontologists. Aspects of your child's dyslexia can seem like traits that will hold them back in the workplace, but according to the Edie's research, your child may have many desirable traits in the professional environment.To ensure your child's success get them the intervention they need now with Lexercise's Structured Literacy Therapy. If you think your child is Dyslexic you can screen them in 15 minutes for free.Improve Your Child’s Reading
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