High Achieving Dyslexics: Jackie French

Jackie French is a multi-faceted Australian author (kids' books, gardening, Australian history).  She is also dyslexic.

Link: Fact: even in fiction, the truth always matters - Entertainment - theage.com.au.

Speaking at the Beckett Theatre as part of The Age Melbourne Writers' Festival, French debunked some fallacies about writing. Dyslexics can be authors too, as she can attest. Her first manuscript was so littered with spelling errors that the editor who received it sat down to regale the rest of her office with what she expected would be its awfulness.

But the story so gripped them that French — then broke and living in a shed — soon received "a very large cheque".

Here is an essay on being dyslexic

 

She has even written a book for parents about dyslexia and reading.

Rocket Your Child into Reading by Jackie French pb $19.95

Jackie French wrote this book because she has dyslexia and is the mother of a dyslexic child and the aunt of another. Her problem of dyslexia is surprising since she is a well known and loved writer of many books. However she has seen how reading problems can take over a child's life and wrote this book in order to give some guidance in how to spot reading problems in children. She also suggests different ways of helping children to read. Naturally she first talks about how children can be encouraged to love books so that they want to learn to read. However this book is different from others I have read in its emphasis on the difficulties some children have in reading and how this can be helped through coordination skills. Many suggestions are given for games that are fun but which also help with developing focus and coordination. Jackie French also outlines problems to watch out for and steps which can be taken to get professional help. She emphasises that there is no one way to learn to read and that a combination of methods is often best.

Comments

[thebizofknowledge.com]

I love reading about people such as Ms. French who have overcome their personal struggles with dyslexia to become successful; they serve as such wonderful role models to students who sometimes feel that their difficulty with reading condemns them to a precarious education followed by a succession of low paying jobs. Not so!!!

[german2010]

This part of the comment "Speaking at the Beckett Theatre as part of The Age Melbourne Writers' Festival, French debunked some fallacies about writing. Dyslexics can be authors too, as she can attest. Her first manuscript was so littered with spelling errors that the editor who received it sat down to regale the rest of her office with what she expected would be its awfulness. " I find very interesting, thanks for the information!