Tom West on Dyslexia "An Unwrapped Gift"

Dyslexia, an unwrapped gift: Part I (9:26 minutes)

From the UK, produced by Silvasmart

Makes the case for dyslexia is "a gift" and that all dyslexics have unique and superior visual gifts. This is the view of Tom West,

"Thinking in pictures"

Dyslexia, an unwrapped gift: Part II (10:00 minutes)

"The dyslexic type of mind is not going to exist in the general population unless it is useful in some way".

I am not sure I agree totally with the idea that all dyslexics have extraordinary visual or spacial gifts.

Comments

[Susan]

You're right to be skeptical, Liz. There is no evidence whatsoever that so-called dyslexics have special compensatory gifts. Comforting though this idea may be, it is simply 'opinion bolstered by anecdote'. Martin Turner, former head of psychology at the UK's Dyslexia Institute (now Dyslexia Action), 'thinks it is a 'travesty' to talk about dyslexia as a bonus when it causes such suffering: 'It's a myth that there are compensatory gifts. Dyslexics go into the visual arts like sheep head for a gap in the hedge. They aren't more creative, they are more stressed.' In their 2004 review of dyslexia research, Dr. Rice and Professor Brooks came to the same conclusion. 'On anecdotal evidence, the belief that ‘difficulty in learning to read is not a wholly tragic life sentence but is often accompanied by great talents’ may seem attractive. However, systematic investigation has found little if any support for it'

[John Hayes]

The idea that reading and writing are just an eye blink in human time needs to be examined in reality. Until man can have implants to directly input information to the brain, reading is the most effective manner to transfer most information.

I don't feel limited by not having dyslexia or having options for activities that require reading as the video suggests.