Are all dyslexics the same? No, each person will have their own dyslexic traits. Although our brains are wired up similar, are learning styles and the way we see words will differ. But more importantly we all cope with our dyslexia in different ways too.
Once you have been diagnosed it can feel like a great relief as you realise there is a cause for why you have struggled with certain tasks. Other days it may weigh on you heavy and you may feel like you are at a disadvantage then others around you which in turn can lead to some depression or anxiety.
Therefore, once you are diagnosed it is best to check which dyslexic style you are and how you cope with it as this can structure your future from early on. This is not a science and only my own observations, but there seem to be three main groups of dyslexics. Some may argue that this is just personality traits and not related at all. But I am a firm believer that our dyslexia mould our futures and therefore we need to shine the positive traits brightly.
The three main styles of dyslexia:
Are you the quiet, teacher pet that just knuckles down and works hard even if you find it difficult to read?
Well, you could be an academic dyslexic. Quite often this type of dyslexic is logical, and their brain is all about strategies. They often do not like to get in trouble mainly because they don’t want bring attention to themselves and just much prefer that ‘easy life’ and to fade into the background. This is not something you can just be. But is something you can work to if you manage your dyslexia well. I will be talking about this is later articles.
Positive traits: These dyslexics are often very proactive and will be able to achieve decent grades on their own as they are always working on their development. They will likely do their own feedback and critique themselves on their work and put a plan in place to help them have this easy life they desire. This then will help in getting and holding down jobs later in life. They will find problem solving easier as their mind works on multiple levels than the norm so they can often see every side of an argument (great for doctors, lawyers etc). They will also likely be a great people watcher due to their quiet nature and learn a person’s mood very quickly from body language and be able to use this to their advantage.
Negative Traits: They must be incredibly careful that they do not overwork themselves and burn out. As they can be extremely focused on their learning sometimes, they just forget to have fun! It is great to study but a balance is needed to lead a happy life. They may also find it is lot harder to socialise due to their quiet nature and is important to not shut people out. They will find this when they go to work – they may be able to do the admin stuff well and fast but they suck as people person and professional relationships just aren’t there. This could have impact on jobs as although qualifications are important a lot of it is from word of mouth by friends to move up the career ladder.
Destructive Style:
Are you the one acting up in class and finding other things to do to avoid learning?
These would be the kids that are labelled the class clown where they are always trying to make people laugh or the school bully where they act up wherever they can and interrupt the lesson. They will seem confident but actually it could be all front as they are trying to hide their dyslexic side as they are unsure how to cope with it. These dyslexics will often struggle in school but then excel out of school when they start to work as they gain more control over their life. For example, they may start their own business suited to their talents and avoid those tasks they struggle with.
These dyslexics are often labelled negatively but there are tonnes of positive traits which are easily forgotten about.
Positive traits: Confidence is their best trait. As a dyslexic it is an amazing skill to have and not one that is easily given to you. This trait alone helps to give a lot of opportunities for their future. Due to their confidence, they often have great people skills as they find it easy to talk and make friends. They are good at summing up a person in quick time and therefore can be quite sensitive to people’s feelings. This helps later in work life as they are probably built to be a leader, they would be able to get their points across in meetings. But they may also flourish in jobs such as being a comedian or presenter due to that confidence of only showing that side they want people to see.
Negative traits: School life will always be the toughest times. Unfortunately, we must go through to get to work life where they may flourish better. As they have no control over their studies, they will often result in avoidance of such tasks due to the fear of failure or weakness. Therefore, they then look to be destructive without meaning to be. This can cause friction between teachers and them and result in a negative impact such as misbehaving and violent behaviour resulting in exclusion or worse expelled from school. It particularly important for these dyslexics see the positive traits above and to work on these to not get into this path.
Creative Style:
Do you enjoy art or drama the most in school? Then this would be you.
This style seems to run throughout most dyslexics. This could be any kind of creativeness such as drawing, painting, drama, music, knitting, photography etc. They may find they just have a flare for it and comes quite naturally to them. Many dyslexics have this trait in them anyway as seems to be one wire in our brains that connects us on. However, if you are not academic or destructive you may just be a creative dyslexic with a lot of imagination. This also can be a dyslexics outlet for stress relief as no wrong answers in art everything is abstract just like our minds.
Positive traits: Creative dyslexics will have the best imaginations ever. They will be able to come up with stories and designs in no time. They will often be perfectionists too and not realise that this is hard for some people to do. They often will have their own type of confidence with these tasks and have sense of calmness about them when they do creative tasks. And best all their pieces will be worth lots of money and they probably feel like they haven’t even tried that hard. They will often be able to communicate with people well too due to their imagination they can just keep the conversation going.
Negative Traits: Although they have a creative style, they may find certain areas a struggle. For example, they may be great at drama and have that confidence to perform in front of others. But they may struggle with learning lines to do this. This is the same for musicians, they may be able to create a beautiful piece from their own mind but then struggle following someone else’s sheet music. Due to this, sometimes they get labelled flaky or day dreamers as they often lack motivation and can easily give up on tasks. If an artist is not enjoying a project well naturally, they will just paint a new one. However, sometimes in life we cannot just drop things, and this is where they will struggle to conform.
As you can see there many positive in each style. You need to be honest and take ownership of your bad traits. There is no reason to feel bad about them everyone even non- dyslexics have bad traits. We just need to let the good ones shine through. As I say all the time, do not let your dyslexia control you, it’s time for you to take control and become the best dyslexic you can be.
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