Dyslexia, Gift or Curse?
- 5 days ago
- 10 min read
Kirsty Marie Denny specialises in trauma, neurodivergence, and sensitivity, empowering her clients to transform their lives through energetic kinesiology. She focuses on each individual’s unique gifts and challenges, and the root causes of distressing symptoms.
More and more celebrities as well as everyday people are ‘coming out’ as dyslexic, signalling a societal shift away from stigmatisation of dyslexia. There is also increasing awareness of dyslexia as much more than a simple difficulty with reading. Rather, it may be characterised as a different way of thinking and perceiving, which comes with strengths as well as challenges.
In the past, dyslexics were frequently written off as not being academic and ‘relegated’ to trades and practical jobs. Of course, in spite of not fitting the mould, or maybe because of it, there have been many influential people over the years who are either known or assumed to have been dyslexic, ranging from Einstein to Cher.
The history of reading
Reading is clearly an important facet of modern culture, and we take it for granted that learning to read is imperative. However, in the grand scheme of human evolution, reading is a relatively new development, with cuneiform dating to around 3200 BCE. It is even more recent in terms of being accessible to the masses, rather than reserved for the upper tiers of society. Literacy gained momentum with the invention of the printing press in the 15th Century, really taking off with tuition in public schools in the 19th Century (see Havenread, The History of Reading).
Whereas learning to speak is fairly instinctive for babies, learning to read is less so. It is often assumed that if children are motivated, surrounded by books and frequently read to, they will easily learn to read. However, although records on reading difficulties in antiquity are limited, as early as the late 19th century, ‘word blindness’ was noted in children who otherwise appeared to be of at least average intelligence and who received tuition. Rudolf Berlin coined the term dyslexia, meaning difficulty with words, in 1887.
Diagnosing dyslexia
In essence, a diagnosis of dyslexia requires persistent difficulty or lack of fluency with reading despite a lack of generalised intellectual impairment or visual problems.
In the DSM 5, dyslexia now falls under the umbrella of Specific Learning Disorders, with the specifier ‘with impairment in reading’. Other options include ‘with impairment in written expression’ (dysgraphia) or in mathematics (dyscalculia). Read more about diagnosis here.
Dyslexic strengths
As previously mentioned, many famous or influential people are officially or unofficially dyslexic. Dyslexic people often show above-average visuo-spatial skills, imagination, creativity, ‘out of the box’ or multidimensional thinking and associated problem-solving capacity. Common careers where dyslexic people tend to thrive include, but are certainly not limited to, the arts, business, engineering, graphic design, sports, culinary pursuits and the tech industry. Learn more here.
How to assist dyslexics
Structured literacy: The standard approach to assisting dyslexic people is structured literacy. A key aspect of structured literacy is explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, the ability to break words down into their individual sounds. This phonemic awareness is combined with learning about other common language structures and ‘rules’ as well as the common exceptions to the rules, which, in English, are plentiful!
Multi-sensorial learning: Within many approaches to structured literacy, including the Orton Gillingham philosophy, there is a heavy emphasis on utilising multiple neural pathways simultaneously, e.g. auditory, visual and kinesthetic, for more efficient learning. An example of this may be tracing a letter in sand whilst saying it aloud. The idea is that this creates backup options for learning and recall while catering to a variety of learning styles (see this useful guide and references within).
The Davis method: The Davis Method is another method that many dyslexic learners experience great success with. This approach is notable as it initially grew out of Ron Davis’s own experiences as a young boy struggling with dyslexia and autism, and what helped him to learn. There are similarities with structured literacy in the focus on multisensory learning, e.g. modelling letters in clay and creating models to illustrate tricky words. However, the method diverges significantly: it focuses not on phonics but on understanding and harnessing the dyslexic individual’s visual and multidimensional strengths. In his book The Gift of Dyslexia, Davis opines that from very early in life, dyslexic people develop perceptual differences, being able to visualise multidimensionally, for example, that are adaptive in general, but not in the case of learning to read. He suggests techniques for avoiding confusion and focusing the ‘mind’s eye’ whilst reading that allow dyslexics to learn with relative ease alongside specific techniques for remembering words that aren’t easy to visually conceptualise. Davis also strongly emphasises that the gifts that come with the multidimensional perspective may be retained whilst learning to read and write proficiently.
The Steiner approach: In Steiner Schools, there is generally a holistic introduction to literacy utilising songs, story, rhymes and artistic representations. So, what did Rudolf Steiner think about dyslexia? Although he was not formally diagnosed as dyslexic, many who study Rudolf Steiner's work believe he may have been. It is interesting that Steiner recommends avoiding the abstractions of learning to read in the early years, along with integrating creative, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles. This certainly aligns with some aspects of the Davis method as well as the multisensorial elements of structured literacy.
Are we learning to read too young? Steiner schools are well known for not promoting literacy until age 7, but some of Rudolf’s writings suggest he considered somewhere around age 12 more appropriate. This is, of course, very much at odds with our education systems and would be considered radical. It does, however, align with child development in that we become capable of more abstracted ways of thinking around this age. It also dovetails with the more spiritual/philosophical musings of Joseph Chilton Pearce in his book Magical Child, which considers the holistic development of the child with their creativity and intuition intact. Of course, in reality, every child is different, and some will naturally learn to read and love it very young. However, it’s interesting and reassuring to consider that our ideas about the benefits of learning to read very early on may be based largely on social norms rather than hard science. Although our brains are primed for language acquisition early in life, there is no age limit on learning, and that certainly includes learning to read and write!
Technological supports: While reading and writing remain key skills in our society, we are increasingly moving into a technological era. Technology, including voice-to-text for writing or audiobooks for study, can be hugely beneficial, allowing dyslexics to stay up to date, get their ideas across, and share their talents with the world without the impediment of slower reading and writing. In my opinion, it would be a shame to create an over-reliance on technology that discourages the use of the most wonderful technology of all: the human brain! However, it is a very useful tool when accessible, and each individual or family must find the appropriate balance for themselves. In addition to IT supports, dyslexic people may be eligible for other accommodations in their schools or workplaces, such as extra time on assessments, printed handouts or note takers, something worth investigating for your local area or institution.
Primitive reflexes: It’s worth taking a small detour here and mentioning primitive reflexes as being of potential relevance to dyslexia. These are instinctive patterns of movement that are important for our survival in infancy and lay the foundation for further development. These primitive reflexes should be temporary and become ‘integrated’, making way for more mature sensorimotor responses. However, they are often retained, potentially leading to energetically costly adaptations. Retention of reflexes is often correlated with neurodevelopmental delays including dyslexia [1,2]. Thankfully, it is relatively easy to work with simple exercises to help integrate these reflexes at any age. Although there may not yet be much hard scientific proof for these interventions, therapists regularly note greater ease with a variety of academic and day-to-day tasks after working with them.
So, what is going on in the brain?
Before brain imaging technology, ideas about the function of different brain areas were drawn from studying people who had lost specific functions after an injury. This is how Broca’s area was identified as important for physically producing clear speech, whereas Wernicke’s area is involved in understanding language [3].
It is assumed that in dyslexia, rather than there being physical damage to the brain, there is a difference in the wiring from early in life, affecting phonological awareness, being able to pull apart and put together the individual sounds of words for both speech and reading [4].
Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments have engaged dyslexic people and proficient readers in reading exercises to explore differences in brain activation. These studies show normal healthy brain structures in dyslexics, but clearly indicate the use of different pathways for reading compared with the norm [4,5,6,7].
Proficient readers generally activate a web of neural systems for reading predominantly on the left side of the brain, with the posterior regions being of particular importance [4,5,6,7]. Within these posterior regions, the temporoparietal cortex is involved with phonological processing, and the occipitotemporal region is important for recognition of whole words and includes the visual word form area [8]. This area may be a meeting point where visual perception, speech sounds, and meaning are integrated for more efficient reading [9].
Dyslexic readers show markedly less activation in these left-brain areas, as well as reduced connectivity between the visual word form area and other parts of the brain [6,10,11]. What this means in a practical sense is that reading doesn’t easily become automatic in dyslexic readers, so that they must rely on slower, more analytical recognition of words and alternative, compensatory brain networks [11,9].
Dyslexic readers generally show increased activation in the right side of the brain [11,12,13], as well as in more anterior regions of the left brain [13].
Disrupted connectivity between systems for reading and attention, and crossover with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses have also been suggested as factors in dyslexia [4,6]. The effect of these brain differences can be amplified by the impact of the stress of ‘failure’ on a child’s brain integration and motivation. It’s no wonder our neurodivergent kids and adults often struggle with self-esteem.
Integrating the information
These brain scan findings align with the approaches to learning that tend to assist dyslexic people: more explicit phonological learning and engagement of multisensory systems to provide alternate ways to anchor the information and learning.
A recent study showed that the visual word form area did increase in size in dyslexic readers following intensive tuition. However, disparities in this area persisted compared with typical readers after a year [14].
How does this relate to Davis’ ideas about multidimensional thinking and orientation of the mind's eye? Do dyslexics develop creative thinking because of some ‘mistake’ in the phonemic circuitry? Or is the creative thinking already present, meaning they don’t need the standard circuitry and are more efficient without it, until it comes to reading?
The idea that dyslexic people are more right-brained, holistic thinkers is also supported by the research showing increased activation on the right-hand side of the brain [15,13,11,12,16].
Whilst many are focused on whether attempts to normalise left-brain activity improve reading, a New Zealand-based research group challenges this idea with their finding of a positive correlation between right brain activation and reading performance in dyslexic people [15]. Therefore, rather than painfully trying to activate the same pathways as in ‘normal’ readers, perhaps we should be encouraging adaptation using the dyslexic person’s right-brained strengths, just as suggested by Ron Davis. Food for thought.
Future focus
Inevitably, our understanding of what specifically is going on in the brains of dyslexic readers will continue to evolve with further research. Whilst early brain imaging and mapping efforts have focused on assigning specific regions to specific functions, we are increasingly coming to understand the brain's incredible adaptability. An excellent resource here is the book Soft-Wired by Dr. Michael Merzenich, one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity research.
This idea of neuroplasticity opens up whole new worlds of possibility [17]. When we focus on the innate strengths and passions of dyslexic people, I believe there are multiple ways of building bridges to reading skills, or any other areas of challenge. For some, reading and writing may never be the most important skills, but they can provide useful scaffolding for sharing unique gifts with the world.
More broadly speaking, I think we can all take a leaf out of Davis’s book and learn to shift our perspective in ways that serve us. For example, an analytical, left-brain thinker can learn to access intuitive, big-picture thinking, just as a dyslexic person can learn to narrow their focus for reading when it suits.
Working with kinesiology provides a huge opportunity to support dyslexic individuals, as it’s so holistic. For example, I can provide energetic support for accessing different brain areas as well as encouraging connectivity between areas via white matter tracts and the neuroglial system.
Additionally, we can work with reducing emotional stress or self-esteem issues, addressing any retained primitive reflexes as well as prioritising therapies, interventions or exercises that may assist.
I’d love to hear what supported you or your child on your dyslexia journey. Contact me here or book a session here. Here’s to you and your amazing brain.
Kirsty Marie Denny, Kinesiologist and Neurodivergence Specialist
Kirsty Marie is an energetic kinesiologist who believes in each human’s capacity to thrive as their unique and authentic self. Kirsty navigated chronic health challenges in her 20s and an intensely stressful early parenthood experience. Having transformed her own life and her children’s, she is on a mission to empower others. She specialises in supporting those who are highly sensitive, neurodivergent, or who have experienced trauma. Her approach is truly holistic, incorporating practical lifestyle coaching as well as energetic processes to balance the brain and body and transmute emotional stress.
References:
[17] Gazerani, P. 2025
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