2 Succeeding with dyslexia

Did you know that there is evidence that suggests Albert Einstein (one of the most influencial scientists of all time) was dyslexic? He was a late talker, and failed at history and geography in school, excelling in maths and science, and used to love music. He said ‘...I was, on the whole, considerably discouraged by my school experience... I had the greatest difficulty in making myself understood.’ It seems that he was also a visual thinker.

Dyslexia is still stigmatised and the misconception around dyslexia can still evoke words such as ‘stupid’, ‘unteachable’ or ‘disadvantage’. Let’s look at some other prominent people who have dyslexia and consider the use of such words.

Activity 3 Notable individuals with dyslexia

Allow about 5 minutes

Match the following well-known people to their successes.

Inventor of the telephone

Alexander Graham Bell

Co-founder of the Virgin Group

Richard Branson

Inventor of the first practical light bulb and the phonograph

Thomas Edison

Founder of a major automobile manufacturing company

Henry Ford

Winner of all four major performing arts awards in the USA (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards)

Whoopi Goldberg

Nobel Prize-winning biologist

Carol W. Greider

Co-founder of Apple

Steve Jobs

Award-nominated English actress

Keira Knightley

Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker

Pablo Picasso

Prime Minister of Norway (2013-2021)

Erna Solberg

Love Island alumni

Georgia Steel

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. Inventor of the telephone

  2. Co-founder of the Virgin Group

  3. Inventor of the first practical light bulb and the phonograph

  4. Founder of a major automobile manufacturing company

  5. Winner of all four major performing arts awards in the USA (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards)

  6. Nobel Prize-winning biologist

  7. Co-founder of Apple

  8. Award-nominated English actress

  9. Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker

  10. Prime Minister of Norway (2013-2021)

  11. Love Island alumni

  1. Alexander Graham Bell

  2. Richard Branson

  3. Thomas Edison

  4. Henry Ford

  5. Whoopi Goldberg

  6. Carol W. Greider

  7. Steve Jobs

  8. Keira Knightley

  9. Pablo Picasso

  10. Erna Solberg

  11. Georgia Steel

The correct answers are:
  • 1 =
  • 2 =
  • 3 =
  • 4 =
  • 5 =
  • 6 =
  • 7 =
  • 8 =
  • 9 =
  • 10 =
  • 11 =

By no means could these talented people be labelled as ‘stupid’. It’s important for us to change this way of thinking, and understand what dyslexia really is: a different way of thinking. It is neither a disability nor a disadvantage. The reality is that dyslexia is an advantage which sadly becomes a disadvantage in the current educational system, which does not accommodate diverse learning styles.

OpenLearn - Understanding dyslexia
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