1.1 Understanding dyslexia today

Dyslexic brains process information differently.

This results in a pattern of strengths and challenges.

Our strengths, known as Dyslexic Thinking skills, are now highly sought after in the workplace. They align with the top five skills the World Economic Forum (2025) says are needed to thrive in a world with technological advances and new AI capabilities.

In the classroom, the current focus is on supporting dyslexic challenges (and this is vital). But to prepare learners for today’s workplace, we must also nurture dyslexic strengths – because they’re the exact skills every workplace needs, according to the World Economic Forum (2025).

We must address dyslexia as a whole.

   Understanding dyslexia today

Timing: 9 minutes

In this video, Kate describes how dyslexics process information differently.

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Transcript

KATE GRIGGS

Dyslexic brains process information differently. This results in a pattern of challenges which educators can support with early identification and evidence-based instruction.

But just as importantly, it gives us a pattern of valuable strengths, which we refer to as dyslexic thinking skills. And educators can easily recognise and nurture these when they know how. The light bulb, the iPhone, the airplane, even the motorcar have all been invented by dyslexic thinking, and it will be vital in shaping the future too.

Dyslexic thinking skills are the soft skills or power skills that the World Economic Forum says are now vital for the workplace. And these workplaces are evolving fast with a blend of artificial intelligence and human intelligence, which are the foundations of our new Fifth Industrial Revolution world.

The top five skills highlighted by the World Economic Forum are, one, analytical thinking. Two, creative thinking. Three, resilience, flexibility, and agility. Four, motivation and self-awareness. And five, curiosity and life-long learning. And these are a direct match for dyslexic thinking skills.

Along with the World Economic Forum, organisations all around the world are recognising the value and importance of dyslexic thinking. In 2022, dyslexic thinking was added to the dictionary. It's defined as "An approach to problem solving, assessing information and learning often used by people with dyslexia, that involves pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, lateral thinking and interpersonal skills." And in the same year, dyslexic thinking was added as a skill on LinkedIn, with thousands of dyslexics, including me, proudly adding it to our profiles when it was announced by Richard Branson.

But despite all this huge progress in the workplace, there is still a real lack of understanding of the value of dyslexic thinking in our schools. Yes, educators are finally beginning to recognise that we should be screening to identify dyslexic kids early, because with evidence-based teaching methods and the use of tech, dyslexic learners can overcome challenges with reading, writing, spelling, et cetera.

But as brilliant and vital as this is – and it is brilliant – it's only part of the solution. Because while identifying and supporting our dyslexic challenges as early as possible is vital, so is recognising and supporting our dyslexic thinking skills.

This is really clear to see when you look at a cognitive skills profile of a dyslexic compared to someone who's not dyslexic. Dyslexics score very, very highly on some things, often in the top percentile, and very low on other things, often in the bottom percentile.

The current focus of intervention is on raising our lows. That means helping these kids to overcome their challenges and learn to read. And this is vital.

But if we're going to prepare dyslexic learners for today's workplace, we must recognise that the skills they index highly on are vital too. They are the exact skills every workplace needs. We must address dyslexia as a whole.

That's why it's time for everyone to learn how to empower dyslexic thinking in every school, and this course will help you to do just that. Let's hear from Josh Clarke, Chair of the International Dyslexia Association and head of Landmark School, one of the USA's leading dyslexia schools.

JOSH CLARKE

When we think about supporting dyslexic students in schools, we certainly need to address their struggles. But just as importantly, we have to invest in their strengths. Remediating our students' struggles with reading is incredibly important.

However, that's not our end goal. Our goal is to empower them to make contributions to the world, to be prepared for the workforce of the future. And in order to do that, not only do we have to look at where they struggle, but we just as equally have to look and invest in where they excel.

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