5.2 Spatial Awareness

The second reason why dyslexics make unstoppable sports stars is our spatial awareness is our superpower, the Dyslexic Thinking skill of visualising. Dyslexics literally see the world differently. It's all to do with how we process information. And this can be an incredible advantage in any sport.

But let me explain more. Spatial awareness is the ability to use visual information to understand the relationship between your body and the objects and people around you. Thanks to their Dyslexic Thinking skill of Visualisation, dyslexic sports stars develop an extraordinary perception of the space around them. This includes their relationship to others on the pitch, track or boxing ring, and it helps them to make split second decisions about how and where to move next.

If you're a dyslexic NFL player, it helps you to assess your relationship to the players around you, the ball and the goal line and make speedier decisions about plays. The quicker you can do it, the faster you outsmart the other side. Vancouver neurotherapist, Mari Swingle, says, “There's a different form of spatial perception that dyslexics have, so it's almost fundamentally what hurts them in their learning to read actually helps them on courses and tracks”.

Strongly linked with our visual memory, spatial awareness allows you to make a mental map of the players around you. You can constantly scan the field to assess the position of players, giving you more time to make smart decisions or be a step ahead of the play. It's no surprise that many racing drivers are dyslexic. Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Sir Jackie Stewart.

Spatial awareness is key for racing drivers because it helps them navigate the track, avoid collisions and overtake other drivers. It involves being aware of your position in relation to other vehicles and the track and being able to process a lot of sensory information quickly. When it comes to overtaking, drivers need to be able to judge whether they can fit through very small gaps. To navigate tight corners at fast speeds, drivers need to understand how their car's position relates to the track. And to avoid collisions, drivers need to use their visual spatial skills to assess their relation to other cars on the track and changing track conditions.

In some instances, it's all about being prepared. Here's rising racing star, Elliot Cox, to explain more.

My Dyslexic Thinking helps a lot with um visualising where I need to be on the track. Dyslexia can help you, for me at least, I can take a mental snapshot of a track map or something my coach sends to me and play it over in my head while I'm driving. That helps a lot.

In the NFL visual spatial skills are particularly relevant. It helps players to judge distance, speed and direction of objects, which is crucial for catching the ball. It enhances peripheral vision, allowing them to keep tabs on where their teammates and the opposition are. It also helps them judge distance from the goal lines. Here's NFL insider, Jordan Schultz, and Green Bay Packers star, Rashan Gary, talking about the beauty of Dyslexic Thinking in this clip from our World Dyslexia Assembly in 2023.

So, in my profession, being a professional football player, my dyslexia skill that I lean on is my memory. So, from schemes we're able to see 11, 12 personnel, all the way to 14. From seeing three slots out, to two over here, to knowing when this guy moved this way. Just seeing it the first time I'm able to break it down and I'm able to line up, see this and I can play to what I'm feeling.

So, it's kind of cool how even when we're on the sideline and we're making on the fly judgements, okay I need you to cut inside or if you see this, do this and I'm able to see it and you don't have to tell me more than two times. And that's a key thing, when they tell you to do it, the first time that you do it right. So, I'm happy that I'm able to have that, my superpower.

It's a superpower, yeah. What Rashan just described in about two minutes, it might have gone over your head. It definitely went over my head, and this is what I do! I say football takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. What he just described are complexities that happen on the fly. And those adjustments you're talking about are often the difference between making a play and not, winning and losing.

Spatial awareness is vital in football too. It helps dyslexic players to create a snapshot of the game around them. In a split second, they can assess the visual pattern of players’ positions on the pitch and spot the gaps. This helps create the kind of plays that can win or lose a game.

You've said, “Top players see faster, they know what needs to happen or what's going to happen, they just do it faster”. That is Dyslexic Thinking.

Obviously, I always looked to the more efficient way to get something done for my school journey, but then in terms of my thinking patterns for my playing career, it just allowed me to process things. I don't know if it was quicker but just smoother. I just felt I was able to make the decisions based on all the factors and all the variable things that could happen.

Former Everton player, Steven Naismith, agrees. He points to a goal he scored against Arsenal at Goodison Park. By computing a series of variables inside a fraction of a second, he correctly worked out the probability of Romelu Lukaku scoring, the likelihood of the keeper saving it, and arrived at the right place at the right time to score what seemed a simple goal.

He says, “To be a great footballer you need to be able to picture something before it happens and to be in the right place at the right time, for me I would definitely say that's down to dyslexia. I suspect a very high percentage of footballers are dyslexic because they have the right skill set. They are thinking differently and that's what makes them great”.

So, when it comes to the dyslexic superpower of spatial awareness, here are three key takeaways from this section.

1. Dyslexics see the world differently and this can be a huge advantage in sport.

2. Our visual-spatial skills mean we have an extraordinary perception of the space around us.

3. This helps us judge our position in relation to others and make smart decisions or be a step ahead of the play.