In a recent study, researchers found that children with dyslexia (2nd-5th graders) had a better ability to discuss links between a text read compared to fellow students who were at the same decoding level. This might be early evidence of the ‘big picture’ strengths that seems so common among accomplished dyslexic men and women.
“Children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia showed better competence in retelling links between ideas present in the previously read text, and also achieved better retelling standards than pupils of the same decoding level. These findings suggest that the language competences and the knowledge acquired throughout schooling provide these children with better abilities to connect processed ideas at a macro-structural level, as well as to incorporate them into a broader textual scheme.”
Researchers concluded that ” dyslexic children are able to use their linguistic competence and their own background knowledge to minimize the effects of their decoding deficit, especially at the highest text processing levels.”
How refreshing to see researchers report on ALL the data observed between different groups and not just the weaknesses of dyslexics. Understanding the whole big picture conveys a stronger reality about the nature of dyslexia in school and life. Science is only beginning to tap into the tremendous potential and abilities of dyslexic minds.
The research findings fit neatly into the I (Interconnected Reasoning) and N strengths (Narrative Reasoning) that were part of Dyslexic MIND strengths discussed in our book The Dyslexic Advantage.
