Dyslexia, Art, and Science [Premium]

Dyslexia, Art, and Science [Premium]

“Artists and scientists are curious creatures always looking for patterns…. And that’s because patterns communicate larger insights about the world around us.” — Rebecca Kamen Many dyslexic people work in fields that involve science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and art, and those career choices may be due to personal characteristics like curiosity as well as cognitive strengths involving analytical ability, creative problem solving, visualization, and hands-on problem solving. In our survey of careers of dyslexic adults in our network (please fill out here if you haven’t already), out of 106 people who answered, 42 had careers in science, technology, medicine, engineering, or the visual arts. That’s almost 40% in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) professions! If that is so, is our education preparing students for […]

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Dyslexic Advantages in Electrical Engineering [Premium]

Dyslexic Advantages in Electrical Engineering [Premium]

A TALE OF TWO STORIES “At the beginning I can remember looking at blackboards or pages of text having no idea what other kids around me were seeing. For me the pages may have well as been blank for all I could glean from them. However I was lucky as when I started my secondary school my teacher spotted that I was having problems. I was tested for dyslexia and found to have a mild form… By the time I left I had poor grades and was told I would not amount to much…” Same person: “I became interested in geeky stuff when I was less than ten years old. I remember being given a toy wind up clock that you could open the back […]

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Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

Note-taking may be a lifelong difficulty for most dyslexics. In one survey of 17 universities in the United Kingdom (HERE), 78% reported difficulties with taking notes compared to 47% reporting reading difficulties. The reason for note-taking difficulties are several – note-taking requires a great deal of working memory and divided attention, but also there’s the transcription of heard words to written words which can be difficult for a number of reasons, not the least, weakness in visual word form memory and for some students, auditory processing. Most dyslexic students should have classroom notes or other note-taking accommodations (like a designated note taker, Livescribe pen, or other option to record) as a standard condition. It is possible to learn how to visual note-take in real-time, but […]

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Higher Math for Scientists: Don’t Give Up [Premium]

Higher Math for Scientists: Don’t Give Up [Premium]

“…To be a successful scientist, you need to do what you like to do. If you don’t like mathematics, don’t give up. That doesn’t forestall you’re being a scientist at all.” — E.O. Wilson   One of the first science professors I had as a freshman at Harvard was E.O. Wilson, a pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, and scientific giant. I would only learn years later that he was also dyslexic, struggled with math, and was blind in one eye due to a childhood injury. He passed away in December at the age of 92, and left a legacy of insights on the natural sciences and the education of young scientists. One bit of advice that drew him into controversy was his strong insistence that “being […]

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George Church: Genomics Pioneer [Premium]

George Church: Genomics Pioneer [Premium]

“Your genetics is not your destiny.” – George Church     Harvard Professor George Church was shaking things up 3 decades ago when he fathered the human genome project and put himself first in line to have his genome sequenced. The world knows a lot about him, including his dyslexia, narcolepsy, blood type, and even colonoscopy. He argued that the benefits of sharing personal information outweighed privacy concerns. “It’s all too easy to dismiss the future. People confuse what’s impossible today with what’s impossible in the future.” – George Church   George Church has done a lot of controversial things in his life and he’s continuing to do them, but what is not in doubt now is that he is at the center of some […]

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Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]

Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]

“Through most of high school, I hated math and science. It wasn’t until my senior year when I took AP statistics and AP chemistry that I discovered that I enjoyed solving challenging analytical problems. After I graduate in May, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering.” – Leah Harper   Although chemistry may present dyslexic students with challenges, once the initial difficulty of notation and the periodic chart are mastered, the spatial and analytical aspects of chemistry can become life-long endeavors. In a video (that’s now unavailable on YouTube), Dr. Blake Charlton talked about how he discovered the narrative intelligence associated with dyslexia and how he used it to help him learn the periodic chart. Instead of memorizing columns of elements by […]

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STEM: Talent Development for Dyslexic Students [Premium]

STEM: Talent Development for Dyslexic Students [Premium]

Just from the strengths perspective, we might expect that many dyslexic students would excel in science and technology. STEM jobs often require strengths in real world problem solving that depend on powers of observation, analytical ability, pattern recognition, and synthesis, or putting different pieces of information together. The problem is, dyslexic students may get few opportunities to observe and dabble in “real science”, unless they go out looking for it. Recently, I had a chance to catch up with Dr. Doresa Jennings, an amazing homeschooling mom who we all can learn from in terms of how she designed educational plans that build on students strengths. Even if your kids aren’t yet strong in science or technology, Doresa’s advice is worth listening to. Here are three […]

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