Chuck Harrison‘s designs are so ubiquitous that it’s said that every household in America has something designed by him. Growing up in rural Louisiana, Chuck’s first attempts at design involved the building of a “skate box” when he attached wheels to an old two-by-four, creating an early version of a skateboard. Chuck’s father was an industrial arts teachers first at Southern University, then Texas A & M. Chuck knew he loved to create things with his hands, but didn’t know how to translate it into a career until he took an aptitude test at the City College of San Francisco. His dean advised him to go into industrial design, so he applied to all 5 programs in the country. In college, Chuck had the […]
Dyslexia: The Twenty-Something Years [PREMIUM]
“These are the years when it will be easiest to start the lives we want. And no matter what we do, the twenties are an inflection point- the great reorganization – a time when the experiences we have disproportionately influence the adult lives we will lead.” – Meg Jay, author of The Defining Decade “Life for emerging adults is vastly different today than it was for their counterparts even a generation ago. Young people are waiting longer to marry, to have children, and to choose a career direction. As a result, they enjoy more freedom, opportunities, and personal growth than ever before. But the transition to adulthood is also more complex, disjointed, and confusing. ” – Christian Smith, lead author of Lost in Transition Many ‘experts’ have […]
Dyslexic Entrepreneur’s Advice for the Road [Premium]
Great advice from Stephen Key at Additude. For many adult dyslexics, running your own business is the best way to build on strengths and create a positive working environment. Stephen offers the following helpful advice for those at the beginning their journey. “1. I prepare for every situation. My learning disability has caused me to fear the unknown. Feeling prepared soothes my nerves. Before I attend a meeting, I make sure to have an agenda. I like knowing what is expected of me. Because I don’t like being caught off guard, I am constantly studying up — on all sorts of topics. Much to my wife’s amusement, I even studied up on the first book we read for our neighborhood book club. When I’m traveling, […]
ACTING WITH DYSLEXIA [Premium]
There are some dyslexic children who seem to be natural actors and actresses at early ages and their talent and imitating the gestures, voices, and personalities of others seems almost from birth. What are the strengths and talents that make so many dyslexic people talented actresses and actors? For some it may be emotional empathy, others, an ability to visualize events and personal interactions cinematically, and still others, a love of ‘getting into the heads’ of so many characters. Some drama schools report as many as 30% of their students are dyslexic, so dyslexia seems to be over-represented in these school compared to the general population. Some researchers have observed that as a group, dyslexics are more likely to visualize events upon reading text than […]
PACIFIC STUDIO VISIT: Interview with Michael Graham about his ‘Dream Job’ Making Museum Exhibits
This past summer, our high school volunteer Krista, my son, and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Michael Graham, High End Fabrication Program Manager for Pacific Studio in Seattle. Michael has what many would call a dream job - making exhibits for museums all...
Dyslexia and Medical School – AMA Journal of Ethics [Premium]
In an important article published in the AMA Journal of Ethics, physicians call for mandatory dyslexia training for medical school faculty. The article presents the case of a 1st year dyslexic medical student who excelled in college and in clinical research, but who is conflicted about whether to disclose his dyslexia to faculty and fellow classmates because of his concerns that it would negatively impact his “education, performance, and reputation.” The writers comment: “Given the scientific progress in understanding the epidemiology, cognitive basis, and neurobiology of dyslexia, it is surprising that ignorance of the condition persists; such ignorance continues to result in faculty misperceptions of dyslexia. For example, the very common and physiologically based symptom of slow reading in dyslexia can be misinterpreted as slow […]
DEAN KAMEN INVENTOR [Premium]
“If you start to do things you’ve never done before, you’re probably going to fail at least some of the time…and I say that’s ok.” – Dean Kamen Dean Kamen is one of the world’s most prolific inventors with over 440 patents to his name – including the Segway, the Luke Arm (robotic prosthesis), a programmable insulin pump and portable water purifier for Third World Countries. He also created the FIRST LEGO league to encourage young people to build and engineer, and he considers that his most important accomplishment. Dean’s father was an illustrator for MAD magazine and Weird Science and his mother was a teacher. Precocious at a young age, he remembers inventing a way to make his bed without having to cross to […]
How Herd Aversion Helps Adult Dyslexics [Premium]
“I have herd aversion to the point it’s ridiculous.” – Vince Flynn In our earliest interviews with adult dyslexics in research for our book, a recurring theme of “herd aversion” emerged. Herd aversion or tendency to avoid group think – seems to be a common feature among some of the most innovative and pioneering men and women that we’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Some may point to early childhood experiences of having to “go against the grain” or figure things out on their own, but regardless, as adults, it takes a lot of gutsiness because there can be a lot of messages from the world telling you that they don’t get you or that you’re flat out wrong. Fortunately, there are lots of disciplines […]
Why Dyslexics Excel in Real Estate
"When I see a property I can instantly construct a new house on it. I can see exactly how that house is going to look, and I can walk through every room in that house, and out into the garden, and everywhere. I can turn my thoughts into reality...I can do a detailed...
Top Back to School Apps for Dyslexia [Premium]
EARLY READERS Endless Reader by Originator – Free to try; $5.99-11.99 bundles. iPhone and iPad Great for visual learners. Animations and characters help with sight word learning. Orton Gillingham Card Deck by Mayerson Academy FREE. iPhone and iPad Multisensory card deck with consonants, single vowels, consonant digraphs, vowel teams, vowel + r, short vowel signals, VCe, and common suffixes. Auditory drill. Record and playback to hear pronunciations. Video see and hear sounds. Great phonics practice. Sight Words by Little Speller – FREE Iphone and Ipad All 220 sight words, no-frills program that allows you to create your own sight word lists – lower case or upper case letters. Can allow hints. Sight Words Reading and Spelling by Edoki $3.49 Android. Includes 320 sight words (Fryes + Dolce). […]
Dyslexia and IMPOSTER Syndrome [Premium]
“It’s only because they like me.” “I just got lucky.” “I just work hard.” “If they really knew me…” Recognize this? It’s a the voice of self-doubt, fear, and anxiety. It’s a feeling like you’re a fraud and that any time, you might be found out. Imposter syndrome was first characterized in 1978 when Clance and Imes studied a group of successful, high-achieving women. Despite their high success, these women had high levels of self-doubt and a feeling that any time, they might be found out.
Q: Can I Be Software Developer with Dyslexia ? A: YES! [Premium]
This question comes up surprisingly often, although dyslexic computer programmers or software developers are probably on every team and startup. Some of the big picture reasons dyslexics made do well in programming: – Strong Problem Solving – Systems Thinking – Big Picture – Flexible Thinking – Analytical and Logical But for the details of why dyslexics do well in software development, lets hear from developers themselves: From Simon, Lead Software Engineer: “You may worry that you have to read and write code all day, but its not the same as documents its simple code. If your dyslexic mind works anything like mine you process words as pictures and patterns. This works great for code you can easily visualise systems and processes. Code is the best grammar and spell checker you […]