![Chief of Design at Nike: John Hoke [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Chief-of-Design-at-Nike-John-Hoke.png)
“I’m dyslexic, so my first real language was drawing,” he said. “Even at the youngest age I can recall, I wasn’t necessarily interested in the essay or the text, I was graphically designing the header. I doodled everything. That was the way I communicated.” — John...
![Legendary Filmmaker David Lean [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/academy-award-pexels-400x250.png)
Sir David Lean CBE was an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who inspired fellow dyslexic filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Joe Wright. David was initially recognized as a “dud” at school, prone to excessive daydreaming. Later he would credit his passion for filmmaking with the gift (from an uncle) of a Brownie box camera at the age of 10. David was considered “dim” especially when compared to his younger brother. He left school at 18 for work, but was bored when he tried apprenticing at his father’s accountancy firm. David’s aunt urged him to find a job that he could love. He was spending every evening at the movie house, so taking her advice to heart, he quit trying to work as an account apprentice, and […]
With so much dyslexia in creative communities, it's not surprising that more authors and screenwriters are including dyslexic characters in their works. The strength side is appearing more commonly, but is it great or will it make you cringe? The answer is, probably a...
"In 2018, just after I turned thirteen, my mom signed me up for a film camp at a local private school. The moment I picked up a camera, I felt like I never wanted to put it down!" — Lauren Havel Recently, I had the chance to talk with an amazing young filmmaker,...
![Qona Rankin from the Royal College of Art: Creative [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Qona-Rankin-cover-e1680639793162-400x250.jpg)
“…instead of reading perhaps 240 words a minute, the Dyslexic brain may read 150 words a minute, but at the same time, it could be making all sorts of fascinating connections and links through dipping into other processing centers in the brain.” – Qona Rankin Qona Rankin is dyslexia specialist at the Royal College of Art (RCA), one of the premier institutions for art and design in the world. She is also dyslexic. Qona’s expertise was in three-dimension design, whether furniture, consumer products, or jewelry. After Qona earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she began working part-time at a university. A visiting lecturer from another university was a dyslexia support specialist and she told the group that there were likely to be many dyslexic […]
"From the time I was six, I thought I was stupid. Although I talked well — and a lot — and articulated my thoughts fluidly enough that some folks swore one day I’d become a lawyer or a public speaker, it was all a facade. I couldn’t comprehend what I was reading, a...
![Your “Mini-Me” and Bullying [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Your-Mini-Me-and-Bullying-400x250.png)
English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams recently shared that he was saddened after learning that his 10-year old daughter who is like a “mini-me”, dyslexic also with musical abilities, was rejected by a friend who decided she didn’t want anything to do with her after learning that she was dyslexic. “I tried to make it clear to her that sometimes you just have to let other people go, that you should let them go – but without sacrificing your self-esteem in the process…This girl did not deserve her love and friendship…I speak from experience.” Because many adults today discover that they are dyslexic only after their children are identified in school, this reliving the school and social-emotional stresses as their own children try to navigate their lives […]
This is a mind boggling stunt if you haven't seen it. Tom Cruise of Top Gun and Mission Impossible fame rode his motorcycle off a cliff in Norway - not once, but six times in 1 day...and at the age of 60. ...
![Florence Welch + The Machine Singer-Songwriter [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Florence-Welch-Dyslexic-Advantage.jpg)
“Being a creative person and getting older, and wiser, has been an awakening. The older I get, the more self-assured I feel and the more confident I feel in my work and in life.” — Florence Welch Florence Welch is an English singer-songwriter who writes and sings songs that are steeped in folklore and fantasy imagery. She has spoken both about her dyslexia and dyspraxia in various interviews. Florence became a pop star at the age of 21 when she was discovered singing in a club bathroom. She would go on to have Grammy nominations and platinum records, but also had some tumultuous times with heartbreak. One of her breakthrough songs was Ship to Wreck (lyrics), after the breakup of a long term relationship. […]
"What helped me was realizing that there was silver living, that it wasn't all negative....in radiology... pictures just speak to me. I can look at a picture and I can see the pattern. I can see things that nobody else can see." — Beryl Bennaceraf, MD With great...
![On Education with Dr John Lienhard IV [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/On-Education-with-Dr-Lienhard-IV-Dyslexic-Advantage-3.png)
“I couldn’t read and write, could barely scrape through school…” — Dr. John Lienhard IV, emeritus mechanical engineering professor, founder of Engines of Our Ingenuity Recently, I had an opportunity to talk with a remarkable polymath (he prefers the word gadfly), John Lienhard IV, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering. I had come across his podcast episode, Risk and Vocation, where he had said: “We dyslexics make fine engineers and inventors. We do fine in art, computers, theater. Why push your students into the standard prestige programs? They’re the people who’ll shape the material world we live in.” Also, “Real influence flows to people who leave the beaten paths and whose hands touch the material world.” If you’d like to hear my full interview […]
"I notice, I wonder, it reminds me of" are powerful prompts that lead you to observe more deeply, ask better questions, and make interesting connections." — John (Jack) Muir Laws This is a great time to get outdoors and draw. Even if you're a backyard nature...
