![Companion Guide to the Dyslexic Advantage- Module 1 [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Companion-to-DA-6-400x250.png)
In some respects, our movie The Dyslexic Advantage reflects our desire to present a fuller answer to the question, “What is Dyslexia?” – and of course it is only the briefest glimpse in a remarkable segment of the world’s population.
For more than a hundred years, the world has treated dyslexia as simply a reading disorder. That definition has helped millions of children get essential support, but it has also blinded us to something much larger. Dyslexia isn’t only about reading. It’s about how people think. The neurologist Samuel T. Orton, who first described dyslexia in the early 20th century, never saw it as a single deficit. He noted that many of his patients—brilliant, curious individuals who struggled in a specific way with written words—also showed exceptional abilities in spatial reasoning, pattern recognition, and creative problem-solving. Orton viewed dyslexia as a distinctive cognitive profile, not a defect. Over the century that followed, research narrowed. In the 1980s, the “phonological deficit” model […]
![Seeing Differently: Behind the Making of the Dyslexic Advantage Movie [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Behind-the-Making-of-Dyslexic-Movie-400x250.png)
![3x Academy Award Winning Filmmaker Robert Benton [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Academy-Brenton-400x250.png)
I heard Brian Grayzer's name mentioned on lists of Hollywood producers who are dyslexic, but only recently learned more about the backstory and motivations for making the films that he does. First, Brian's dyslexia: "I was getting all F’s, maybe an occasional D, but I...
“I think that dyslexia is hard. And I think that it’s OK to admit that it’s hard…and also admit that sometimes it does really suck…but I think that when you find your niche, and that can only really come from taking random opportunities…it really helps you find your thing.” — Isla McDade-Brown, Filmmaker It’s hard not to be enthusiastic about Isla McDade-Brown, because of all her her resilience and pluckiness filming Brock at Cambridge University when he traveled to Britain. Isla had first contacted us about her film dissertation on dyslexia and although there were some challenges organizing logistics along the way, she traveled down from York (with her film partner Ella Clements) to film him. One of the unexpected challenges they had […]
![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 little bit of both. First the GREAT – dyslexia has been in entertainment news lately as Kelly Clarkson has been sharing her interest in dyslexia after her 8 year old daughter was found to be dyslexic. In the YouTube clip below, Kelly asks Captain America Anthony Mackie about the latest script for his Avengers movie and he shares how he must log onto a site to read the top secret material. He has to read under the supervision of an intern […]
“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, Lauren Havel of Lauren Grace Studios. Watch and like it on YouTube (below) or Amazon Prime. Here’s how Lauren describes her movie, Not Broken: “Young Winter Knight is profoundly dyslexic and equally artistic. Despair sets in as she finds herself defined not by her talents but by her disabilities. As her dyslexia begins to impact virtually every area of her life, she becomes convinced that she’s hopelessly broken. Until, that is, she […]
