Primum non nocere. – Latin Saying (First, do no harm)
The Latin Saying Primum non-nocere may not have originated with Hippocrates, however the advice is also like a laser beam focused on the greatest harm that comes from dyslexia unawareness.
A few days ago, a colleague sent me an article where Avengers star (Bruce Banner / the Hulk) Mark Ruffalo shared “The nun who was teaching me early on to read was very cruel because of my dyslexia…these teachings of Christ revolved around love and social justice, and then what I was seeing in that community, the way they did business, the way nuns treated children — all of that seemed to be at odds with each other. I lost my faith in that institution when I was very young.”
Uh oh. It’s a tragedy that so many negative ripples can affect and direct a young person’s life when dyslexia is not recognized, students are accused of not trying, scolded, shamed, and worse. The reality is that a student isn’t getting an appropriate education or the positive encouragement that they should.
The truth about being dyslexic is that it comes with many strengths and advantages. Dyslexic adults outperform non-dyslexics in spatial reasoning, divergent creativity and problem solving, and incidental learning. The dyslexia legacy includes some of the most accomplished and innovative people the world has ever known. Why aren’t more young people hearing about it?
The world and opportunity will get better and better for dyslexic students, if they aren’t crushed in the early years and if they learn how their minds think differently in positive ways, and find their way.
