Are you a Dyslexic?

The Mind-map I did for my presentation :)

"As he grew up, my little brother would write his name [Ihsan] either inverted spelling (from right to left) or inverted alphabets (such as alphabet 'h' and 'n'). Or at times both occurred in the same wording.

How my brother wrote his name.

 This however is just one of the many symptoms and signs of dyslexics (those with dyslexia).

What is Dyslexia?

In Greek, 'Dys' means 'difficulties/ difficult', 'Lexia' means 'reading/ learning'.

As a whole, Dyslexia means a condition in which the person face extraordinary difficulties in language learning and to acquire reading skills. In short, it is one of learning disabilities faced by both children and adults.

How did it happened?

In some sources, doctors and psychologists explained that unlike normal people's brain, dyslexics' brain has less connectors, which basically means there are some information aren't able to reach to a certain part of the brain (this is the simplest explanation, easiest to understand for us without medical knowledge ).

Why?

Most dyslexics are born that way, born with less brain connectors. Parents are not to blame! It is not something occurred due to diet or surroundings.

How to handle it?

It depends on the severity of the condition. Some have very minor dyslexia, some severe. For those with minor condition, help from teachers and parents are enough, whereas those with severe condition might need to be referred to specialists for intensive and professional reading classes.

How is it possible to overcome?

Dyslexia is not a disease. Thus it doesn't have any cure . But, Dyslexics can adjust themselves to be 'normal'. Human brain is very flexible, it will adjust itself and adapt to surroundings. With extra practice and trainings, dyslexics can learn to write, read and learn the right way.

It's a gift, not a curse.

Most studies found that dyslexic children will grow up and end up as geniuses. Some theorized that, when dyslexics had to learn to be 'normal', they forced their brain to work harder, therefore they are using their brain capacity more than 'normal' children.

Some famous people diagnosed with dyslexia are;

Bill Gates

Agatha Christie

Steven Spielberg

Roald Dahl

Albert Einstein

And yesterday I found out that Jamie Oliver, the coolest chef ever, is also a dyslexic!

Source: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/jamie-oliver-interview-14824

So, today, my brother is able to read and write well. He hates reading though.. Since his dyslexia is very minor, my mum took only 6 months to teach him the correct eye-coordination for reading and writing.  "

For further reading on dyslexia visit these sites;

Malaysia Dyslexia Society

Dyslexia Action

British Dyslexia Association

National Center for Learning Disabilities

Do refer to these websites for more reliable facts and info, this post is merely my personal understanding to the subject and I am not an expert or have any authority to claim these as true facts. 

During my internship period, I was given an opportunity to be a science fact presenter. I guess I had a chance to feel how its like to be a science communicator- well just a small bit. 

It was quite a challenge for me to choose a 'science' topic to share as I haven't been reading anything about science in a while, so I would say I was having a hard time. The night before the day I was supposed to rehearse my presentation in front of my boss and my colleagues, I suddenly thought of Dyslexia. It's something that's close to me, it's something that I'm interested in, and most importantly, it's SCIENCE!