Defeating Dyslexia Stereotypes #1

My project is on the subject of stereotypes about dyslexia.  The reason why these stereotypes exist is because people don’t understand what dyslexia is. The point of this project is to defeat those stereotypes and make people understand what dyslexia really is. I picked this topic because I have the beautiful disability of dyslexia.  We found out about it in 6th grade.  But my family knew I had it since around 3rd grade.  But when we told the school that we thought I had dyslexia they didn’t believe us.  And get this, they said that dyslexia isn’t a real disability.

Some of the stereotypes there is, includes dyslexics seeing EVERYTHING backwards; or that we are stupid, and can’t read or write.  But with my research and past experience with dyslexia I see that it isn’t like this.  It may be harder for someone with dyslexia to read and write but they can do it, they just need extra help.  And someone with dyslexia isn’t stupid… I mean Albert Einstein had dyslexia!  There are many famous dyslexics .

Some of the ways I researched this was by looking at different articles and watching youtube videos.  Also, I know many people who have dyslexia so I know lots from them.  And I have dyslexia so I am pretty experienced in this subject.  A reason people also need to know more about dyslexia because 1 out of 5 people have dyslexia.  It is a very common disability but not many people understand what it is.  And a you may even have dyslexia but you wouldn’t know because teachers don’t pay attention to it enough.  There are different types of dyslexia. Phonological Deficit is one type it is when you have trouble decoding and assembling words.  Speed/Naming Deficit this is when you are a slow reader and you have trouble with sight words.  A sight word is a word that is easy and doesn’t need sounding out.  Comprehension Deficit is when you have poor understanding of the text.  Here is a graph that shows what a dyslexic usually has….

http://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/types-of-dyslexia.html

This shows that a dyslexic has all of the disability.  But some dyslexias are more difficult than others.  For instance I have a mild case of dyslexia.  I used to have really bad dyslexia but when I got older it got better because I got a tutor.  Dyslexia is when you don’t process the spelling and reading rules as easy as normal minds.  But don’t use this as an excuse to stop your learning, is the greatest lesson that I’ve learned.  Because hard work is what you need and you just try your best and you will overcome this struggle.

In this point in my research I am wondering different peoples stories and if they were bullied or treated differently because of their dyslexia.  I am hoping to find this out by interviews and researching people who have dyslexia and their struggles.  Maybe even find a couple famous peoples stories that have dyslexia and their struggles.  I really just want to open peoples minds to what dyslexia is.

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/14gfRuS-uo9kv4_qElc7SiYWODF9laquR9k0_s31wXDE/edit?usp=sharing