Our Top 7 Reasons for Hope About Dyslexia!

While being dyslexic has many challenges, today we want to discuss seven things that make us hopeful on the Dyslexia Journey.

Hey everyone, we're Nick and Sonja, and this is Dyslexia Journey. And today we are doing something a little different, actually, because often we are talking about the challenging aspects of the Dyslexia Journey, of being dyslexic, whether it's being identified or anything along the way. And, you know, that tends to come up. And so today we really wanted to talk about aspects of the world right now that make us very hopeful. And it is, as we're filming this, and as this will come out first, still Dyslexia Awareness Month, which is in October, in case you didn't happen to know that.

So we're going to talk about seven things. And the first one is that neurodiversity really, it has become really widely known about more and really a movement in a lot of ways. And so it's just out there that people are talking about it and then talking about it as also something to do with identity, for example. So it's kind of, it provides awareness overall to anything that falls under the very broad category of neurodiversity.

But it's also becoming where people potentially, you know, form groups or they identify as whatever their particular aspect of neurodiversity is. And so that is really a positive development where then, whether it's being dyslexic, whatever it is, becomes just a natural part of someone's identity. And they feel like they can own that and, you know, it's, it's, it gets, helps get past stigma in society and all of that. Yeah. And so adding on to that first point, our second point is that there has been a lot of increased attention on ADHD and autism.

And occasionally on this show, it may sound like we're complaining about that because we feel like dyslexia is kind of underrepresented in, in the media and the public consciousness. But actually adding on to the first point about the increased attention on neurodiversity in general, we do really believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. And so increased focus on autism and ADHD just kind of goes along with that increased focus on neurodiversity in general.

And it really helps contribute to dyslexia becoming less stigmatized, more of an identity, less thought of as just a disability and more of, of just kind of a natural way that, that people are. Right. A natural brain difference. Yeah. Okay. So number three is somewhat along the same veins. Again, the third reason that we are hopeful and on the dyslexic journey at this current moment in time is that accommodations in school really are normalized now.

I mean, there's a whole process for doing it. It's accepted that some kids will need them. And, you know, perhaps that does come from some of the, even from some of the other things like ADHD being, having more attention. So it fits together with our other points, but it's a point in and of itself. And I think, you know, often there are challenges to it in terms of, you know, you have to be identified first.

And then occasionally there, you know, you run into trouble with a particular teacher or are they really being put in place? And so we talk a lot about that because of course, that's something that we want to help people, you know, feel seen and heard in and, and, you know, have strategies around. But the really good news is that, you know, this is like a moment in time, like it's never been before where accommodations really are accepted and normalized.

Okay. So our fourth point that makes us really hopeful about dyslexia right now is that people like Richard Branson, who is a well-known dyslexic entrepreneur. He has just, he and several other people have just started something that they're calling the university of dyslexic thinking. And what this is doing is actually training people to think like dyslexics. And so what this, this whole kind of shift of thinking of dyslexia as a disability to really elevating it to something to be desired, really emphasizing the strengths of dyslexic people and really trying to shift our way of thinking.

You know, something we talk about a lot, that it's a whole brain difference and that there are benefits, but it's really, really nice to see dyslexic people out there, famous dyslexic people really emphasizing this point that, that dyslexia is actually beneficial, not a disability. Right, right. And so that's an example of one we do talk about more. And the next one is as well. So the fifth reason we're so hopeful in this current moment in time on the dyslexic journey is that it has really also become common, normalized, and easily accessible to learn via audio and video, right?

So whether that's a YouTube video, whether that's an audio book, whatever that is, it's really, you know, even beyond being dyslexic is just so normalized and available that that is really fantastic and really helpful and can provide such a great resource for dyslexic people. Another way that we are really hopeful about dyslexia right now, and this is our sixth point for today, is that more and more people are dedicating their professional lives to advocating for dyslexia and for dyslexia awareness, for dyslexia accommodations, advocating for dyslexic people.

And we've been really lucky to interview several of them recently. So we just published an interview with advocate Jennifer Bernheim, and we have an upcoming interview with another, upcoming couple of interviews, actually, with another advocate, Catherine Scholl, as well as an upcoming interview with an attorney, Laura Hennigan, who focuses her entire practice on disability rights. All right. The seventh reason that we are so hopeful right now in this moment in time in our current world about the dyslexic journey is the advances in AI.

So we've talked about some of this before and even, you know, looked into ChatGPT and how to use it and all those kinds of things. But really, for dyslexic people in particular, it can be a great resource. Yeah, exactly. And we've talked about this a little bit in the past. So I'll just emphasize kind of one specific point here is that one of the things that ChatGPT and these other new kind of generative AI platforms are really good at is helping polish writing.

And that is something that dyslexic people often struggle with. And so, for example, a resume or a cover letter or just a random email, a dyslexic person can now just run that through ChatGPT and get someone, you know, doesn't take a real person. Your ChatGPT is doing it for them to correct their punctuation, correct their spelling, correct their grammar. And even more than that, you can use it to make sure that what you're saying is clear, that you're trying to get the points you're trying to get across are the points that you actually are getting across.

And so it's a real boon for dyslexic people in particular who often struggle with that kind of level of polish to their writing. Right. And other ways, too, right? And, of course, this is true for everyone, but perhaps a dyslexic person needs, you know, practice in a very particular kind of problem or they even want an X. So occasionally for like a word problem or something like that. So even in the field of science or math, something could be hard to parse or, you know, figure out occasionally for a dyslexic person.

And, you know, if someone's not right there to have the conversation with about it, you could ask ChatGPT to explain more and sort of explain it in a different way, for example. Right. I mean, this really just opens up so many avenues, even I think professions. I mean, I don't think it's overstating it, to say that this can make some professions easier to approach for dyslexic people. For example, I'm thinking of scientific research where you're often expected to read dense scholarly articles and understand them.

And so someone who's dyslexic can use these new tools like ChatGPT to help them read through these dense articles and kind of summarize the main points. Yes, exactly. So those are seven ways that we are feeling really hopeful right now. Let us know in the comments what ways that you're feeling hopeful as well right now. What are some of those ways that give you hope for the future or just feel really hopeful and helpful right now?

Yeah. And also, please feel free to send us an email if you have any comments or questions that you'd rather send directly to us. Although we do read all the comments on YouTube as well. But you can send us an email at ParentingDyslexiaJourney at gmail.com. Yes, because we're going to start to answer some of those. We can just respond directly to you. And sometimes maybe we will do an episode as well where we respond to your comments and questions.