What Causes Dyslexia? We Do!

What Causes Dyslexia? We Do!
Published on December 20, 2009 / Psychology Today

I am asked this question frequently during television, radio, and print media interviews, but recently when a Facebook friend asked me what causes dyslexia, I did not feel restricted to the standard medical explanation I usually give as an answer. I decided to share what I believe to be a more humanistic and holistic cause of dyslexia. Here is my answer.

The cause of dyslexia is a perfectly healthy, functioning brain being born into a largely literate society. You see, the root cause of dyslexia is a largely illiterate society becoming largely literate over the last two hundred years. There is nothing medically wrong with a dyslexic person’s brain. I have seen fMRI’s and MEG scans to prove it. This leads me to believe that dyslexia is a technological disability, not a physical disability.

The technology is the written language, and the disability is that not every brain is born naturally wired to learn this technology easily.

Man created written language approximately four thousand years ago. When early symbols were drawn on tortoise shells, and then assigned value or meaning, which in turn other people could interpret, that was the equivalent of the Smart Board, I-Phone, and Internet all rolled into one. It was the newest, hottest, earth-shaking technology of its day. And, yes, it was a man-made technology. Now, fast forward to the last one hundred or so years. We, as a society, are dictating that everyone needs to be proficient with reading and writing.

So, you see, we, as a society, caused dyslexia. As little as two hundred years ago, if you had dyslexia, you probably would not have even known it. Now, don’t get me wrong, striving to be a highly literate society is a good thing. The problem I see with this societal demand, relating to this relatively new technological revolution, is the inferred stereotype that people not proficient with the written language, are somehow stupid.

What causes dyslexia? In short, we do!

What causes the pain and suffering that almost always accompanies dyslexia, we do!

Some old food for some new thought,

Rob

What causes dyslexia? FAQ: International Dyslexia Association

Why become a Techno Dyslexic?

Why become a Techno Dyslexic?
Published on December 11, 2009 / Psychology TodayIt is only appropriate that I start this blog by letting you know it is being posted from 30,000 feet in the air, on the Gogo in-flight internet. Yes - you and I, along with my computer and the Internet, are flying AirTran Airways from Los Angeles, California, to Atlanta, Georgia. Technology has come a long way, and the ability for dyslexics to utilize it has come just as far. The idea for this blog came to me as I was preparing for the trip to California last Saturday.

I was running around my house frantically looking for my Magellan RoadMate 700 portable GPS when it hit me. What would I do without my GPS system? For the past six years or so, I have been traveling approximately one hundred thousand miles per year to attend conferences, school assembly programs, and university lectures. My GPS has played a huge role in my being able to travel like this.

I go where my inspirational programs are needed. I board a plane, fly to my destination, and jump in a rental car. The first thing I do in the car is check the cigarette lighter, not because I smoke, because I don’t, but because I have to plug in “my girl,” who takes care of me on the roads and gets me to my destination. When she comes alive, it is like music to my ears: “Proceed to highlighted route,” “Left turn in one mile,” “Left turn now,” and, yes, even “Whenever possible, make a legal U-turn” but eventually, I get to hear “You have arrived”.

Most people love a little technological convenience in their lives, but for me as a dyslexic it is more than just a convenience. When that GPS box lights up, it is like a warm blanket telling me that I don’t have to “literally” read the signs to get to where I am going. What a relief.

Before I got my first GPS nearly thirteen years ago, travel was brutal. I hated venturing outside the comfort zone of familiar roads. I knew that once I crossed that invisible line of knowing where I was, to depending on street signs, I was at the mercy of the streets. It was read or get lost.

I’m from the sprawling and mostly rural state of Georgia. Here, the jokes about “Go down to the Piggly Wiggly and turn right” are very real to me. In my comfort zone, I know where the “big oak tree” is and that I have to turn left there. When my occupation required me to travel across Georgia, however, and later throughout the whole United States, without my GPS the traveling could have been a deal breaker.

Before traveling with “my girl,” travel was a nightmare, and I was a traffic disaster for myself and others. I was that fellow in the car almost at a dead stop at the green light, the one people would blow their horns at and give hand signals of encouragement to (you know the ones). But why was I doing this? I knew green meant go, but I couldn’t read the street signs fast enough to know if that was my turn or not. You can’t imagine how many times I have prayed for red lights and crawled through green lights. It became a joke. I would tell people that I had to leave early enough to “enjoy traffic.” In Atlanta, I promise, there is plenty of traffic to “enjoy”!

What I found myself doing when driving, to compensate for dyslexia, was judging the general length of the words on the signs. When I was looking for a street name that was long, like Peachtree or International blvd, I would just ignore all the signs with short words, like Park or Main, on them. I could see the word was the right or wrong length long before I could read the actual word. I had learned that sounding out words at major intersections was not going to make me any new friends and just added to the overall stress of my travels. Navigating through life this way was no picnic.

Then I found “my girl,” and today I find myself becoming more and more of a techno dyslexic. Although my Magellan RoadMate 700 is a clunky and oversized box compared to the ones currently on the market, “my girl” gets me where I am going, and I embrace her for it.

Likewise, I embrace other technologies that make reading and writing less evasive in my day to day life. I love the idea of voice recognition technology software, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking and Kurzweil 3000. I like that my spell check caught about fifty words I misspelled in this blog alone. I am excited to see how far technology has come in my lifetime, and I look forward to embracing new technologies, whether it’s a new “girl” helping me in my travels or whatever else technology holds for the future.

I am a techno dyslexic, and I look forward to seeing you on the road.

Rob

A Dyslexic Blogger - Believe It or Not!

A Dyslexic Blogger- Believe It or Not!
Published on December 5, 2009 / Psychology Today

When my publicist first contacted me, saying that Psychology Today wanted me to write a blog for them, I was flattered and excited. Here is one of the top publications in the world for psychology, with 75,000 visitors to the site per day and 4 million page views a month, asking me to share information to help people better understand dyslexia and other learning challenges, asking me to write for them.

After the euphoria of the moment wore off, it hit me: “Rob, you are DYSLEXIC, and you are being asked to write a legible article every week or so.” I said to myself, “Wow! That’s not going to happen.”

The only problem was, in true dyslexic fashion, I had impulsively jumped at the chance to potentially help so many people and immediately accepted PT’s offer. Today, one week after setting up my blog account, I am an expert blogging on dyslexia for Psychology Today, and this is my first blog.

Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot about dyslexia. In the past twenty-five years, I have graduated from the University of West Georgia despite reading on a 5th grade level and writing on as low as a 3rd grade level; I have published two books (The Power of Dyslexic Thinking and For the Children) on my journey with dyslexia; I have worked with some of the most successful businessmen in the world, who happen to be dyslexic (will blog later about them); and I have had an MEG scan done on my brain (again, I will post the results in an up-and-coming blog) to show how my dyslexic brain works. Spoiler alert: it does work.

Let’s face it; I know some stuff worth sharing about the power of dyslexic thinking. I just do not know who this could be more painful for, me the DYSLEXIC WRITER or you the unsuspecting reader. However this turns out, just know that I have committed to turning out what I hope will be a legible, informative blog every week or so, with the goal of helping anyone struggling with learning challenges, whether it be struggling personally or helping others on this challenging journey.

Also, in true “successful” dyslexic fashion, I have asked a host of people to help me make this less painful for you, the reader. A special thanks to my brother, Lon Langston, quite the wordsmith, my neighbor and local high school counselor Mike Kulp, my close friend and University of Georgia professor Mike Beck, and my personal editor on my second book, The Power of Dyslexic Thinking, Kathy Williams, for helping me write and edit this blog. Thank you all, and I will do my best to spread the love evenly across the board to lessen your volunteer workload.

For everyone else out there willing to defy the laws of logic to read what a DYSLEXIC WRITER is blogging about, please subscribe to my blog Power of Dyslexic Thinking, care of Psychology Today Online.

We will talk again soon,

Rob