Dyslexia as a Gift? What does that mean?

In  his book, "The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some Of The Brightest People Can't  Read And How They Can Learn", Ronald Davis was one of the first experts  to popularise the idea of dyslexia being rooted, not in a disability,  but in a perceptual talent.

In the nearly thirty years since Davis' work was published, a growing  number of academics, campaigners and charities have allied themselves  to a "gift philosophy" of dyslexia. And it is no secret that many of the  world's leading innovators, entrepreneurs, designers, artists and  sportspeople are dyslexic.

Yet celebrating dyslexic talent only gets us so far. Citing famous  dyslexics to comfort children who are struggling to read may have value;  but if we stop there, we miss the key opportunity that the gift of  dyslexia presents.

We need to ask ourselves: what is the nature of the perceptual talent  at the heart of dyslexia? And then: how can that talent be utilised and  harnessed so that dyslexics find it easy to learn?

The session is content-rich and compact enough to allow for extensive questions and answers within the allocated hour.

The Session Presenter

Richard Whitehead is a Davis Dyslexia Programme Specialist and  Director of Davis Learning Foundation. In addition to twenty years  working professionally with the Davis methods, Richard worked for six  years as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator in the secondary sector  and for over a decade as a classroom teacher. In his book, "Why Tyrannosaurus But Not If? — The Dyslexic Blueprint for the Future of Education",  he brings together his many strands of experience in special  educational needs support to provide key insights and strategies, based  on the Davis methods, for teachers and proactive parents of bright but  struggling learners.