I was recently on a call with a new client and one of their goals was to overcome their dyslexia and I asked what that meant for them. They said, “I don’t want to misspell anything and I want to be like everyone else.”
Being a high-performance coach I knew to ask more questions and got to the root belief of it all. They said, “as long as I make spelling errors, I’m not smart.”
Let’s break this down a little more because I think every person with dyslexia asks this of someone or God or the Universe at some point.
The meaning of ‘OVERCOME’ is “to succeed in dealing with (a problem or difficulty).” Per the Oxford Dictionary. Merrian-Webster says “to gain the superiority”.
My ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ come from the fact that the word ‘overcome’ has many meanings.
Yes, we can succeed in dealing with dyslexia.
No, we cannot make it go away or completely remove that part of your DNA.
I have spent a large portion of my life’s work focusing on the fact that there is no cure for dyslexia and therefore I need to understand it to the fullest extent possible, which is ongoing as they keep learning new things and connecting other things to it, and I need to integrate that knowledge into my everyday life.
That for me is what I consider successfully overcoming dyslexia.
When clients come to me with that question, which many of them do, I go to these four points that spell out IRIS (one of my favorite flowers).
I.R.I.S.
- Integration – merging what someone knows, what they are going to learn, and how they live their everyday life.
- Roaring Success – what do you consider a successful outcome for this situation? Making sure that definition is possible and has growth. It should roar.
- Intentionality – being intentional with actions, words to others, and words to self.
- Strengths – knowing how to play to your strengths and not get sucked into other people’s strengths, which might be your weaknesses.
Overcoming many of the neurodiverse aspects of being dyslexic becomes possible when we build off these four things. While working to build up to these things people typically stop beating themselves up for not being someone else.
Let’s reflect on what my client said earlier. “As long as I make spelling errors, I’m not smart.” There are many tools and options to increase and improve spelling proficiency, but when you are dyslexic it is not realistic to believe that all spelling errors will go away.
That is someone else’s belief and misunderstanding. As more knowledge and understanding is added to the situation, I watch the belief shift into acceptance and even embracing the whole package of dyslexia, the good with the bad.
Yes, you can overcome dyslexia, it just might not look like what you think it will.
Thanks for reading my article and I hope you check out other articles on my website or sign up for my SNL (Sunday Newsletter).
I would love to hear your overcoming dyslexia story.
JoyGenea