Little known struggles that are directly tied to your dyslexia.
For the general population, there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding what dyslexia is. Here are 4 surprising adult dyslexic struggles that can be directly tied to being dyslexic.
Knowing Right from Left
Somewhat weird to think about; for most non-dyslexics knowing your right from your left is instinctual. Someone says turn right, and they turn right. For a person with dyslexia, things are not so simple. Our brains are constantly working to decode our surroundings and track where and what we are doing. So when someone asks a person with dyslexia to go left, our brains must come to a screeching halt and solely focus on the process of which way is left. For more on knowing right from left while driving check out our blog Right from Left while Driving.
Forgetting Words
Dyslexics are not forgetful; we struggle with something called word recall. Picture this; you are a filing clerk for a doctor's office, and you have like 100,000 records filed away. Harry Jones comes in, and you need to get his file out of the cabinet. Pulling up his file is going to take some time and require your focus to find. For dyslexics, "forgetting" words is kind of like this. We can be mid-sentence, and the little file clerk in our head simply can not find the right word (or file). It is really embarrassing but normal for dyslexics.
Remembering Directions
Ever get directions from your boss and instantly forget them when you sit back at your desk? It's not you; it's your dyslexia. We often struggle with working memory (the posted note in your brain). We can't take in information quickly and hold on to it for an extended time. Think of it like this, non-dyslexics have a standard-size sticky note in their head to jot down quick things. As a person with dyslexia, you have a smaller sticky note and are trying to write down the same amount of information as everyone else. That smaller posted note results in us forgetting things.
Being Late
Are you always running behind or missing appointments? Surprise, it's your dyslexia! People with dyslexia (and ADHD) often struggle with time blindness. People with dyslexia are strong mono-taskers, so when we are in the middle of a project, we tend to tune out the rest of the world; this includes time. Time blindness also makes it hard to know how long a task will take.
Dyslexia in adults is not straightforward and way more than just an issue with reading and writing. If you are looking for a complete guide on what dyslexia in adults really is, check out our FREE guide to get started.
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