Dyslexia

If you’ve ever looked at a page of text and felt like the letters were doing a little dance, or if reading aloud makes you break out in a sweat, you’re definitely not alone.

Dyslexia is probably the most recognised form of neurodivergence, but that doesn’t mean it’s always understood well. It affects how your brain processes written language — reading, spelling, writing, the whole written word business.

And let’s get this straight right away: it has absolutely nothing to do with how intelligent you are. Some of the most brilliant, creative, insightful people you’ll ever meet are dyslexic.

Here’s what dyslexia might feel like from the inside:

• Words seem to swim around on the page, or letters flip around
• You can read the same sentence three times and still not quite get it
• Spelling feels random — you might spell the same word differently every time
• Reading out loud is your personal nightmare scenario
• After reading for a while, you feel genuinely exhausted
• You’re fantastic at discussing ideas but struggle to get them down on paper

Here’s something really important though — dyslexia often comes with some pretty amazing strengths. Many dyslexic people are incredible at big-picture thinking, creative problem-solving, visual reasoning, or thinking outside the box.

Dyslexia doesn’t just disappear as you get older, but there are so many tools now that can make reading and writing more accessible. Audiobooks, text-to-speech, coloured backgrounds, different fonts — whatever helps your brain process information more easily.

The goal isn’t to make you read like everyone else. It’s to help you access all the information and ideas you want, in whatever way works best for your particular brain.