Dyslexia: The Emotional Baggage No One Talks About

When you are a young dyslexic child, you don’t yet know you’re dyslexic. All you know is that everyone else seems able to do something that you can’t. And what makes this harder is that you are bright enough to worry about it.

Over time, you may receive a diagnosis of dyslexia. If you are fortunate, your assessor will recognise dyslexic giftedness. But in many cases, the diagnosis is framed through a deficit model.

Now, you are surrounded by well-meaning adults — including your own parents — who believe you have a lifelong learning disability. You may be given additional support based on repetition and drill. These approaches often don’t deliver. So now, you are working harder than ever… and experiencing even more failure despite that effort.

By the time you reach secondary school, the demands increase. You are expected to process, understand, and retain more complex subject knowledge. If…