In my professional experience, most often the dyslexic children and adolescents I’ve worked with suffer from secondary and co-existing issues. I have met some of the brightest, articulate, creative thinkers who happen to be dyslexic. So why are many of these children and young people not thriving at school if they’re really bright? The reasons are somewhat complex and involve multiple factors.

Mainstream education systems in general, being results-oriented, place enormous demands on schools and their teachers. These pressures are exacerbated for children and adolescents with a diagnosis of dyslexia, given that slow auditory processing and poor working memory alone places them at a disadvantage. 

Secondary issues related to dyslexia

Aside from the processes in place, such as being given extra time for exams and other kinds of mentoring, the frustrations of a child or young person who is struggling, are a few reasons why parents bring their children into therapy. Some of the secondary issues I’ve observed include a high level of anxiety which may lead to panic attacks, low self-esteem, low moods and a sense of hopelessness and despair.

Intelligence, learning preferences and Albert Einstein

On the subject of creative thinkers Albert Einstein comes to mind. He questioned the militarised school system in which he grew up in, in Germany during the prelude to the First World War. Einstein intensely disliked what he considered to be meaningless, mechanical rote learning imposed on the students. He also seems to have had difficulties memorising through this method. 

Difficulties with memorising is a dyslexic trait. Moreover, language learning is typically challenging for dyslexics, yet he did quite well in learning Italian, which would have been necessary as the family moved to Italy. Einstein didn’t learn Italian from sitting in a classroom. His motivation would have come out of a desire to immerse himself in the warm Italian culture which for him was a breath of fresh air.

Learning is meant to be inspirational and expansive rather than something to dread.

Although there are many statements about Einstein having dyslexia, we cannot know this as a fact. It may be that the way he thrived was through truly connecting to what resonated with his being. The system in which Einstein was brought up looks to have been built on the same model used in many mainstream schools today. For the most part, children and young people are unable to connect to what they’re being taught and they are suffering from boredom. I’ve seen various quotes by Einstein on the walls of schools and other institutions, but I have yet to see anything he said about being a free thinker.

Visualisation and nature as a learning tool

Einstein didn’t think in words but visuals. Visualisation was a gateway to the phenomenal insights he received which arose out of his fertile mind. Moreover, a book given to Einstein when he was aged ten, called People’s Natural Science by Aaron Bernstein, had a significant influence on him in which he entered into a visceral inner landscape guided by the author, fuelling his imagination. Nature was Einstein's greatest teacher, alongside the sciences and the connections he made with biology, physics and philosophy.

Imagination in the context that Einstein spoke about, appears to be much more about the harnessing of universal energies which gave shape to his realisations, and fuelled by his fascination with the inter-relatedness of all life. This suggests that he thrived through the creative, innovative learning styles that spoke to him.

Individuality, free thinking and Nikola Tesla

By contrast, inventor and engineer Nikola Tesla, during the 1900s, didn’t finish his schooling so he didn’t have a degree. Yet he fully embraced the mysterious otherness of quantum theory. Tesla’s genius and what he referred to as the infinite energy field, is the equivalent of what is now known as zero-quantum energy. If the development of Tesla’s Tower project had been given the funding to complete it, the implications of free clean energy, no fossil fuels, oil, coal, etc., had the potential to be actualised. But what thwarted that actualisation was the same underlying system that is in operation today.

When we look at what hinders child development and what allows a child to flourish, we need to become aware of repressive external influences which serve to control, and carry risks for children’s mental and emotional health. I do wonder about an agenda which does not encourage creative and innovative thinking. 

I believe that the levels of stress and fear in children and young people in schools has not been addressed appropriately. If children and young people are to thrive, then their natural creativity and capacity for play and social interactions needs to be fostered. This is imperative when it comes to healthy brain development.

Whilst my main focus is in delivering high quality therapy to children and adolescents, education is a huge part of their lives. Many of them are unable to envisage a bright future as they feel trapped in an environment that focuses on exam results rather than the joy of learning and how they can connect to what they’re being taught. And for a child and young person with dyslexia, their challenges go beyond the dyslexia itself.

A brief glimpse into the diagnostic tools that verify dyslexia

Dyslexia often encompasses a high level of ability as well as dis-ability. Let me explain. The diagnostic parameters relating to dyslexia could be visually seen as an oscillating line graph, identifying various aptitudes and weaknesses. 

For example, following an assessment, a graph may illustrate a high peak aptitude for, say, proficiency in verbal skills and vocabulary and below average for two-dimensional problem solving and mathematics. It is these extreme peaks and dips, as opposed to a flat line across a range of skill sets, that present a diagnostic profile, which make the distinction between a dyslexic and non-dyslexic person. 

Many of the children and adolescents I’ve seen over the years as a therapist have had the capacity to express uniquely and think creatively and intelligently, which is so often missed, because these individuals do not fit into a system which is incompatible with who they truly are. Is it at all surprising that children and adolescents dread going to school and are told to sit on their bums for six hours a day in a regimented system? 

Working therapeutically with children and adolescents who are struggling

Children and young people can descend into a spiral of low self-esteem, anxiety, depressive states, a sense of hopelessness and dread about going to school. Individualised therapy provides a safe space to discover their natural abilities, learning through psycho-education and all kinds of therapeutic processes to rise above their perceived limitations. In addition, therapeutic strategies can enhance a young person’s perceptions and capacity to discern and learn. When they learn about who they are in their essence, develop self-compassion and cultivate compassion for others, these components are likely to lead to much more agency and joy, which ripples out into the world.