Dyslexia and being a bookworm.

[Rask]

My parents began teaching me how to read when I was five or so. I was homeschooled so Mom was basically in charge of my learning and did a great job in most areas but it was clear something was amiss when it came to my literacy. We tried many different methods and techniques but I simply didn't make much progress. Finally when I was ten and still couldn't read functionally my parents got me tested and we found out I had Dyslexia. Ten is a bit later then preferred to find out about a learning difference but it just wasn't on my families radar until then. Obviously once we knew what the difficulty was and got me some educational therapy my reading began to improve tremendously.  

Ever since I can remember I have loved stories, and I am so glad that I grew up in the age of the audiobook. it's so wonderfull that people with this particular difficulty now have an accessible way to read books. Plenty of people, Dyslexic and otherwise, still prefer physical books or Ebooks to Audiobooks, but I am an audio person through and through. I am so grateful that I have always had this option. 

This may sound crazy, but the first physical chapter book I ever read was the Way of Kings. Talk about jumping in at the deep end. I was twelve and wanted desperately to read this book because my older brother who I look up to tremendously already had. In the end my parents made a deal with me, I could read Twok but I had to actual read it, no audio allowed. 

So I did! 

It's still one of my proudest accomplishments. I can still remember how I could barely muddle through a paragraph in the prologue and first chapter, but by the end of the book I was reading almost at speaking pace. Twok was my first Cosmere book, and still my favorite book of all time. 

My Dyslexia doesn't really effect me much anymore. I'm not in school at the moment and now that it's the more practical skills that matter most in day to day life it's easier to compensate. I don't really think of it as a disability, it's just one of a million different ways of interacting with the world. Some of us will go on to pursue higher education and some of us won't, sure some paths will be more difficult but everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. The only real difficulty I have now is autocorrect not understanding my spellings. Sometimes I actually have to choose a different word form the one I intend because I can't get a spelling close enough for the algorithm to come up with the correct guess.   

So, did anyone else learn how to read with the cosmere? Any good stories or observations about Dyslexic Geekdome, either form personal experience or through a loved one?   

P.S. The Percy Jackson series was great! Hay, representation and diversity in fiction really is important, who would have thought? 

[Truthless of Shinovar he/him]

10 hours ago, Rask said:

My parents began teaching me how to read when I was five or so. I was homeschooled so Mom was basically in charge of my learning and did a great job in most areas but it was clear something was amiss when it came to my literacy. We tried many different methods and techniques but I simply didn't make much progress. Finally when I was ten and still couldn't read functionally my parents got me tested and we found out I had Dyslexia. Ten is a bit later then preferred to find out about a learning difference but it just wasn't on my families radar until then. Obviously once we knew what the difficulty was and got me some educational therapy my reading began to improve tremendously.  

Ever since I can remember I have loved stories, and I am so glad that I grew up in the age of the audiobook. it's so wonderfull that people with this particular difficulty now have an accessible way to read books. Plenty of people, Dyslexic and otherwise, still prefer physical books or Ebooks to Audiobooks, but I am an audio person through and through. I am so grateful that I have always had this option. 

This may sound crazy, but the first physical chapter book I ever read was the Way of Kings. Talk about jumping in at the deep end. I was twelve and wanted desperately to read this book because my older brother who I look up to tremendously already had. In the end my parents made a deal with me, I could read Twok but I had to actual read it, no audio allowed. 

So I did! 

It's still one of my proudest accomplishments. I can still remember how I could barely muddle through a paragraph in the prologue and first chapter, but by the end of the book I was reading almost at speaking pace. Twok was my first Cosmere book, and still my favorite book of all time. 

My Dyslexia doesn't really effect me much anymore. I'm not in school at the moment and now that it's the more practical skills that matter most in day to day life it's easier to compensate. I don't really think of it as a disability, it's just one of a million different ways of interacting with the world. Some of us will go on to pursue higher education and some of us won't, sure some paths will be more difficult but everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. The only real difficulty I have now is autocorrect not understanding my spellings. Sometimes I actually have to choose a different word form the one I intend because I can't get a spelling close enough for the algorithm to come up with the correct guess.   

So, did anyone else learn how to read with the cosmere? Any good stories or observations about Dyslexic Geekdome, either form personal experience or through a loved one?   

P.S. The Percy Jackson series was great! Hay, representation and diversity in fiction really is important, who would have thought? 

Though, I don’t have Dyslexia, that is storming awesome!! Way to overcome your trials, that’s honestly something I’m not for sure I could do!!

[Rask]

15 hours ago, Truthless of Shinovar said:

Though, I don’t have Dyslexia, that is storming awesome!! Way to overcome your trials, that’s honestly something I’m not for sure I could do!!

Thanks! The Cosmere has helped so many people overcome their difficulties! I am now a creative writer and I'm pretty sure I can thank Brandon for that.  

[IllNsickly he/him]

Rock On!

I was tested for dyslexia twice when I was young, neither test showed me as dyslexic.

 

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Terry Goodkind is dyslexic, his books are perfectly readable and mostly enjoyable, if you are interested.