11 great quotes about dyslexia
By Amanda Morin
People with learning and thinking differences often have a lot to say about how those challenges have shaped their lives. Here are 11 great quotes about dyslexia to inspire you and your child.
1. Erin Brockovich, lawyer and advocate
“When someone helping you gets frustrated, don’t let them. Take a step back, because you can’t learn anything under pressure. And don’t worry about the label [dyslexia]!” — USA Today
2. Scott Sonnon, martial arts world champion and author
“I didn’t succeed despite my , but because of it. It wasn’t my deficit, but my advantage. Although there are neurological trade-offs that require that I work creatively [and] smarter in reading, writing and speaking, I would never wish to be any other way than my awesome self. I love being me, regardless of the early challenges I had faced.”
3. Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York
(on how Harry Potter changed her view of reading) “Dyslexia is not a pigeonhole to say you can’t do anything. It is an opportunity and a possibility to learn differently. You have magical brains, they just process differently. Don’t feel like you should be held back by it.” — Hello! Daily News
4. Steven Spielberg, award-winning director
“It is more common than you can imagine. You are not alone. And while you will have this the rest of your life, you can dart between the raindrops to get where you want to go and it will not hold you back.” — Friends of Quinn
5. Bella Thorne, actress
“I have learned to live with it and make the best of it. I read all the time. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia, I was told to read everything from street signs to cereal boxes, and that my mom shouldn’t read the menu for me. I should read it to her! It has helped a great deal. I am reading well, but it is something I work on every day.” — DoSomething.org
6. Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series
“Dyslexic kids are creative, ‘outside-the-box’ thinkers. They have to be, because they don’t see or solve problems the same way other kids do. In school, unfortunately, they are sometimes written off as lazy, unmotivated, rude or even stupid. They aren’t. Making Percy dyslexic was my way of honoring the potential of all the kids I’ve known who have those conditions. It’s not a bad thing to be different. Sometimes, it’s the mark of being very, very talented.” — RickRiordan.com
7. Lyn Pollard, co-founder, Decoding Dyslexia-TX
“My 9-year-old daughter’s dyslexia makes her feel both confident and self-conscious. She likes having a ‘different’ brain that loves color and creativity.”
8. Stephen J. Cannell, Emmy-winning TV producer
“The real fear that I have for dyslexic people is not that they have to struggle with jumbled input or that they can’t spell, but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school. Parents have to create victories whenever they can, whether it’s music, sports or art. You want your dyslexic child to be able to say: ‘Yeah, reading’s hard. But I have these other things that I can do.’” — Newsweek
9. Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series
“I try to get the point across that not everybody thinks the same way. There are obvious benefits to being ‘book smart,’ but I think common sense and creativity is just as good (maybe even better).” — USA Today
10. Caitlyn Jenner, Olympic gold medalist
“If I wasn’t dyslexic, I probably wouldn’t have won the Games. If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily [and] sports would have come easily. And I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work.” — ESPN
Editor’s note: At the time of this quote, Caitlyn Jenner was going by the name Bruce Jenner.
11. Sally Shaywitz, MD, co-director of Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
“Science has moved forward at a rapid pace so that we now possess the data to reliably define dyslexia … For the student, the knowledge that he is dyslexic is empowering … [It provides him] with self-understanding and self-awareness of what he has and what he needs to do in order to succeed.” — Testimony Before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, United States House of Representatives