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THE ’GIFT’ OF DYSLEXIA

APPEARANCES can be deceptive – and there’s no better example of that than the glamorous Jerry Hall and her four children.

The leggy Texan model has recently revealed that she and all of her children by Mick Jagger suffer from the learning difficulty dyslexia. But far from moaning about it, Hall has described the condition as "a gift because it makes you think differently".

She added: “Being dyslexic is difficult at the very beginning, but as you get older you learn to cope with it and I think it’s great.”

As with Hall’s children, dyslexia can be inherited – although this isn’t always the case and there are many dyslexic adults whose children aren’t affected.

However, those whose children are dyslexic might not be quite as positive as Hall about the condition, which is thought to affect one in 10 people.

It’s a combination of abilities and difficulties that affect the learning process in reading, spelling and writing, with accompanying weaknesses including problems with short-term memory, sequencing and organisation, auditory and/or visual perception, spoken language and motor skills.

Translated into everyday life, this may mean a dyslexic child confuses directional words like up/down or in/out, and has difficulty with sequences, like coloured beads or days of the week. In addition, the child may frequently jumble phrases, forget the names of common objects, have difficulty learning nursery rhymes and rhyming words, and have late speech development.

They may also have persistent difficulties in getting dressed and putting shoes on the correct feet, and may have trouble catching, kicking or throwing a ball.

At school they will have particular difficulty with reading and spelling, putting letters and figures the wrong way round, and leaving letters out of words or putting them in the wrong order.

Nevertheless, it’s a condition suffered by many high-achievers, including Sir Richard Branson, Sir Winston Churchill, Tom Cruise and Keira Knightley.

The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) believes this may be because dyslexics have to work so hard to overcome their difficulties that they develop an extra drive to succeed.

"Dyslexia comes from the Greek meaning difficulty with words, although it also brings with it a number of strengths which can be seen as a gift,” says Vicki McNicol of the BDA. “Most dyslexic people are great communicators and have excellent interpersonal skills.”

She says dyslexics can also be very creative and artistic, innovative, good lateral thinkers, excellent trouble-shooters and intuitive at problem solving.

Because of its effect on reading and writing, dyslexia is often not spotted until a child starts school, so the BDA is trying to improve the way schools deal with it through the Dyslexia Friendly Schools Campaign. This helps schools improve their teaching methods to make learning easier for dyslexic pupils, who are usually of average or above average intelligence.

McNicol adds: “Dyslexics spend their life facing barriers and finding ways around them. They become proficient in overcoming obstacles and don’t just give up. Instead of seeing problems, they just see solutions.”

For more information on the British Dyslexic Association, call 0118 966 8271 or visit www.bdadyslexia.org.uk