DYSLEXIA AND OTHER AFFLICTIONS

As a writer I am constantly searching for new words.

My mind knows how I feel, 
but my brain sometimes

can't make the connections

This is an symptom
of my affliction

my dyslexia.

I never knew I had it

and so, all through Primary and High school

I was told by teachers that my writing was

sloppy

vulgar

My punctuation was out of place

I repeatedly mis-spelled the same words

(despite knowing how to spell them)

I had good days and bad days...

Some days I could read and write with perfect ease

Other days...

I would skip lines

miss the point

have to re-read the same passages thrice

but to no avail

it just wouldn't stick in my mind

I could understand complex ideologies

and physics was a no brainer

But never ask me to repeat Pythagorean algebra

or the Latin names of every tree, animal or flower.

My dyslexic tendencies were actually so mild

that no one ever picked it up...

Instead I was told I was lazy,

and didn't try hard enough

Why was it then that I could memorize the words

and musical notes of entire albums?

And remember phone numbers of people

I hadn't spoken to for 10 years or more?

I can do additions and subtractions

faster than the girl ringing it up on her till

and explain secrets of the universe as yet undiscovered

But ask me to recount the history of the world at war

and I was an epic FAIL!

I still struggle with my words till this day

(Thank goodness for spell check and Roget's Thesaurus)

I  don't  read passages well out loud

and have trouble constructing in a linear time line

But having this supposed incurable affliction,

although it effected my diction

has taught me that the mind works in mysterious ways

and to never judge a student by their ability to rote learn words

or equations.

And that's my thoughts of the day.

Be kind to your children if they don't excel the way

you expect them to. 

(we never forget words like lazy, doesn't try, is hopeless, FAIL,

vulgar, sloppy, will eventually find her shining star

Its a bit like judging a fish's ability to cope

while living out of water)

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH THE GIFT OF DYSLEXIA 

© Teresa / Divinia

4^th September 2012