4 People You Didn't Know Were Dyslexic
Meghan Mileham, Assistant Director of Admissions
People who struggle with a learning difference such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, auditory processing often think they are alone, unintelligent, and will never make a name for themselves. We hear every day from prospective families’, current families, and alumni, that they never thought graduating from high school let alone college was even possible. One thing we stress to our students is that just because they have a learning difference does not mean they cannot succeed. In fact, dyslexics often have average to above-average intelligence with high verbal language skills. Individuals may show special talents in areas that involve visual and spatial tasks. Many successful and well-known people have dyslexia and they all use the positive attributes of dyslexia to succeed.
1.Thomas Edison: Holding 1,093 US patents, the inventor and businessman was diagnosed with dyslexia at an early age. With inventions such as the electric light, sound recording, power utilities and the motion picture camera, Edison did not let the diagnosis of dyslexia hold him back from making a name for himself.
2.Whoopi Goldberg: It was early on in her life that Whoopi realized she had a hard time with reading. Her teachers often told her she was lazy and stupid. Once the diagnosis of dyslexia was made at the age of nine Whoopi finally realized that she wasn’t stupid. “The challenge will always be how we see ourselves, not as folks with a handicap, but folks with an interesting perspective on everything.” Whoopi is now one of the few people in the world to have receive an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and an Oscar.
3.Walt Disney: Disney is a true Cinderella story. Struggling from a young age to make ends meet in Missouri, Disney never let his learning difference stop him from making a name for himself. Although dropping out of high school at age 15, Disney never lost the motivation to become prosperous. After multiple failed attempts to succeed, Disney had his big break with the cartoon idea of Mickey Mouse, still a household name 100 years later. After the triumph of Mickey Mouse Disney opened the Disneyland theme park. Unfortunately, before he could open Walt Disney World, Disney passed away, but his brother was able to carry on his legacy opening the theme park in 1971.
4.George Washington: Although language and spelling were a little bit different back in the time of our founding father, historians believe that the first President of the United States had dyslexia. The General apparently had a hard time expressing himself and struggled with grammar, reading and writing.
At Gow, the sense of belonging, of equality, and of connection to one another is strong and immediate. Students are quickly embraced by fellow students, faculty and staff, who from a close-knit community with bonds of born common trials and shared triumph. Members of the community understand dyslexia’s challenges and care for and support all who are tackling them. To learn more about The Gow School, take a look at our website, our social media pages and our Youtube channel to find out why Gow could be the school for your family.