As a dyslexic, I do not seem to think in the same way that others think. The more one is interested in a specific subject and the more one knows, the harder it seems to be to express what one is thinking. Ideas are rarely present in a nice orderly sequence. They do not come out in a simple logical order. They do not come in a linear sequence. Although some ideas may only appear after others have been expressed, very often, all my ideas appear to be present in my mind at the same time. They form, in effect, 'clouds of ideas' in my mind rather than strings. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many advantages to being a dyslexic because it allows one to think in unique ways that are not open to other people. One is able to see things or have a notion of the end point long before getting there in the usual linear way. Some businesses are known to have actively sought out dyslexics as employees for the novel ways in which they can approach problems. However, despite this, dyslexia can be problematic when it comes to putting ideas into some orderly sequence that others need to understand. Having to conform to standard writing structures can be extremely restricting for those whose minds operate differently.
Being a dyslexic means that information processing and handling can become very difficult, especially when it comes to it being put down on paper or, more often these days, on screen. What we have in our dyslexic minds is not set out in nice neat compartments that can be simply written out in a linear sequence. We have to go from information that is somewhere in our minds to information that has a structure and layout that is understandable by others. I have noticed that, when writing, my sentences do not always come out in the most appropriate order. They are not the 'right' order for communicating with a reader. Re-reading my work carefully often reveals that my sentences work better when put in a quite different order. It appears that, as I write drafts, what is 'in my head' does not come out in the most logical sequence. That means a lot of editing at a later stage.
Thus, by far the biggest problem that needs to be overcome – at least for me – is that of handling and organising written content.
It is not that it is not there in my mind. It is a matter of finding the best form of written expression.
Organising and Communicating
When writing something, one is not simply throwing down whatever one can remember about a topic onto the page or screen at random. Instead, one is trying to communicate. Writing is about communication: transmitting a message from one person to another. The meaning of the message transmitted must not be confused or lost in transit. If it is, then communication fails.
This is a problem with which the dyslexic is constantly faced. Presenting one's ideas in a way that is meaningful to another person is a challenge.
Sometimes, when reading back over things I have written, not even I am sure of what I originally meant. If I cannot communicate with myself, how then can I expect what I have written to communicate itself to anybody else?
Writing a single sentence can sometimes be quite difficult. One is confronted with the problem of finding the right words and the right order in which to use them for best effect. While this can be difficult, getting the right order of sentences and then paragraphs can be as least as problematic – often more so. Furthermore, doing this using the techniques we are taught from an early age only seems to exacerbate the problem.
At school, we are usually taught to write using pen and paper. This usually means writing in a linear way from beginning to end on paper with no means of changing the order once written. If one are not good at organising the content linearly, it is unlikely that one will produce a good piece of work; it is unlikely to be something that communicates well. That will be the case irrespective of how much one knows or understands about a subject. Thus, somebody who is naturally a good organiser of their material may well produce a better piece of written work than somebody who knows a great deal more about the subject but lacks the ability to organise that knowledge. This can be deeply frustrating not least in an educational setting where one's effort and knowledge are not rewarded with the marks or grades one feels one deserves. One can quickly become demoralised and even react angrily against a system which tolerates such apparent injustice.
One of my school teachers once spotted something of this in an essay I wrote about William Wordsworth's poem 'Michael'. Instead of the usual single mark, he gave me three different marks. Out of 10, I got '9++' for the essay's content but really, he said, it only merited a 4 given the way in which it was written. Overall, I got a 7 as a compromise. In my school, '7' was not a particularly good or satisfying mark to get. Only now, many years after the event, can I understand that disappointing experience and draw a more positive lesson from it. One's in-depth knowledge and understanding can be let down by something as mundane as organisation. Ways must, therefore, be found to aid that process of organisation so that it does not adversely affect the what one is trying to say.
Help for the Adult Dyslexic
When I was at school – in the 1960s and 1970s – there was no help for dyslexics. The condition was barely even recognised then. Today, my essay on 'Michael' would almost certainly set alarm bells ringing and I would have been referred to an educational psychologist and assessed for what is sometimes called 'learning difficulties' or more accurately 'learning differences'. However, while there is now a great deal more help available for children, there is little or no help for the older individual – such as myself. I was not diagnosed with dyslexia until I was in my early 50s! There are those of us who got no help as children and for whom there is still no help as adults. I was fortunate in that I could be screened for dyslexia through an arrangement at work. Even then it was largely at my own instigation – which very nearly have cost me several hundred of pounds had I not been able to deflect an unexpected invoice elsewhere! I was lucky. I knew I needed help of some sort and was determined to find out what.
I have heard some who have found a diagnosis of dyslexia a bitter thing to accept. For me it was quite the opposite. I had suspected for a number of years that I might have some sort of 'learning difference'. My diagnosis of dyslexia was a relief. Even then once diagnosed, there was little real support. I did find a clearer frame of reference within which to see myself and a legitimate reason for developing my own approach to writing. This I have had to do largely by myself. As I noted above, help for adult dyslexics is quite limited and what there is did not satisfy my particular needs. I have had to find out for myself what I needed to do to make writing easier. Hence, I have come to develop cell-writing and offer it for general consideration.