Why Calling Dyslexia a Superpower Might Be Harmful For Your Child.

The dyslexia superpower debate has grown more intense with over 6 million people in the UK experiencing this learning difficulty, and many still await diagnosis. My conversations wit

h parents and educators about dyslexia reveal two dramatically different views. Made by Dyslexia highlights that 75% of dyslexic individuals excel at visualising. Living with any neurodiversity brings daily challenges.

Recent years have seen the conversation around dyslexia strengths and weaknesses move substantially. Statistics show 80% of dyslexic individuals excel at connecting, empathising, and influencing others. Yet others emphasise that dyslexia’s feelings of failure can trigger low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal tendencies. A crucial question emerges: our well-intentioned efforts to reframe dyslexia as a superpower might prove counterproductive to the genuine challenges dyslexic children face.

Diagnoses affecting how people learn, from ADHD to dyslexia, often create serious academic challenges. These challenges breed frustration and hide students’ true potential. My deep investment in this conversation leads me to believe we must get into both benefits and potential risks of the superpower narrative. The education system must adapt to accommodate various learning styles. Telling children “it’s ok you have a superpower” might feel dismissive rather than giving them strength.

What it’s really like to grow up with dyslexia

Living with dyslexia creates a unique experience that looks different for each person. The truth sits somewhere between being a major challenge and a special gift.

Early signs and diagnosis

Kids with dyslexia show warning signs before they start school. You might notice delayed speech, problems with rhyming, trouble pronouncing words, and difficulty learning letter names. Notwithstanding that, doctors usually don’t diagnose it until age seven or later, when reading problems become clear.

Many kids don’t get diagnosed for years. Some develop clever ways to hide their struggles or have strong speaking skills that mask their reading difficulties. This late discovery means kids often feel like failures before anyone understands why they’re having trouble.

Emotional impact on children and teens

Dyslexia takes a heavy emotional toll on kids. Reading out loud, homework, and tests can trigger anxiety. These children might also face:

• Shame about their grades

• Getting frustrated with “easy” tasks

• Not understanding why learning seems harder for them

• Feeling drained from putting extra effort into reading

  
  

Kids with dyslexia work twice as hard as their classmates but see fewer results. This gap often creates deep feelings of not being good enough, which can last into adulthood without proper help.

How support (or lack of it) shapes outcomes

The right support can change everything about a dyslexic person’s future. Kids who get help early, learn through special teaching methods, and receive steady encouragement develop both study skills and healthy self-worth. Those who face criticism, poor support, or late diagnosis might lose interest in school permanently.

Parents who speak up for their children make a significant difference. Teachers who understand how dyslexic students learn also provide tremendous help. The best support combines practical tools (such as teaching methods that utilise direct and explicit instruction, multiple senses and helpful technology) with the emotional backing that acknowledges both challenges and abilities.

Yes, it is important how we talk about dyslexia. Seeing real challenges doesn’t take away from strengths – honest recognition of both builds true confidence instead of false hope.

The rise of the ‘dyslexia superpower’ narrative

People’s view of dyslexia has changed dramatically in recent decades. Many now see it as a gift rather than a challenge. This viewpoint has grown into a powerful cultural movement with passionate supporters.

Where did the idea come from?

Ron Davis’s 1994 book The Gift of Dyslexia started the modern “dyslexia as gift” story by connecting dyslexia to giftedness. The book came after the “Rain Man phenomenon” of the late 1980s that got people interested in different ways of thinking. Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath (2013) helped build this positive image by linking dyslexia to success in business.

Famous figures and media influence

Rick Riordan’s hugely popular Percy Jackson series really sealed the superpower story in 2005. The main character’s dyslexia and ADHD show up as signs of his demigod powers—his brain is “hardwired for Ancient Greek”. Advocacy groups started highlighting famous dyslexics. The list included historical giants like Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein, plus modern stars such as Richard Branson, Tom Cruise, and Keira Knightley.

This idea caught on so well that LinkedIn added “Dyslexic Thinking” as a professional skill. More than 10,000 people quickly added it to their profiles. Billionaire Richard Branson leads this movement today. He calls dyslexia “a superpower” and launched a free online university called “DyslexicU”.

Why does it strike a chord with some people?

This superpower story gives people a better option than just focusing on challenges. Made By Dyslexia reports that 40% of self-made millionaires have dyslexia, though dyslexic people make up just 10% of the world’s population. This new way of thinking helps many who had trouble in school understand and value their experiences.

Dyslexic students share more balanced views. One student put it well: “I don’t call dyslexia a superpower, because I recognise that for those who aren’t able to get the support they need, it can be a struggle”. Another described it as “a blessing and a curse”.

Why calling dyslexia a superpower can be harmful

The positive reframing of dyslexia has become popular; however, this approach needs to be carefully considered. The dyslexia superpower narrative, despite good intentions, may bring potential drawbacks that affect people who live with this learning difference.

It downplays real academic struggles

The superpower angle can make light of genuine academic challenges unintentionally. Students with dyslexia need at least 40 exposures to learn new concepts, while neurotypical students only need 4-14 exposures. Anxiety stands out as the most common emotional symptom that children and adults with dyslexia report. Glossing over these difficulties risks making their daily experiences and challenges seem less important.

It creates unrealistic expectations

Not every person with dyslexia has extraordinary gifts in other areas. The idea that dyslexia automatically gives special abilities puts pressure on people and leads to frustration. Many people with dyslexia don’t accept the superpower label—a study showed that all but one of 14 participants wouldn’t use this term to describe their condition. Their performance changes dramatically from day to day, which makes consistency hard to achieve.

It may isolate those who don’t feel ‘gifted’

People who don’t connect with the superpower narrative often feel more isolated. Academic challenges make people question their abilities even in unrelated areas. People with dyslexia might start believing success comes from luck while blaming themselves for failure. Not matching up to the “gifted dyslexic” image can make feelings of shame and being different even stronger.

It can delay proper support and intervention

The superpower narrative might stop people from getting help when they need it. Research proves that getting help in first and second grade leads to twice better outcomes than waiting until third grade. Early difficulties grow bigger over time—a five-year-old who struggles with letters often becomes an eighteen-year-old whose reading speed affects their college choices. Too much focus on possible strengths might push back vital support during key developmental stages.

A balanced view accepts both challenges and potential strengths without making this complex learning difference seem ideal or shameful.

Recognising both strengths and weaknesses

The dyslexia superpower debate requires a balanced perspective that acknowledges both exceptional abilities and ongoing challenges. Research indicates that dyslexia affects approximately 1 in 10 people. This underscores the importance of understanding its complex nature without oversimplifying it.

Common strengths in dyslexic thinking

People with dyslexia often show remarkable cognitive abilities that go beyond regular thinking patterns. They excel at visualising complex scenarios and can break them down into clear, practical steps. Their visual-spatial reasoning helps them succeed in architecture, engineering, and visual arts. On top of that, dyslexic thinkers show these traits:

• Problem-solving prowess: They develop excellent puzzle-solving abilities and tackle challenges with flexibility and fresh ideas

• Creative thinking: The dyslexic brain comes up with unique ideas and spots connections that others might miss

• Big-picture view: These individuals excel at seeing broader patterns and systems instead of getting caught up in details

  
  

Every day challenges that persist

The strengths don’t erase the daily difficulties. Dyslexia goes beyond reading and writing—it affects memory, organisation, time-keeping, concentration, multi-tasking, and communication. These challenges change based on how tired or stressed someone feels and how complex the task is.

Life brings practical hurdles like taking notes, filling out forms, and managing paperwork. The emotional toll—anxiety, frustration, and sometimes feeling inadequate—makes up what researchers call the “secondary symptoms” of dyslexia.

Why balance is key in how we talk about dyslexia

We need honest conversations about dyslexia that acknowledge both strengths and weaknesses. Each dyslexic child has unique abilities paired with specific challenges. Looking at just one side paints an incomplete picture.

When we acknowledge both difficulties and potential advantages, we verify real experiences while offering genuine hope. This balanced approach encourages what psychologists see as vital for dyslexic wellbeing: early support, areas of success, and chances to help others.

The goal isn’t to label dyslexia as either a burden or a blessing. Instead, we should create environments where dyslexic individuals can thrive through tailored support, development of natural talents, and respect for different thinking styles.

My Journey With Dyslexia: From Challenge to Gift

The classroom was never my sanctuary. As a child with undiagnosed dyslexia, each school day felt like navigating a labyrinth without a map. Words danced across pages, refusing to stay still. My intelligence was never in question, but my ability to demonstrate it through traditional academic channels certainly was. During those formative years, anyone who called dyslexia a “superpower” would have met my disbelief—perhaps even my anger.

Living with dyslexia during my school years presented significant challenges that felt far from super. Reading aloud became an exercise in humiliation. Spelling tests were weekly reminders of my differences. The extra hours spent on homework that my peers completed in minutes left me exhausted and demoralised. The dyslexia superpower narrative gained popularity, but my experience was more nuanced and often painful.

Yet my story, like many with dyslexia, didn’t end with those school-day struggles. When I entered the workforce, something remarkable happened. Freed from standardised testing and rigid learning structures, I discovered space to learn in ways that honoured my brain’s unique wiring. I found myself recognising patterns others missed, approaching problems from unexpected angles, and connecting seemingly unrelated concepts—skills my colleagues sometimes struggled to develop.

I discovered that dyslexia in workplace settings allowed me to utilise my unique thinking patterns. The freedom to learn differently made dyslexia in workplace environments less of a hindrance and more of an advantage. My journey living with dyslexia transformed dramatically when I entered the professional world, where results mattered more than the path taken to achieve them.

This stark contrast between my school experience and professional life has led me to a nuanced understanding: dyslexia isn’t inherently good or bad—it’s simply different. And this difference manifests as either a challenge or a gift, depending largely on context, support, and understanding. My dyslexia journey reveals how the environment and expectations shape whether it feels like a burden or a blessing.

This personal revelation has shaped my thinking about how we discuss dyslexia with children, teens, and adults who share this neurological variation. When we acknowledge only the struggles, we risk creating a narrative of limitation. When we focus solely on potential gifts, we invalidate real difficulties and may delay crucial interventions. While some embrace the dyslexia superpower concept, I found it both helpful and potentially misleading depending on the context.

Questions I Now Ask Myself—And You

As I’ve reflected on my dyslexia personal experience, certain questions have emerged that might benefit our collective understanding:

1. How might we create environments where dyslexic individuals can both receive support for challenges and develop their unique cognitive strengths?

2. What would educational spaces look like if they were designed with neurodiversity in mind from the start, rather than as an afterthought?

3. How can we help dyslexic children understand that their current struggles don’t define their future potential, without dismissing their very real experiences?

4. In what ways might we balance honesty about difficulties with hope about possibilities?

Throughout my dyslexia journey, I’ve learned that both the struggles and strengths deserve acknowledgment. I don’t have perfect answers to these questions. What I do have is my story—a testament to the power of context, support, and self-understanding in transforming how dyslexia is experienced. And I suspect many of you reading this have stories that would add even more dimension to this conversation.

Conclusion

The understanding of dyslexia has shifted dramatically, from seeing it as just a problem to calling it a superpower. Neither view tells the whole story. Dyslexic people often show remarkable cognitive strengths. Their creative thinking, visual-spatial abilities, and big-picture viewpoint can be valuable assets. But these advantages don’t make the daily challenges disappear.

The way we talk about neurodiversity shapes perceptions deeply. Our words should paint a complete picture of dyslexic experiences instead of focusing on just struggles or strengths. The superpower story might sound uplifting, but it can make the real difficulties that dyslexic children face every day seem unimportant. Many children feel overlooked when people talk only about possible gifts.

My personal experience with dyslexia spans from struggling student to confident professional, illustrating why a balanced view is so important. My journey demonstrates how context and environment dramatically influence whether dyslexia feels like a limitation or an asset. What felt like an insurmountable challenge in school became a unique advantage in the workplace, where I could learn and contribute in ways that suited my thinking style.

A balanced approach makes the most sense. Parents, teachers, and society should recognise academic challenges while building on natural strengths. This strategy gives children the right support without putting limits on what they can achieve. The right help early on makes a huge difference - much more than just using positive labels.

Dyslexia isn’t simply good or bad. The real question is how to build environments where dyslexic people succeed through their unique thinking styles, even as they face challenges. Some people like the superpower idea, while others think it ignores their struggles. Each dyslexic person should be able to describe their own experience without others forcing either a negative or positive story on them.

Dyslexic voices deserve our attention more than anything else. Their real-life experiences tell us more than any simple label could. Understanding dyslexia needs careful thought, empathy, and the ability to see both challenges and opportunities at once - not as opposing forces, but as parts of what makes us human. Sharing my dyslexia personal experience helps illustrate why this balanced view is so important for everyone navigating this complex neurological difference.