Dyslexia in the Music World, Part One

I gave my dyslexia presentation recently at the Mu Phi Epsilon International Convention, and had several people come up to me afterwards asking for the information.  I'm thinking that going through some of it on my blog might be helpful in both getting myself organized into writing this as a book and also to have information in addition to what was on the handouts.  So I'll start this idea by covering some basics about dyslexia and why it's called the Invisible Problem.

First, dyslexia isn't just about not being able to read.  In fact, most dyslexics read well enough and comprehend most of what they read.  They just can't read fast.  In the literary world, speed reading may not be an issue.  In the music world, speed reading makes or breaks a musician as a sight-reader.  And traditionally, poor sight-readers have been equated with poor/weak musicians.

Dyslexia is not an All-or-Nothing problem.  Dyslexics can improve their reading compensation skills.  Unfortunately, dyslexia is not static, which boils down to the problem that dyslexics have good days and bad days.  In the music studio, this means that a student with reading issues may come into their lesson one week and read really well, and you the teacher think that finally, you have reached another level with the student.  However, the student arrives the following week and can't read their way out of a paper bag.  They can't explain why they can't read, and both of you end up frustrated.

Levels of dyslexia reading skills vary as much as the reading skills of non-dyslexics.  And symptoms of dyslexia are the same symptoms of beginning readers and those who have weak reading skills but who are not dyslexic.  The biggest problem with dyslexia is that there are no physical symptoms, no blood tests, x-rays, or other medical procedures that can "see" and therefore diagnose dyslexia.  And because its "invisible" its not uniformly recognized.  There are countries, educational venues, and professions that do not recognize that not every student will read well, that dyslexia does not exist, and that the student with poor/weak reading skills is lazy, unmotivated, or unintelligent.

What these narrow-minded non-dyslexic individuals do not realize is that, in reality, dyslexics possess above-average intelligence, think three-dimensionally, experience thought/imagery as reality, and are some of the most creative individuals on the face of the earth. 

The following people all are/were dyslexic: Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, George Burns, Leonardo de Vinci, Henry Winkler, Agatha Christie, Whoopie Goldberg.  To name just a few.  I'll name a few more in my next blog and touch upon some of the myths vs facts about dyslexia.