Throughout history and into the now, there is no denying the abundance of creative dyslexics scattered about, across all areas of opportunity.
Whether showcasing their talents in the typical creative methods, as in the endless array of paintings, sculptures, drawings or sketches dyslexics have gifted us over the years, or fabricating nuances in considerably more abstract methods including cooking, architecture, athletics, scientific discoveries, or teaching methods; creative dyslexics have, and continue to leave their mark in both, the less than typical creative channels, in addition to the standard creative outlets we've forever embraced.
While the abundance of dyslexics embracing creative careers continues to grow, research studies specifically linking dyslexia to a 'more' creative brain have been slow coming, seemingly leaving some resentfully resisting the adoption of such a connection. So often when discussing whether dyslexics are more creative or whether dyslexia enhances creativity, the article will clearly state upfront, "while there's currently no evidence that proves people with dyslexia ...."
This is NOT one of those articles. In fact, this article is to inform you there IS a solid link through research and behavioral studies to support the concept ->
DYSLEXICS ARE MORE CREATIVE
Moreover, the consistent rejection of the prevalent link between dyslexia & creativity is driven more by people viewing information in a snapshot instead of applying it to the entire picture, coupled with the ever growing acceptance to dismiss facts & evidence, rather than a lack of information connecting the two.
->More on this in just a moment but first, it is necessary to set the foundation of understanding before expanding, a key factor of influence often left out of the equation.
FOUNDATION OF UNDERSTANDING:
1- Most experts recognize that BOTH factors: Nature & Nurture, play important influential roles in an individual's life outcome.
-Meaning-> Even if an individual is born the a specific gene (ie...creative gene or even a killing gene), the impact of the gene's ability to manifest is connected to the individuals environment.
-Interesting gene research looking for a 'serial killer' gene provides a great understanding of the impactful role environment plays the ability of a person's genetic destiny to manifest.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT: Whether a specific gene is discovered & linked to creativity, likewise, whether an individual contains the 'creative gene', it is still only a piece of the puzzle, a snapshot of the picture, a mere chapter in a person's complete existence and not the concluding factor in a person's ability or creative pathway. Concluding, dyslexia can contribute to increased creativity without EVERY dyslexic being a creative genius.
2- The United States, holds a long history of denying the existence of dyslexia.
-In recent years, a series of television documentaries, books, media reports and speeches have criticized dyslexia.
->Recent examples of denial include:
*2014 Elliott & Grigorenko = dyslexia 'a term that has lost credibility and should be replaced'.
*2014 Liddle = 'dyslexia is useful only to parents seeking to excuse their children's difficulties, and should be consigned to the history books.'
*2017 Bennett = dyslexia 'a fabrication, based on suspect science'
*2018 Henshaw = Warwickshire County Council stated that the research field 'lacked consensus' and that 'the diagnosis of dyslexia is scientifically questionable and can be misleading'.
MORE RECENTLY & PERHAPS THE MOST APPALLING:
*2019 Allington = Dr. Richard Allington, past president of the International Literacy Association and a retired professor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was a featured speaker at the Literacy Association of Tennessee's fall conference. His message to parents with dyslexic children, upset the schools were not using the targeted interventions provided per Tennessee Legislation, Say Dyslexia Law, "maybe I can find a superintendent who wants to buy a program, I can make your kids dumber..." Allington continued that the Tennessee Chapter of Decoding Dyslexia wrote the bill and, "managed to find some idiot, in this town right here, to put it into law" further stating that if the Governor had called him, he would have told him, "Just veto it and shoot whoever made this bill", further encouraging the audience to find out which of their "legislators were dumb as hell," continuing with, "If dyslexia does exist, and I'm not sure that it does, I'm reasonably sure that it doesn't exist..."
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: History is not so much the past but a magical window into the future. History is a documentation of human behavior and human behavior consists of patterns and patterns repeat. Unfortunatly, our history documents a pattern of consistent denial, rejection and dismissal of all things dyslexic. Dyslexic tracktion has been met with pushback at every stage, right down to its very existence, importance and value; so one can not be surprised that yet again there is pushback, denial, rejection and dismissal when presented with findings of increased creativity linked to dyslexia. There has always been and continues to be a heavy weight of negative bias surrounding dyslexia and this is an important influencer when people react to information regarding dyslexia. Our societies inability to accept dyslexia, generation after generation, has been a driving factor in dyslexics having disproportionately higher rates across the board: dropouts, juvenile detention centers, prison, homelessness, suicides, attempted suicides, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, substance abuse, childhood abuse, victimization, depression, anxiety, unemployment, and overall negative life outcomes. Dyslexia was identified 135 years ago...and yet, here we are today, still fighting to be seen.
3- Dyslexics continue to go undiagnosed due to societal rejection and bias against its existence.
-The Educational System continues to fail dyslexic children: lack of dyslexic testing/diagnosis - teacher bias - unfunded programs - inconsistent policies & direction - nonexistent training
*Study discovered a positive link connecting a teacher's rejection & bias to failure in diagnosing dyslexia in children. In addition, that cognitive failure, teacher's rejection & interpersonal relationship anxiety symptoms contribute to intensify the existing learning difficulties in children with dyslexia.
*38 million dyslexic Americans are still not diagnosed.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: With such an immensely large percent of dyslexics not diagnosed, providing an accurate calculation to the amount of creative dyslexics or rather any prevalence of skills, is nearly impossible because there is a significant number of dyslexic missing from the equation. Remembering this is important when examining percents and statistics for example:
*There are 23 documented dyslexic on this list-> indicating 23% of the top 100 most influential people in American history are dyslexic.
-With only 6% of dyslexics diagnosed, yet still providing 23% of the most influential people in American history, the question stands:
4- Dyslexics only represent 10-15% (some sources say 20%) of the US population, making 85-90% of the US population NOT dyslexic.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: This goes to when receiving information, it's important to view it aside all other known information regarding topic, not as a stand alone piece.
-Example: Let's say that out of 100 creative people, 6 out of the 100 were identified as dyslexic. What percent of dyslexics are creative?
*6 dyslexics out of 100 people = 6% dyslexic -> WRONG
-It's important to factor in what percent of people are dyslexic.
*10-15% of US population is dyslexic -> meaning out of 100 people 10-15 of them will be dyslexic.
-So instead of out of 100 it would be out of 10 or 15, the number of dyslexics in the group, so the percent of creative dyslexics -> 6 out of 10 = 60% is the correct answer & a completely different view.
-Methods for identifying creativity:
*Psychologist and professor emerita at the University of Oregon, Marjorie Taylor, explains, in addition to using open-ended questions as one part of her process in exploring levels of creativity, she relies on various methods psychologists have developed to assist in exploring a broader array of creative indicators.
*Mark Batey, a senior lecturer in organizational psychology at the University of Manchester, noted in his 2012 article exploring the process of measuring creativity, that while creativity provides important influence in societies and cultures, the topic is 'infrequently studied in comparison to other similar constructs, including intelligence or personality' and further indicating perhaps the main barrier of exploration into creativity is in fact due to the' lack of a clear and widely accepted definition for creativity.' Batey further elaborates providing examples of creative considerations by individuals ranging from domain-changing, transcendent, works of greatness to the artwork of children or even more subjective- personal truth or self-growth.
*Studies and lectures done on the Approaches to Measuring Creativity merely add to the confusion sighting that out of 152 papers published through 2016 depicting psychologist's approach in measuring creativity, the only constant factor was the inconsistency displayed by the various frameworks used to evaluate creativity.
*Even falling on the general statement most researchers typically agree on as a point of reference: 'creativity is the ability to be different in a useful way, ' there is still the questionable definition of 'useful'.
*Albert Einstein, indisputably a creative genius, states:
Thanks Einstein, but true to your words, defining 'creativity' is in and of itself a thinking haze.
*While there is a solid definition of creativity and possible occupations for a creative person in the dictionary, this hardly provides a roadmap for evaluation.
*Among all the back and forth, surfacing in high agreement across fields is the visible correlation, and arguably more measurable, divergent thinking. New research shows that creative thinking involves making new connections between regions of the brain, which is accomplished by cultivating divergent thinking skills and deliberately exposing oneself to new experiences and to learning. Divergent thinking, is not the same thing as creative thinking or even a synonym, but rather an ESSENTIAL CAPACITY FOR CREATIVITY. Divergent thinking is the ability to see numerous possible answers / solutions / work arounds / paths... to a question, in addition to various ways to perceive or view the question itself. Numerous studies have been conducted, connecting divergent thinking as a foundational base of creativity, leading many companies to add divergent thinking tests into their hiring process and phycologist to utilize divergent thinking tests as a tool in determining levels of creativity in an individual.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: Understanding the challenges in defining 'creativity', the 'haze' as Einstein depicts it, around pinpointing the staples of creativity and even further the creativity a person embodies, proves to be at best challenging and at worst, impossible. For these reasons, instead of looking at creativity in the way of building blocks that complete an entity, perhaps stepping back and investigating the whole of creativity presented in individuals throughout history that have already been labeled or grouped into the creative pile by experts in their field. Identifying characteristics, traits or other commonalities frequently embraced by individuals already provided the 'creative' label can provide an understanding of essential commodities by recognizable patterns between 'creatives'.
Now that the foundation of understanding has been set, we can look at what we currently know in regards to the dyslexic brain and increased creativity. While as stated in the beginning of this article, there has been limited research studies devoted specifically to determining the link or connection between creativity and dyslexia, the few available studies have overwhelmingly been on the side of pro connection.
1- A study measuring both the quantity and originality of ideas generated by dyslexic and non-learning disabled students; showed dyslexic students typically perform better than non-learning disabled students in both regards.
2- Dyslexic individuals showed superior abilities at connecting different mental fields through unusual combinations of ideas in comparison with the control group in a recent study.
3- An eye for the unusual study found compared with non-dyslexics, dyslexic adults presented consistent evidence of greater creativity in tasks requiring novelty or insight and more innovative styles of thinking.
4- While evaluating the education influences on creativity in teenagers, the study was unable to determine a connection between education and creativity but did conclude that dyslexic children and teenagers were highly creative, showing higher creativity scores with the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) than non-dyslexic participants.
5- A small but historic conference took place at Green College, Oxford University, focused on high level achievements in arts and the sciences titled "Genius in the Genes" included an associated exhibition of art and scientific work from eight families. All eight families showed evidence of high visual and spatial talents along with troubles with words, several members of each family being dyslexic. The speakers indicated that very high level and creative achievement in the sciences has often come from the neurological resources linked to success in the arts. Further explaining the increased awareness of the creative gain of unusual visual and spatial proficiencies often surface at the cost of some lack of proficiency in some language systems. Many members within these talent families who have special strengths in art, design, computer graphics, visual mathematics, mechanics or engineering also have difficulties with reading, spelling, arithmetic, rote memorization or foreign languages, 23 being dyslexic. There is a significantly visible pattern of similar talents throughout the family. One of the speakers, Patience Thomson, the former head of Fairley House School for dyslexics in London, now publisher of "books for reluctant readers" (Barrington Stoke) spoke of her family's visual-spatial achievements leading to 4 Nobel prize winners and the influential contribution creativity and innovation played in their success.
6- Art has consistently been associated with creativity. A study on the prevalence of dyslexia among art students revealed dyslexic individuals are over-represented in fields that involve visual-spatial abilities such as art and architecture.
7- Mirela Duranovic led a team in testing 40 children diagnosed with dyslexia on a rage of tests of imagery and visual memory that showed children with dyslexia outperformed the controls in the Paper Folding Test, judging which one of several illustration correctly depicts how the paper will look once unfolded again. The superior performance of dyslexic children demonstrates a more challenging and complex thinking process, than simple mental rotation tasks, and involves a larger sequence of mental steps to complete.
8- Research into the link between creativity and dyslexia found three quarters of 360 Foundation students had some form of dyslexia.
9- Dyslexic Design highlights the undeniable talent of many dyslexic designers, an industry founded on unique creativity.
10- University of Surrey successfully found a link between dyslexia and more innovative thinking and problem solving.
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN:
CHARACTERISTICS - TRAITS - HABITS
OF CREATIVE PEOPLE & ENTREPRENEURS
Whether or not there is clear finding in respect to 'nature' that the dyslexic brain has indeed a gene or wiring pattern linked to creativity that provides dyslexics with an heightened sense of creativity, one can not ignore the 'nurturing' aspect dyslexics live and perhaps arguably the strongest presence that facilitates creativity in dyslexics.
1- Wired Differently- Dyslexics are forced to live in a world that was not built with them in mind. As a result, on a daily basis, dyslexics are required to find creative ways to conquer what others seemingly take for granted as simple tasks of life but for dyslexics, they are barriers to find work arounds every single day of their existence.
2- Quick to Rebound- While less observed, creativity stems from a foundation of finding new paths of expression and understanding, a skill set embedded into dyslexics at birth and is often the saving grace that builds deep persistence and determination to rebound over and over again after continuous failure time and time again.
3- Illusion of Normality- What looks different to most, is nothing but normal to dyslexics. Living outside the dyslexic world, the view inside may look creatively fantastic, different, unique or wonderless but living from within, it is just a normal view of the world in which we reside. Simply put, what the world perceives as creative, is sometimes nothing more than a picture of the dyslexic world, a creation of a dyslexic daily thought process, or a written testimony of the dyslexic existence.
4- Going back to our foundation of understanding, nature and nurture both being vitally essential necessities contributing to the birth of a creative genius. Steve Jobs was able to prosper and grow to gift the universe with what some say presides in the category of revolutionary or world changing at the very least, thus creating the very existence we now embrace, reaping the benefits of his everlasting impact, leaving the world but forever being present in every iTunes download, Pixar production, Mac purchase, and iPhone call because his parents nurtured his abilities and talents instead of showering him with despair and grief solely focused on his inabilities. Steve Varley, UK Chairman of EY, describes the necessity to focusing on the advantages dyslexia brings rather than the limited downfalls, "If today we were to employ superwoman, what we wouldn't do is complain that she can't handle kryptonite, we would look at how good she is and all the other wonderful other things she does but we would never, never draw attention that kryptonite is not her thing."
5- Dyslexia is not diagnosed by brain scans or scientific brain diagnostics, if fact most dyslexics will never have an MRI or CT Scan proving they have dyslexia, likewise ADHD, OCD, and numerous other disorders will never be proven using any type of medical testing tools that provide a detailed picture of their brain to prove their disability. Rather, just as most medical diagnosis are identified, dyslexia is proven through recognized behavioral patterns and specific testing designed to identify the prevalence of dyslexic tendencies. Identifying patterns, tendencies and behaviors in individuals has been proven a successful methodology in diagnosing dyslexia and has thus been the supported process for providing an individual with the label of dyslexia. Based off this understanding, I would argue, identifying creativity in dyslexics should follow the same structure of methodology, as if it is sufficient enough in identifying dyslexia, why then would it not be sufficient enough to identify creativity in dyslexics? Perhaps then, the strongest evidence dyslexics harbor increased creativity, is the undisputed pattern of dyslexics in creative fields and furthermore the undisputed pattern of creative traits found in theses individuals.
-Greater Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life published an article on how to develop creativity as a habit and style of engaging with the world, providing a list of the Top Ten Habits of Highly Creative People.
- The Startup crafted a 10 Must Have Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur. Creativity has been an undisputed necessity for entrepreneurs.
It's easy to see the overlap between creative people and entrepreneurs. Reviewing the skills, traits and characteristics of dyslexics, a similar correlation appears.
These traits, skills and characteristics are often showcased by the dozens of dyslexics currently and throughout history who have embraced creative fields. Dyslexics are disproportionately represented in creative fields including painting, writing, acting, drawing, producing, cartooning, inventing and more.
CHECK OUT A FEW DYSLEXIC: PAST & PRESENT IN CREATIVE FIELDS
New research shows dyslexics, while only 10-15% of the United States population, represent 35% of entrepreneurs.
In conclusion, while the denial and rejection of the existence in the proven correlated links between dyslexia and creativity will never surprise me, at the very least, I hope this article sheds some light on additional key factors that influence and impact the overall understanding of this controversial topic.
Let me know your thoughts below and just for fun take the creativity test below and see how your creativity level measures up.
Test Your Creativity Level 
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