This is a story I wanted to share:
https://apnews.com/article/dyslexia-trump-newsom-insults-learning-disability-53e47ca7c7d4d0d16eb42a9a012a85e0
Why? Because I am actually dyslexic.
Growing up, it was a stigma and a battle. I moved between numerous schools. Some were great. Others were not. This was well before spell checkers and writing tools, so it was truly difficult. I heard it all. “Terrible writer.” “Can’t spell.” Always negative. Always pointed out.
If you have only seen my posts over the last few years, you might not understand that. I write a lot now, and it might look like the problem is gone. It is not. Not even close.
What has changed is the tools.
I use a layered approach. I write first. Then I go through spelling with help from a checker. After that, I use an LLM to clean up flow and structure. I go back and forth on that several times to make sure what is written actually matches what I am thinking. Then I run it through a second tool, because the first one can drift away from my tone, cadence, and narrative voice. That second pass brings it back to sounding like me.
The result is simple. What is in my head actually makes it to the page.
I am not using AI to write for me. Far from it. Sometimes I spend 20 to 40 minutes on a single post just to get it right. But I enjoy it. I really do. I have a lifetime of stories, and now I finally have a way to tell them.
Maybe that is part of why this matters so much to me.
For most of my life, and even into adulthood, I was criticized for how I write. That stays with you. Dyslexia keeps you on the defensive. You learn to work around it. I rely more on what I say than what I write. I swap words when my brain will not cooperate. Furthermore, I adapt.
Reading is also different for me. I do much better with bullet points. Give me that, and I can build the rest in my head. A full wall of text is harder.
I would not say I have “embraced” dyslexia, but I have come to terms with it. And with modern tools, especially in the last few years, I have been able to push past a lot of the limitations and the negativity that came with it.
So when I read a story like this, it hits.
Because I remember what it felt like as a kid. I remember it in school. I remember it in business. And yes, it still stings.
Dyslexia is a silent disability. Most people do not know I have it.
So when I hear people, especially at a national level, throw it around like it means low IQ, that is where I draw the line. That is just wrong.
We are here. We have always been here. And we are not going anywhere.
Dyslexia is part of who I am. It is not something to “fix,” and it should not be. It shaped how I think, how I speak, and how I solve problems.
And I will end with this.
If someone thinks dyslexia means low IQ, it says a lot. Just not about the people who have it.
Phil Stanway