Terms- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Let me start off by saying what you are about to read may upset you. Actually it may do more than just upset you. My hope is that it will at least make you think, examine, and maybe even change you thought patterns about dyslexia. I feel this is fair because as a dyslexic I have to do it all the time.

Also I need to place a disclaimer here. So my Disclaimer- these are MY opinions and observations about my dyslexia. No one is perfectly alike, so therefore I believe that not everyone’s dyslexia is perfectly alike either. Also the many tools that I am going to talk about are things and ideas that have helped me in my life. Some of them may help you, and some may not. I am really hoping to start a conversation and to try to help people who are like me.

So, anyhow, to move on- Terms, which is what I said I was going to talk about.
Let’s start with the Ugly- that’s me. Not physically, mind you… In reality I am actually really cute, but that is not the point. The point is I am a little (ok a lot) hostile to the words that are used everyday to describe dyslexia and in turn dyslexics. Really there are just 2 that most people use that I cannot stand.
*Dramatic Pause*And they are- Disability and Overcoming.

The word disability has a super negative connotation and definition- “a physical or mental handicap, especially one that prevents a person from living a full, normal life or from holding a gainful job.” So in other words- out look of life- not so good and may never be good. I feel that this word robs some of my ability to believe in my future and myself. So I try not to use this word and I go out of my way to avoid it when describing myself. I understand that dyslexia can be a disability and does affect people’s lives, but it is not the end of the world and has many positive things about it (more on that later).

So on to the next word- Overcoming. This is, to me, an over used word that most people would deploy in talking about “fixing” or “curing” dyslexia. I am just going to come right out and say it- there is no magic wand that fixes our brains with dyslexia. It is going to be in our brains for all of our lives and it is going to affect us. Some days it will affects us more then others. The word overcoming, to me, sends a message that there is someway to live where dyslexia does not impact everyday life. I have yet to find the magic formula and I doubt I will.

Let’s move on to the good part, or what I call replacing the ugly terms with more positive messaged words. I think that words are really important. They are the main way we communicate. With that in mind I searched until I found words that worked perfectly with how my mind functions. I needed to find new words to keep my motivation going and to feel better about myself. So the words I came up with and use are- Challenged and coping mechanisms.

Challenged replaces disabled. A challenge is something that you can find a way to meet. Also you can measure success within a challenge and every victory is worth celebrating. You can find the strength to take on a challenge. That to me is a very positive message. So this is a word that I use often to talk and think of myself.

Coping mechanisms replaces overcoming. Coping mechanisms is a fancy way of talking about the small daily steps that a person uses to make their life easy to live and to succeed within their lives. The nice thing about coping mechanisms is that you can find the special ones that work for you and you can learn then from just about anywhere. That is part of the reason I am writing this. With coping you can do anything; there is no limit. Which is very uplifting to say the lest.

So I was going to add the bad about terms here, but this is a long, long post. So I will have to write about that next time.
So until next time!

Tool #2- Find words that make you feel good about yourself, about your place in the world, and that are inline with who you are at heart. Everyone has different ideas about themselves and their goals in life. Think on these ideas and find the positive ideas and words that help you be you. I know this sounds hippy-ish, but if you start thinking positive it is amazing where that positive thought can take you. Even if you don't believe me try it for a week or so.