Any pilots with dyslexia?

[Header]

Hi there,

I was just wondering if there are many pilots out there who have dyslexia. I myself am dyslexic, and while this has disadvantaged me in some aspects of my life, im not sure how this condition would affect my training in becoming a pilot. I would love to hear any stories or experience that people have had due to this condition.

Many thanks

[Loose rivets]

Try to describe the symptoms. Don't state the obvious, but how the words look to you on the page. Is there any tendency for them to jumble so that you seem to be having to chase the words while reading?

Or, is the page quite calm and still, but the words are simply difficult to interpret?

How is your spelling? What do you see in your mind's eye while spelling?

A great link for us word challenged. :ok:


http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/

[beerdrinker]

Both my sons were diagnosed with dyslexia. During the diagnosis process they were asked if there was any dyslexia in the family. Both replied don't know. Then asked if there was anybody with left/right blindness in the family and they immediately replied yes - Dad. That, apparently, is a form of dyslexia. ( I have no problem with port/starboard)

Also one of those sons ended up as a fighter pilot. The other has a PPL and 1st class degree from Uni.

So Dyslexia has caused our family no problems with aviation and education.

[Re-Heat]

One of my best mates was told he would never get a GCSE with his severe dyslexia. He got a First in his degree ultimately, so don't let yourself think that it will at all disadvantage you - you have benefits in other areas with dyslexia that the rest of us don't have!

[Johe02]

How can a pilot with dyslexia read this forum? :confused:

[Hawk]

Most adult dyslexics read very well. They also express themselves in writing very well. They have as large a vocabalary as anyone else. It's just the spelling and grammar they fall down on. Interestingly, they usually have no problems with a second language or professional/technical language.

edited for grammar and spelling.

[Johe02]

So that means I'm dyslexic. I just use a spell checker.

So the answer is: If you can read this forum, it's not a problem :D

[gingernut]

Current evidence suggests that dyslexics are more intelligent than the general public as a whole.

Judging by some responses on this thread, its apparent that they hold more intellect than some ppruner's.

Go and pick on someone your own size.

[Header]

Thanks for the responses. With me its a case of sitting down and sifting through large volumes of textual information that intimidates me. Generally my reading is OK, its just that I concentrate on the word themselves as opposed to the meaning of the words, which for obvious reasons will slow one down. As studying for an ATPL requires you to digest large quantities of information over a relatively short period of time I think this is an area that I could slip up on. As for my spelling, its probably on par with a 10 year old.

I think the physical act of flying an airplane is unaffected, although I do tend to find difficulties when using the clock face to get a bearing on another airplane or reference point. I don’t have any problems with left or right though

[London legend]

I don't know any specifics, I'm afraid, but I do know a case where somebody with dyslexia had almost finished his ATPL before the college he was at told him his dyslexia meant he couldn't finish...

Probably best to be completely up front with the school you choose, so that there are no nasty surprises later on.

[Hawk]

hmmm..wonder how the College determined he had dyslexia and not just a lazy speller. I'd imagine you might be failed for one, but surely not the other.

[phnuff]

How can a pilot with dyslexia read this forum

<Rant on>
I hope that comment was flippent otherwise it means that you are falling for a common misunderstanding of what dyslexia means.
</rant off>

I have a mildish form of dyslexia which means that I have to read everything twice to check I got it right first time and I am a nightmare when it comes to spelling. Having said that I ended up quite nicely with a degree (a mathermatical disciplin) and while only a PPL, found nothing to I could not handle and feel that from the academic side, I could have gone much further as a pilot.

Header - good luck with your career. Ok, I'm no ATPL, but I would suggest that maybe you should interview the schools carefully to find one who understands the nature of dyslexia and can help you.

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

I'm one of those people who have a real problem labelling Left/Right, East/West, Port/Starboard, although I have good spatial orientation I have to use methods to help me work out which way is which. (I say to myself "the instructor is always right" - that's the side I'm sitting on). Yet I can read upside down and do mirror writing with both hands (often unintentionally) and other things, including always knowing what the time is without looking at a watch and always knowing where North is.

Sometimes my whiteboard briefings come out with the writing upside down or backwards much to the amusement of the students.

None of this has ever affected my flying, apart from when a narrow minded instructor once insisted I align map to track, and without North on the top the map became meaningless squiggles. ...I was also cr@p at instrument holds and approaches, I could visualise it in my head but couldn't transpose the approach plates and needles into 3D orientation. I think if I'd been taught better by an instructor who understood my way of visualising things instead of just telling me I was stupid I could have mastered it. Instead I gave up on it and built my career VFR.

[Gorgophone]

If words on the (white) page seem to jump around try using coloured lenses - orange/yellow works for many, green for some; experiment.

[DanielP]

Hi, I'm not a pilot (I would if my eyesight was better and I could afford it though...have to stay as an enthusiast for now!), but a higher education dyslexia specialist, so I may be able to help with the definitions etc.....
Gorgophone...that's called scotopic sensitivity. There are tests to work out exactly which colour overlay should be recommended when reading books. The tints require a test by an optometrist with a special machine and may be a different colour from the overlay.

Dyslexia is a frankly crap term which covers a multitude of issues....generally "specific learning difficulty" is preferable. The test for dyslexia (often the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) 3) is administered by a suitably qualified chartered psychologist and consists of a range of cognitive performance tests. Someone without dyslexia will normally produce reasonably consistent results, but someone with the condition will produce a "saw tooth" profile. The thing to remember is that everything is comparative to the rest of an individual's performance: someone's lowest score may be higher than your highest, but because of the variations in their results, they will still have dyslexia despite being able to have you for breakfast! Generally, people with dyslexia will often have a comparitively poor short term memory (e.g. problems remembering long lists of numbers, "loose" words they are thinking of before they can be used in a sentence). Many people also have issues taking in the context of written text quickly and then of course there is the old left/right and spelling problems: e.g. muddle up "b"/"d"s and "p"/"q"s, miss syllables out of words, have trouble with double letters and spell phonetically....if you have trouble spelling words like necessary (two similar "ssss" sounds spelt differently!) you may be one of the dyslexic club.
Benenfits of dyslexia can include enhanced visual logic, unnaturally strong long term focus on a specific task, strong 3D spatial awareness and long term/photographic store of information (is this a job description for ATC??!!). Business vision can also be enhanced (hey, My Branston!)

I would guess that these would also be highly beneficial for a pilot: the only downsides (which an aware indiviual could easily deal with) would be being seen as a "different" thinker as regards CRM, sky glare from scotopic sensitivety, the left/right issue and remembering number chains. The only one that might bother me would be if a n individual with poor visual processing had to read and understand a rarely used SOP in a pressing emergency situation (but that's what the sim is for?!). Otherwise, I think that the failsafe nature of flying (e.g. most activities called out and confirmed verbally) will pick up dyslexic (and non dyslexic errors).

Funny old world, isn't it? You often hear people dispairing of their spelling, but you never hear anyone moaning about their 3d spatial awareness being crap!!

Hope this is useful and I'd be interested to hear what others think.

Daniel

[waco]

Daniel P

A thousand thanks for your excellent post. You discribe many of my traits excellently.......could have done with you about 35 years ago.

Your thoughts I'm sure will help at least two of my relatives.

sincere thanks.

Waco

[Gorgophone]

DanielP

Excellent post! I used to help kids with dyslexia using visual perception art exercises - they would increase their scores on the WISK Test by at least 20% so there is hope after diagnosis, and as you say, there are benefits too. All the best to you.

[JMac63]

I'm currently doing an integrated course in England and one of the guys is dyslexic. This however has not stopped him achieving an excellent average in ATPL theory, and so far he is doing really well with the flying.

good luck