dyslexia

[g10]

Just curious.....

Is there any restrictions on dyslexia in the medicals?

Read an earlier post about a flight officeer who was unable to read the check list coz of his dyslexia?

Cheers

[gdb1973]

Look. Dyslexia barely effects your ability to read. I know, i've had it for over 20 years (diagnosed) and studied it enought to become a minor expert.

It would effect your ability to spell, because it mainly effect sequencing. It can also (because it is almost always attended by mild dyspraxia) effect your hand-writing. Some minor effect on reading can happen in extreme cases (especially if people are formal, not interperative, readers) I very much doubt dyslexia would effect someone badly enough that they could not read the pre-flight check-list of familiar words.

Of course, dyslexia is unpredictable. I have it and I have always been an excellent reader. It can effect reading, but i've never encountered an effect to this degree.

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

In some forms it can also affect the ability to distinguish left from right and east from west, despite having good spatial orientation and no problems with up/down, north/south. This can make instrument intercepts, holds and approaches more difficult than for someone without this problem, but not impossible; you learn ways to compensate.

[Boss Raptor]

I have exactly that form CFI...and yes I have ways of compensating like not being rushed into reading the HSI, take it nice and easy,think about what it is telling you, check again(in reality this is a few milliseconds more I reckon)and I've had no real problems once I identified the situation...

Post pub crawl emergency method;

Stick your two hands out in front of you face up, fingers to the sky, with thumbs at 90' - you can see 'L for Left' on the left one!

[Up Up & Away]

Hi all
Just wondering whether you should mention on application forms, especially sponsorship, that you have dyslexia.

regards
UU&A

[mad_jock]

I also am dyslexic along with 60% of other engineers in scotland.

Don't bother mentioning it. They will give you written tests etc in the selection. If your good enough to pass them, then your good enough. Just sit smug that you have better spacial awareness and 3 dimensional imaging that the non-spelling challenged have.

MJ

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Unless the application form says "Are you dyslexic?" why mention it? It really isn't a big deal. It's only writing that can cause problems in most cases, so you just have to write slightly more slowly than you think, or buy shares in Tippex!

I use the saying "The Instructor Is Always RIGHT" to help me in flight. Doesn't work outside the pub though.

It can have advantages too, when I was a kid my mum gave up asking me to lay the table because I always got the knives and forks the wrong way round :)

The left/right east/west thing apparently affects around 25% of the population. Yet there are still instructors who insist on students aligning map-to-track on a navex. Which renders the map almost meaningless to one of these people unless they are tracking due north. This is partly because of the difficulty reading words unless they are the right way up (though mirror writing is a doddle), and partly because the exceptional :) spatial orientation has an up/down line as a reference in their minds. SO no matter which way you are tracking, the map needs to be aligned north to make sense.

On my last renewal my friendly CASA FOI asked me if he thought dyslexic people should be flying instructors. I swear he can read minds this bloke, (or maybe he had trouble understanding my written briefing?!)
There is nothing in legisaltion or in the medical that forbids it, in fact the ability to think more clearly in 3D than their unfortunate non-dyslexic colleagues makes for better situational awareness, and because by the time they are old enough to be pilots they will have learned enough compensation methods so that they won't eg pick the wrong parallel runway, they are no more likely to be a hazard than anyone else.

I was diagnosed at the age of seven, (a LONG time ago) and the psychologist wrote a report saying I should persue a career in aviation because of the 3D thing. Pity my parents didn't agree enough to pay for it!

Edited for jumbled letters...or maybe that's just the way I type...

[This message has been edited by Charlie Foxtrot India (edited 01 June 2001).]

[mad_jock]

About the IR

CFI but do you not find you can "see the air space"

My instructer noticed i was prempting the localiser ie i was starting the turn @ 1-2 secs before the needle moved. When challanged i didn't even realise i was doing it. But i knew where it was and where the other planes were going in relation to me.

I am definately line training at the moment so any advice if i have to supress this or not would be nice.

MJ

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Yes I can "see" the airspace, and have a failsafe "it's over there" method of navigating visually and on instruments, I can't explain it to a non believer, I just know.

But in IF it's the different sector entries and taking up the hold by looking at a two dimensional plate which ties my head in knots! Now if someone invents 3D approach plates it'd be easy.

[mad_jock]

Maybe we are actually the next improvement to the human race. Eventually Darwin will sort out the 2D people and we will be supreme in the sky :)

BTW i am a believer and it has saved my life a few times hillwalking and exploring wrecks scuba diving. I have found 5 years working with engineering drawings converting them into 3D models has solved the 2D-3d converstion thing. :)

[Boss Raptor]

Same thing with me, my fellow instructors used to call it 'my sixth sense'...yes I see everything very much in a three dimensional model (3d approach plates what heaven although possibly only us 'dixy's' would really appreciate them)...and I do the same now I am running business projects...

Read Richard Bach's wonderful books, especially 'Illusions'...makes you think was he also dyslexic!

[gdb1973]

"Just sit smug that you have better spacial awareness and 3 dimensional imaging that the non-spelling challenged have."

Yeah? Well I have confirmed dyslexia and I can't park cars for Toffee! LOL!

Well, actually, I have a friend who is a 747 Captain for BA (bastard! :-D) and you should see his hand-writing, and his spelling. Classic Dyslexia. In fact he only joined the RAF because his exam results were poor. Fortunately he came from the "right" family.

[mad_jock]

But if you have a double x chromosone (that was a hard one) if cancels the effect.

:) MJ

[Charlie Foxtrot India]

Hey! That's not true! I just have a very narrow carport...

[Haas_320]

Thanks guys and double X's for this thread, It all sounds too familiar Aint it grand this beeing able to see airspace, handwriting is not my best neither are holding entries (FMS,FMS,FMS Hooray) I hope to reach left seat 74 someday