Not All Those Who Wander are Lost: Examining the Character Strengths of Dyslexia

Abstract

The number of students and people with dyslexia and other learning differences has been steadily increasing in recent years. This has led to an accompanying need for additional support for people with dyslexia. Whilst acknowledging that support is vital for people with dyslexia, it is also important to identify the strengths that people with dyslexia have that help individuals flourish. For many years, dyslexia research has been more pre-occupied in exploring the problems faced by people with dyslexia. This study attempts to explore the strengths of people with dyslexia. This quantitative study looked at 89 people with dyslexia [N=89] from the UK and USA. Using the Values in Actions Character Strengths Inventory, participants were given the opportunity to explore their signature strengths. The survey was hosted on a specially designed Dyslexia friendly website. The length of the survey at 240 questions may have proved a deterrent for some respondents, many of who gave up half way through. From the results of those who completed the survey the main signature strengths for people with dyslexia are, Curiosity, Fairness, Kindness, Judgement, Honesty, Leadership and Humour. Comparisons were made between the sample of people with dyslexia and with wider general population surveys. Addressing the strengths of people with dyslexia is as important as looking at their problems and difficulties. The authors feel there is a need for a shorter measure of character strengths that could be used in future research.

Character Strengths Across Disabilities: An International Exploratory Study and Implications for Positive Psychiatry and Psychology

“…A previous study (27) found the top five strengths were honesty, kindness, fairness, humor, and gratitude, and the bottom five strengths were forgiveness, humility, spirituality, zest, and self-regulation in people with multiple sclerosis. In another study, authors found that the most common character strengths were curiosity, fairness, kindness, judgment, honesty, and leadership, while the least common character strengths were zest, prudence, perseverance, humility, hope, self-regulation, and spirituality in people with dysclexia (37). These results are partially consistent with our findings; however, it is also important to highlight that the most and least common character strengths may change based on disability groups.…”

Neuropsicologia E Psicologia Positiva: Saberes Que Contribuem Para a Compreensão Da Dislexia Na Educação

“…Dessa forma, compreendemos que a ciência psicológica é capaz de trazer possibilidade de mudanças de comportamentos humanos e dos processos mentais, ao prever e controlar variáveis associadas ao comportamento e as emoções. Focaremos, neste estudo, no campo da Neuropsicologia e Psicologia Positiva que vem se destacar por suas relevantes contribuições para o campo da dislexia (SILVA, 2018;KANNANGARA et al, 2018; GOSSE; DRICOT; VAN REYBROECK, 2022).…”

“…Além disso, segundo Magyar-Moe, Owens e Conoley, (2015), a Psicologia Positiva ancora-se à luz da teoria das virtudes e forças do caráter (o desenvolvimento das forças pode colaborar com uma experiência mais frequente de estados emocionais positivos, estabelecimento de relacionamentos interpessoais mais saudáveis e engajamento maior em atividades acadêmicas), dedicando-se na construção dos pontos fortes enquanto gerencia e busca minimizar os fracos. Nessa direção, Kannangara et al (2018) expressam que o foco principal do aporte teórico da PP tem sido acerca de como a dislexia é vista, não como uma deficiência que reside dentro de um indivíduo, mas sim como uma interação entre as habilidades da pessoa e as demandas do ambiente.…”

A general theory of consciousness I:Consciousness and adaptation

“…Their visual thinking interferes with the spoken language and may lead to dyslexia or autism. In both these conditions, visual thinking is known to be strongly present [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]. In the case of dyslexia, the child has problems with utilizing spoken language; in autism spoken language is partially or sometimes completely rejected.…”