How It Feels to Be Dyslexic in a World Dominated by Written Communication

Not an easy topic. As with mental health issues, dyslexia—a neurobiological condition—tends to be the elephant in the room. It’s there; it really exists, though it isn’t visible. You can keep studying, working, being intelligent, and doing the things you love in your own way, but it’s still there.

When we hear that someone has dyslexia, we often just say “Oh!” and move on. As a member of a team with multiple colleagues and constant communication, however, I wanted to know how to help anyone who might face this challenge—perhaps a future colleague. So I made sure not to miss the session. And, as always, good stories come from painful memories or… from grateful moments.

The speaker shared his personal story as a dyslexic person in school, how grateful he remains for the people and laws that supported him, and why he decided to give this talk. It was a deeply personal story that earned heartfelt applause from the audience.

The points the speaker shared were inspiring, and the audience responded with great ideas of their own. Suggestions included using shorter phrases, TL;DR summaries, and fonts like OpenDyslexic. Others noted that dyslexia doesn’t only affect reading but also impacts various areas of life—such as needing a quick two-minute meeting when reading text, though perfectly organized, isn’t effective. One audience member shared, “When I need to read long texts, I set my computer to read them aloud synchronously with me.”

As with every Drupal conference or meetup, the “coming for the community” aspect remains the best part. We all know, at some level, how to build a website, design a button, or promote a site using SEO techniques. But at our core, we are still humans who need motivation. While technology pushes us to keep moving forward, sometimes we must look higher, beyond the screens, and reach for the next level—whatever our struggles may be.