Defining Dyslexia: Man behind documentary film to join panel discussion about the disorder

In the course of making a documentary about dyslexia, Harvey Hubbell V has asked a lot of people what they think dyslexia is.

"We've heard people say it's an eating disorder -- it's a sleeping disorder," Hubbell said. "The obvious one that everybody says is that people see things backwards."

Hubbell, who is dyslexic, will be in Winston-Salem on Thursday to participate in a panel discussion sponsored by the North Carolina branch of the International Dyslexia Association and the Triad Academy, a private, nonprofit school in Winston-Salem that works with students with dyslexia.

Triad Academy was invited to submit profiles of some students for a companion book to Dislecksia: The Movie, which Hubbell expects to finish in June. Hubbell's movies have won four Emmys. In naming this movie, he chose the more phonetic spelling Dislecksia to show how he would be inclined to spell it.

The purpose of the movie is to give people a better idea of what dyslexia is.

"Our job is to wake up a lot of people," he said.

Carrie Malloy, the academy's director, said that many people don't understand dyslexia.

"People still think this is a visual problem," she said of dyslexia. "It literally means ‘difficulty with language.'"

That difficulty can manifest as trouble learning to read and struggles with spelling and writing. Math can also be a problem for dyslexics, who may grow up to have trouble balancing their checkbooks.

That's not because they are not smart. Dyslexics tend to be of average or above-average intelligence, and, with the proper approach, they can learn strategies that enable them to become proficient readers.

"We have a dramatic ability to have a significant impact on these kids," Malloy said. "We have to teach them differently."

Hubbell, who lives in Connecticut, said that dyslexia is not the same for any two people. "I think dyslexia is like a tailor-made suit," he said. "All of our brains are different."

Some people learn by doing. Others learn by hearing or seeing. People who are dyslexic are visually oriented right-brained thinkers.

"They are picture-based thinkers," he said. "I like to call it a learning difference."

People who are dyslexic have the ability to visualize something from multiple points of views, which can lead to seeing letters in reverse or out of order or skewed in other ways. In other contexts, though, that ability can be a gift.

Often, people with dyslexia are quite creative. Among those believed to have been dyslexic are Albert Einstein, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney and George Patton.

But if difficulties learning to read aren't dealt with early on, they can lead to other problems. Children with dyslexia may be teased for struggling with skills that other children master more readily.

"All of a sudden, the self-esteem is crashing," Hubbell said. "What starting off as a learning difference has turned into a disability.… If you were blind, people would not tell you you're not trying hard enough."

Yet that can happen to young people with dyslexia, and they may look for ways to compensate.

Many dyslexics are artistically talented, and they may create an "artist" persona for themselves. Some become cut-ups. Some become the "bad" kid.

Being slow to learn to talk and having trouble learning the alphabet can be early signs of dyslexia. Dyslexia is passed along genetically so parents who have had their own difficulties should be alert for signs in their children.

"Early intervention is a good thing all the time," Hubbell said.

kunderwood@wsjournal.com | 727-7389

Want to go?

A panel discussion about dyslexia is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Calhoun Room at St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 520 Summit St.

Admission is free.

For more information, or to submit a question, send an e-mail to information@triadacademy.org or call 775-4900.

More information about Triad Academy, a private, nonprofit school that is sponsoring the discussion with the North Carolina branch of the International Dyslexic Association, is available at Triadacademy.org. More information about Dislecksia: The Movie is available at www.capturedtimeproductions.com.