Are Dyslexic People Organizationally Challenged?
The cliché that dyslexics are hopeless at organization misses the truth. In reality, dyslexic people frequently maintain complicated and highly effective organizational systems. These systems simply don’t look right to neurotypical people. In fact, poor organization by a dyslexic person often results from an attempt to impose a “standard” organizational system on a dyslexic brain. If you have ever said, “I just cleaned my office/room/desk and now I can’t find anything!” then you know what I mean.
What Dyslexic Organization Really Looks Like
A functional dyslexic organization system tends to be more spatially oriented and multi-dimensional than the typical filing system. Do you remember a professor from college whose office overflowed with stacks of books and papers that looked like an incomprehensible mess but he could lay his hand on whatever he wanted instantly? If so, you have likely seen a highly functional dyslexic organizational system.
Organization in Three Dimensions
Think of a typical filing system; it uses one dimension, which might be alphabetical, chronological, etc. Now think of graphs from Algebra with X-and Y-axes; those are two-dimensional. Now add a Z-axis to make it three-dimensional. Finally, realize that a dyslexic organizational system could have even more dimensions than that!
Highly Complex Organization: the Dyslexic Way!
As an example of highly complex organization, imagine the horizontal direction in an office or desk represents function. Next, the distance from a given point represents the frequency of use. Thirdly, the vertical distance away from the 3-ft level represents chronology. And, the offset from being square to the room represents the likely importance. Finally, sightlines represent connections between functions. To most people, this looks like a huge mess. However, it functions better, for the dyslexic, than any standard system.
Does It Work? That’s What Matters.
Thus, be aware that the appearance of organization is not the substance. Please, judge organizational skills by results rather than the resemblance to a typical filing system. Albert Einstein said, “If a cluttered desk reveals a cluttered mind, what does an empty desk reveal?”
by Dr. Alta Graham, who is delighted to be dyslexic!
www.dyslexiakit.net