Most dyslexic professionals believe that their companies need a better understanding of dyslexic thinking skills.

 

 

Fill in the gaps in the article with the words in bold below.

Make sure their grammatical form is correct.

 

overlooked        (to) urge             vivid                    (to) refrain                       (to) excel

(to) drop out     (to) hone           sought-after      (to) unleash      (to) credit

Dyslexia may be traditionally known as a learning disability. Still, for others, it’s a superpower waiting to be 1. ……….. in a business environment. According to the United Nations, roughly 15 percent of the world’s population is dyslexic.

That’s one billion dyslexic thinkers living and working around the globe with skills including problem-solving abilities, a 2. ……… imagination, and creative, big-picture thinking highly 3. ………… attributes in the workplace today.

Despite this, many dyslexic professionals feel 4. …………. and unsupported in the workplace. (…)

(…), nearly one in three dyslexic professionals 5. ………….. from disclosing their dyslexia at work despite over 60 percent of dyslexic professionals considering their dyslexic thinking skills to be advantageous in the workplace.

Richard Branson 6. ………….. his success to dyslexia

(…) (he) shares how the lack of understanding around dyslexia affected his early education and work life and ultimately drove him to 7. ……… of school to pursue his passions. He also shares that despite dyslexia’s sometimes being seen as an obstacle, it’s actually a “blessing in disguise,” and 8. ……….. more business leaders to actively recruit dyslexic professionals, crediting much of his creative success to his dyslexia.

Branson said that he believes the rise of A.I. will further empower dyslexic thinkers to showcase their strengths — like creativity and big-picture thinking (…).

Here’s why business leaders should actively seek employees with dyslexia (…):

Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking

Dyslexia can lead to unconventional thinking patterns and creativity. Dyslexic thinkers may 9. ……. in areas like creative problem-solving, thinking outside the box, and finding innovative solutions. (…)

Empathy and interpersonal skills

Many individuals with dyslexia have 10. …….. their communication skills to overcome their challenges, leading to strong interpersonal skills and empathy for others’ perspectives and struggles.

Supporting diversity and inclusion

Hiring individuals with dyslexia demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion, fostering an environment where everyone’s strengths are valued and respected. (…)

In order to read the whole article/check your answers, go to: https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/sir-richard-branson-calls-dyslexia-a-blessing-in-disguise-urges-leaders-to-hire-dyslexic-professionals

Key: 1. unleashed; 2. vivid; 3. sought-after; 4. overlooked; 5. refrain; 6. credits; 7. drop out; 8. Urges; 9. excel; 10. honed

 

Glossary

• to unleash – to free from or as if from a leash; to let loose
• to tap into – (AmE; infml) to gain access to; become friendly with
• to foster – to help something to develop

 

Practice makes perfect

WORD FORMATION: Change the word in CAPITALS to fill in the blanks.

(…) Those with dyslexia experience that 1. …….. [LABOUR] pace every time they read. When most people think of dyslexia, they think of seeing letters and words 2. ……… [BACK], like seeing “b” as “d” and vice versa, or they might think people with dyslexia see “saw” as “was”. The truth is people with dyslexia see things the same way as everyone else. Dyslexia is caused by a 3. ………. [PHONOLOGY] processing problem, meaning people affected by it have trouble not with seeing language but with manipulating it. (…). Given a word in 4. …………. [ISOLATE], like fantastic, students with dyslexia need to break the word into parts to read it: fan, tas, tic. Time spent decoding makes it hard to keep up with peers and gain 5. ……… [SUFFICE] comprehension. Spelling words 6. ……….. [PHONETICS], like s-t-i-k for stick and f-r-e-n-s for friends is also common. These difficulties are more widespread and varied than commonly imagined. (…) Neurodiversity is the idea that because all our brains show 7. …………… [DIFFERENT] in structure and function, we shouldn’t be so quick to label every 8. ………… [DEVIATE] from “the norm” as a pathological disorder or dismiss people living with these 9. ………….. [VARY] as 10. “………” [DEFECT]. People with neurobiological variations like dyslexia, including such creative and inventive individuals as Picasso, Muhammad Ali, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, and Cher, clearly have every capacity to be brilliant and successful in life. (…)

Now watch the video to check your answers:

 

Key: 1.laborious; 2. backwards; 3. phonological; 4. isolation; 5. sufficient; 6. phonetically; 7.differences; 8. deviation; 9. variations; 10. defective

 

Fill in the sentence gaps with the words in bold below.

Make sure their grammatical form is correct.

 

(to) hone          sought-after         (to) credit          (to) excel       (to) overlook       (to) urge

 

1. I think there is one key fact that you have …………… .

2. Tech deals can be the most ………….. during Black Friday sales.

3. They ………… parliament to approve plans for their reform programme.

4. Even if you never need them, it is best to ………. your skills.

5. She ……… her success in problem-solving to her diverse experiences and encounters with various cultures and perspectives.

6. Despite his problems he continued to ……….. on the court.

.

 

Key: 1. overlooked; 2. sought-after; 3. urged; 4. hone; 5. credits; 6. excel

 

Explore more to create your own teaching-learning experience!

 

The Advantages of Dyslexia

With reading difficulties can come other cognitive strengths.

Read

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-advantages-of-dyslexia

 

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