An interesting article in the Times recently reported that GCHQ, the cyber intelligence agency, seek to recruit people with dyslexia because they are able to see “ the bigger picture”, can spot patterns in events and data and have an intuitive ability to crack impenetrable puzzles and solve complex problems.
We would never want to underplay the difficulties caused by dyslexia but it is the case that the condition can result in other and different skills.
GCHQ’s apprentices are four times more likely to be dyslexic than those on other schemes. The need is for people who think visually, connect ideas and use their intuition. And reports by ‘Made by Dyslexia’ show that dyslexic thinking skills overlap directly with the World Economic Forum’s top ten skills for the future.
The take-away from this, in our view, is that – if properly approached and with the right support- the problems associated with dyslexia can be overcome and that the condition itself can bring a unique and valuable way of looking at the world.
