The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide

THE DYSLEXIC ADVANTAGE by Brock L. Eide and Fernette F. Eide has just been revised and updated. These two experts, cofounders of the nonprofit Dyslexic Advantage, keep their focus squarely on “Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain.” They are extremely positive in describing dyslexic individuals and the way their special brains operate. The first few chapters offer an overview (positioning dyslexia as a learning style rather than a learning disorder) and provide some scientific background. Subsequent chapters explore what the Eides call “reasoning strengths” often shown by people with dyslexia: material (3D spatial imagery), interconnected (systems), narrative (memory), and dynamic (prediction and modeling). Many of the charts they discuss are available online, in color. The authors include a helpful bibliography with useful links; plus, they share numerous stories and applications based on the thousands of people with whom they have collaborated over the past decade. One theme which comes through is how teachers are generally poorly prepared to help students diagnosed as dyslexic – let’s hope that efforts by the Eides and others continue to make a difference. Sally Shaywitz wrote an excellent text, Overcoming Dyslexia, whose second edition was published in 2020, the same year which saw publication of One in Five by Micki Boas. Library Journal calls THE DYSLEXIC ADVANTAGE a “must-have title for educators, parents, and those who process things through a dyslexic lens.”