When Dyslexia Is Something Else

Today I’d like to share a true story with real impact. This is something quite incredible that happened several years ago during a Quest for Success Ltd Enhanced NLP & Hypnosis Practitioner Certification Training in Manchester. I never cease to be utterly delighted by the changes that people choose to make within themselves and to their lives during this quite extraordinary training experience. This particular training was no exception and I love the fact that the words ‘Life Changing’ were spoken amongst the participants many times as the training evolved. So, let me start at the very best place…

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Registering a much treasured and sought after place on a Quest for Success Ltd Enhanced NLP & Hypnosis Practitioner Certification Training is really simple. In one phone call, the student I’d love to have star in this tale had registered their place and one day later had received their comprehensive and professionally produced study materials.  I’m going to keep the name of the student confidential to protect their professional reputation. This is what happened next…

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On receipt of the study pack, I received another call from the student. They had carefully and excitedly unpacked the valuable contents of the large brown box that arrived with the next day courier service. Removing the bubble wrap, no doubt popping a few blisters just for fun, they revealed a comprehensive manual, two information packed reading books and access to our wonderful online learning modules which allow you to listen to the whole training narrated by Master Trainer Christine Dawson.

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On reading the recommended study plan, the student had noticed that they were to complete an open book test which was to be submitted to us for detailed and constructive feedback prior to them attending the eight day face to face training. The student had called me specifically to let me know that they were ‘highly dyslexic’.

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The British Dyslexia Association defines Dyslexia as, ‘A specific learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organisational skills.’

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So the condition of Dyslexia is considered to be ‘Neurobiological’. Enter NLP!

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I found it very interesting, that the student, even before undertaking any of the study, had deemed it necessary to impart this information. I wondered what I would receive when it was time for the student’s test to be submitted. It arrived in the post rather than via email. The print out had clearly been generated using voice recognition software. Nevertheless, they scored a fabulous 95% and passed that part of the certification with ease. Interesting, yes?

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When the student arrived on the face to face training I began to learn more about them and their personal history. They had a pretty torrid experience at school and had left with no academic qualifications at all. It’s always saddening to hear that any child should be deemed as ‘stupid’ in school, this is what happened to this student and they have lived up to that label ever since. The great thing is that they now have a really great career as a Software Trainer for a large financial institution. Now could a ‘stupid’ person do that?

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It soon came to light that the student had been diagnosed with Dyslexia much later on in life. They shared that this diagnosis had come as somewhat of a relief as it proved that they were indeed not ‘stupid’ at all. The Dyslexia then became the new label that they structured their behaviour around, both consciously and unconsciously.

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Intrigued, I began to pay particular attention to the student as they began to learn the foundations of NLP and the personal skills that go with it. Many of the techniques that are learned during the training involve the coach reading out a carefully constructed and precise scripts. I was really curious how the student would get on with this wearing their Dyslexia badge. I soon observed a pattern emerging.

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The student would begin each exercise and then about half way through they would stop, become emotionally charged and say to me ‘I can’t do it’. We would then have a calming conversation with some reframing language to help them view the situation and the task from a more resourceful perspective and they would then go on and complete the exercise very gracefully. This came to a tumultuous peak on day 3 and I was told, ‘I can’t do it, I don’t care what you say I just can’t do it.’ More reframing and a bit of truth. I told the student that they are absolutely not stupid, that the education system had failed them and that they didn’t have Dyslexia, they have unresourceful states and a learning strategy that doesn’t work effectively for them. I told them that by the end of the training the Dyslexia would be gone.

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The very next day we studied strategies and I had the student come up front and assist me in demonstrating the spelling strategy. The student learned that they had simply been employing the wrong internal representational system to spell words. They had been attempting to spell words by feeling them. Using the NLP Spelling Strategy I taught them how to visualise the word and then spell it perfectly forwards and backwards! The moment the student raised their eyes into a visual recall position, they became abundantly aware that they had never done that before. The revelation was mind blowing.

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The next day the student released their unresourceful states and limiting beliefs around learning using the powerful techniques associated with time, breaking the bonds of all their unpleasant memories of learning environments. The scripts for this technique are quite long and the student read through them all easily and effortlessly with no pause to say ‘I can’t’ required. This was a major turning point in this student life.

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The next day I arrived in the training room to find the student with their nose in one of the course books which they had pushed to one side during the pre-study. They shared with me that they had found a whole new love in the process of learning by reading and that they just couldn’t put the book down. They told me that the previous evening they had called their partner to relate the story of their experience in the training and had read out a random page from the book over the phone. The partner had simply broken down in tears of joy at such a wonderful transformation.

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On graduation day I handed the student their four well-earned certificates with pride and asked, ‘so you have Dyslexia then?’ The answer was very to the point, ‘Hell no!’

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In this very inspiring case, an unfortunate combination of an education that didn’t fit, unresourceful states, limiting beliefs and a habitual learning strategy that was ineffective were all that stood between learning greatness for this person and complete shutdown of learning effort.

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In just a few days, NLP thinking destroyed the learning difficulties and created someone who can read fluently, who loves reading, who can spell forwards and backwards and who has discovered a whole new motivation for learning and personal growth. I was truly privileged to be a part of their journey and to see the butterfly emerging from the tightly wrapped chrysalis that had held them for so long. Now they can fly.

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