ADD can also be accompanied by Picture Thinkers: Rethinking Dyslexia

There is a common misconception that dyslexia is a disability. It’s not. Dyslexia isn’t caused by a brain malfunction, low intelligence, or visual stress. Instead, it stems from a unique and powerful way of thinking.

At its core, dyslexia is about how a person processes information. We are all born picture thinkers—visual and sensory learners. Over time, most people develop the ability to think in words. However, for around 15–20% of individuals, this verbal thinking isn’t dominant. They continue to learn best through images, senses, and experiences.

A Gift, Not a Disability

Visual thinking is not a limitation—it’s a remarkable perceptual talent. Picture thinkers often possess exceptional abilities, such as:

• Faster processing speeds than verbal thinkers
• The ability to see, hear, feel, and sense imagined experiences as if they are real
• Unique, creative, and innovative ways of interpreting the world
• A natural ability to see the big picture and multiple perspectives
• Heightened responsiveness to physical, emotional, and social cues
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Imaginative, creative, and deeply empathetic qualities

When Learning Becomes a Challenge

The challenge arises when picture thinkers are introduced to 2D symbols—letters, numbers, punctuation, and other abstract representations. These symbols don’t naturally create mental images, making them hard to understand.

For example, to fully understand a word, a learner must know:

• What it looks like – to recognise it
• What it sounds like – to pronounce it
• What it means – to visualise and comprehend it

Words like “cat” are easy to understand because they trigger a mental image. But abstract words like “was,” “the,” or “is” don’t. They lack a visual anchor, making them extremely difficult for picture thinkers to process.

The Root of the Difficulty: Disorientation

Eventually, confusion builds up. The child becomes overwhelmed and experiences 'disorientation' — the true cause of learning difficulties for visual thinkers.  When the individual is disorientated the individual has lost focus and their perception has become unreliable. 

 but a natural response to an information-processing mismatch.

Moving Forward

By understanding the picture-thinking mind and recognising its strengths, we can create more effective, supportive ways to teach and learn. Dyslexia isn’t a disability—it’s a different, and often extraordinary, way of experiencing the world.

In early education, children are expected to memorize the alphabet and around 218 common sight words. For a picture thinker, these abstract words remain meaningless symbols. Phonics alone doesn’t work—there’s no visual or sensory connection.

Picture Thinkers

There is a common misconception that dyslexia is a disability. This is not the case. Dyslexia is not the result of a learning 'deficit' ie brain malfunction, low intelligence or even visual stress, but is attributed to one main factor: the thinking style of the person doing the learning. Essentially, we are all born 'picture thinkers'. Part of our growth involves developing the ability to think in words. However, verbal thinking ability is not equally developed in everyone with approximately 15 - 20% of individuals remaining visual and sensory learners.    

It is a Gift not a disability

Being a visual thinker is not a disability but rather an amazing perceptual talent. An individual with the ability to think in pictures will benefit from most if not all of the following:

•  think quicker than a verbal thinker
•  see, hear, feel and sense what they are imagining as real
•  view and interpret the world in creative and innovative ways
•  see the 'whole picture' and see things from different perspectives
•  have higher levels of responsiveness to physical, social and emotional sensory stimuli
•  are problem solvers
•  are imaginative, creative & empathetic

The learning challenge 

The learning difficulty emerges when the individual is presented with 2D symbols such as letters, words, numbers, maths signs, even punctuation marks can be problematic.  

If you consider that words are made up of three parts:

• what the word looks like  - to recognise it  
• what the word sounds like - to pronounce it
• what they mean - to understand it

Punctuation marks are 2D symbols that represent an 'action'.

Whilst it is easy for a picture thinker to understand the word 'cat' as they have a mental image, it is very difficult for them to visualise the meaning of abstract words such as 'was', 'the' and 'is - they simply do not have a mental image.  

The early years of school, a child is expected to know the alphabet and learn approximately 218 common words. Despite much effort, they are unable to process this information as they cannot create a visual meaning - they are just symbols and phonics doesn't work. This is where the learning challenge starts. 

At some point the child reaches confusion overload and experiences what we call in Davis as 'disorienation' which is the true cause of the learning issue.  Confusion is not a nice feeling for anyone, sothe 

If you have concerns about someone who has learning

Learning expectations grow but the child has no solid foundation in the of learning words increases and the child loses confidence

 H perceptual talent often finds the early years of school particularly challenging.  such as “the,” “is,” and “a.” Whilst it is easy to picture a word like “cat,” it is much harder to visualise abstract words like 'was', 'the' and 'is.

The early years of school is particularly challenging due to the of 2D symbols such as letters, words, numbers, maths signs, even punctuation marks can be problematic. Despite much effort, they are unable to process the information as they cannot create a visual meaning - they are just symbols and phonics doesn't work. This is where the learning challenge starts. Learning expectations grow but the child has no solid foundation in the aa of learning words increases and the child loses confidence

Compulsive Solutions

Sadly, these difficulties not only impact a child’s confidence but also lead to the development of 'compulsive solutions' — essentially 'coping' strategies. 

A compulsive solution is the skill that learners adopt to overcome their learning challenges.  This could be in the form of:

• memorising letters, words and stories - most can recite the alphabet song 
• concentrating harder and feeling exhausted at the end of the day
• withdrawal
• avoidance
• misbehaviour in order to get out of the lesson or task at hand