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I don't know where I'm going and I can't write down directions!

lord henry strikes back

18:07 / 19.11.05

A theory just occured to me on the bus and I'd like a 'lith take on it:

Two things that most people who know me, out here in the world of washing up and taxes and the like, notice are that I'm an awful speller and that I have no sense of direction. In terms of my spelling, just to give you an idea, I had to check in a dictionary two of the words in the previous sentence, and two in this one. As to directions, well, I get lost. Sometimes only a couple of streets from home or the office. I walk to a pub, come out after one drink, and actually do not know which way to turn, let alone how to get home.

I would just like to rule a few things out: To start with I'm not simply 'a bit thick'. I think it would be generally accepted, by those who know me, that I'm of above average intelligence. Further, I'm quite well educated (I hold a UK degree). I mention this mainly in relation to spelling. I have never taken a test for dyslexia.

Anyway, I got to wondering: could these two things be linked? Are these two skills governed by the same part of the brain? It just feels like there might be an overlap, relating to construction. Blocks of letters fit together to make words, blocks of known space fit together to become a more general map. Biology is not my strong point but I'm sure I've read things about there being overlaps for maths and music in terms of the regions of the brain that are used. So I pose the following two questions: Could these two 'failings' of mine stem from one part of my grey matter not quite being up to spec? and, if so, what other traits might also be expected?

18:22 / 20.11.05

Don't think so. I know a hopeless dyslexic (eg, sometimes comes up with "thet" for "that"), who has an unerring sense of direction. (Is also not stupid, and has a Ph. D.).

It may be relevant that there are two fundamentally different kinds of "sense of direction." One, sometimes called vector-based, is literally a sense of direction: whether to go right or left or how to go to retrace your steps. The other, landmark-based, involves a good memory for features and how to find your way using them. Some people have both kinds, some neither, some only one or varying proportions of the two. Possibly, one or the other is more associated with dyslexia?

08:46 / 21.11.05

I think the problem is that dyslexia is a specific thing that's come to be applied to more disorders than it should. See my posts in the "Dyslexia does not exist..." thread for more on that.

As far as I can work out, there are two main variables on what makes "dyslexic" brains different from "normal" brains. There's the point that's broken (whether you're true dyslexic, dysgraphic, dysnumerate, or something else) and the bits of the brain that you've overdeveloped by using them to compensate.

I think the bits that are broken give us symptoms (e.g. poor speller, disorganised, whatever) and the compensated bits give us our advantages (e.g. skill with people, spatial skills, etc...).

I personally have a very strong sense of direction, to the point where I can read a map and figure out how it looks on the ground for an entire route, and "visualise" (well, be aware of, my visual brain doesn't work too well) a whole route from start to finish that I've done more than once. I'm diagnosed as disgraphic, btw (the quick explaination is, where a dyslexic doesn't do words I don't do pictures).

So in answer to the original question, there's no direct causal link between the two, but they are related, and depending on who you are can have an effect in either direction.