What Is Being Dyslexic Actually Like?

Hi, I’m Sam. I’m a 32-year-old architect, and I’m dyslexic. Dyslexia isn’t just a footnote in my life; it fundamentally shapes how I interact with the world, both the frustrating parts and the brilliant parts.

Here is my experience, broken down through the questions you asked.

What is dyslexia like?
Dyslexia is a neurological difference that affects how the brain processes written language. It can make reading and writing more effortful, but it often comes with strengths like creativity, spatial thinking, and problem-solving.

1. My Personal Story: When and How I Realized

I wasn’t officially diagnosed until I was 11, which is relatively late. Before that, I was drowning. My verbal vocabulary was huge—I could talk your ear off about history or science—but my spelling was atrocious, and reading aloud was agonizing. My teachers kept telling my parents I was "smart but lazy" or "just not applying myself."

The turning point was a substitute teacher who noticed I was holding a book at a strange angle and squinting, trying to stop the words from moving. She recognized the disconnect between my verbal intelligence and my written output and suggested a screening. Getting that diagnosis wasn't scary; it was the biggest relief of my life. I finally had a name for it.

2. Day-to-Day Experience

Reading for me feels like wading through waist-deep water. I can do it, but it requires significantly more energy than it does for a neurotypical person.

Mentally: I have to actively decode words rather than just absorbing them. Long blocks of dense text look like a wall of static.

Physically: If I read black text on a stark white background for too long, I get a physical headache. The letters sometimes experience "visual crowding," where they seem to vibrate or bleed into one another.

Writing: It’s a slow process of translation. The ideas in my head are vivid and 3D, but forcing them linearly onto a page is a bottleneck. I rely heavily on muscle memory for spelling, and if I stop to think about how a word is spelled, I’ll completely lose it.

3. Common Misconceptions

The absolute most frustrating misconception is that dyslexia just means "reading backwards" or mixing up 'b' and 'd'.

People don't realize that dyslexia is a widespread neurological difference that affects information processing. It impacts my working memory (remembering a string of numbers or multi-step verbal instructions) and my directional sense (I still have to make an 'L' with my hands to tell left from right). It’s not a vision problem; it’s a processing difference.

4. Strengths and Advantages

I firmly believe I am an architect because of my dyslexia, not in spite of it.

Spatial Thinking: My brain naturally thinks in 3D. When I look at a 2D floor plan, I don't see lines on paper; I see the fully built room. I can mentally walk through it and spot where a hallway will feel too cramped.

Problem-Solving: Because the traditional "front door" of learning was locked for me, I spent my entire childhood finding the "back doors" and windows. Dyslexics are incredible lateral thinkers. We see connections between completely unrelated concepts because our brains aren't bound by rigid, linear thinking.

5. Challenges in Real Life

Despite the strengths, the world is built for neurotypicals. Here are three areas where I struggle noticeably:

The "Popcorn Reading" Scenario: Being asked to read a document aloud in a sudden meeting without reviewing it first. I will stumble, lose my place, and sound incredibly unprofessional, even if I wrote the document myself.

Forms and Paperwork: Bureaucracy is my kryptonite. Filling out government forms, tax documents, or complex medical history sheets under pressure drains me. The dense, poorly formatted text is a nightmare.

Taking Notes on the Fly: If a client is rapid-firing changes to a blueprint over the phone, I struggle to write down their words accurately while simultaneously processing what they mean.

6. Coping Strategies and Tools

I survive on systems. If my systems fail, I fail.

Text-to-Speech (TTS): I use screen readers for long emails and reports. Listening to the text while reading along at 1.5x speed helps me comprehend and retain information.

Speech-to-Text (Dictation): For first drafts of proposals, I dictate my thoughts while pacing around my office. It gets the ideas out without the bottleneck of typing.

Visual Organization: I never use traditional bullet points for brainstorming. I use mind-mapping software to visually connect ideas.

Mindset Shift: I’ve stopped apologizing for how I work. Instead of saying, "Sorry, I'm bad at reading," I say, "Send that over as a voice note or give me a call so I can process it faster."

7. A Case Study: The Double-Edged Sword

The Problem: Early in my career, I sent an email to a contractor with a typo in a crucial dimension—writing 1.2 meters instead of 2.1 meters. My brain auto-corrected the numbers when I proofread it. We caught it right before pouring concrete, but it almost cost the firm thousands. I now use a specialized read-aloud tool for all number-heavy emails.

The Success: We were working on a complex multi-level commercial space, and the engineering team was struggling with the HVAC routing on the 2D plans. They were stuck for days. I looked at the plans, visualized the 3D space, and immediately saw how we could route the ductwork through an unused structural void. The linear thinkers couldn't see it because it required mentally folding three different floor plans together.

8. My Emotional Journey

Childhood (Shame): I thought I was stupid. I hid in the back of the class and used humor to deflect from my academic failures.

Early Career (Hiding): I worked twice as hard as everyone else just to appear "normal." I’d stay up until 2 AM proofreading emails so no one would know.

Now (Acceptance & Advantage): I own it. I realize that the very thing that makes me terrible at spelling makes me exceptional at design. I don't want to be cured; I just want to use the right tools.

9. Advice to Others

To someone who thinks they might be dyslexic: Go get assessed, even as an adult. Understanding how your brain works is the key to unlocking your potential. Stop measuring a fish by its ability to climb a tree. You aren't broken; your brain just runs a different operating system.

To employers/teachers: Focus on the outcome, not the process. If an employee delivers a brilliant strategy, does it matter if they used speech-to-text to write it? Provide access to basic assistive tech (like Grammarly or screen readers) without making people jump through HR hoops to "prove" they need it.

10. A Unique Angle: The "Dyslexia Tax"

Most articles talk about dyslexia as either a tragic disability or a magical superpower. The truth is much more mundane: Dyslexia is exhausting. I call it the "Dyslexia Tax." It is the invisible cognitive load I pay every single day just to navigate a text-heavy world. By 4:00 PM, my brain isn't just tired; it's completely fried from the micro-efforts of decoding emails, navigating poorly designed signage, and holding numbers in my working memory. We don't just need accommodations so we can "do the work"—we need them so we have energy left over to actually live our lives when the workday is done.