The biggest challenge dyslexics deal with is the difficulty in reading, spelling, and writing. These skills are of primary importance to excel in academics as the school curriculum is totally dependent on them. However, this difficulty should not stop them from excelling in life because they are blessed with several other traits that neurotypical individuals are not endowed with.

Finding a career path that aligns with their strengths is crucial for being successful in life. Many career options make great choices for people with dyslexia. Some of them are designing, sports, performing arts, hospitality, fashion, etc. 

If you’re wondering if engineering can be a viable career option for people with dyslexia, go through this write-up as we are going to discuss if dyslexia and engineering blend well together and whether dyslexic individuals can consider building a career in engineering.

Is there a link between dyslexia and engineering? What do studies say?

Engineering is a field that celebrates diversity and acknowledges the strengths of different minds. To excel in engineering, you simply don’t need to be good in academics. In fact, a host of other skills are necessary to be a successful engineer. 

A study named “The Value of Dyslexia” studies the different skills possessed by dyslexics. It reported that dyslexics who were a part of the study showed exceptional skills in complex problem-solving, creativity, visualization, people management, logical reasoning, critical thinking, and programming. All of these are essential for engineering.

The founder of NoticeAbility, a non-profit organization supporting dyslexic students, also agrees with these findings. While addressing the audience in his TedX talk, he pointed out that dyslexics can perform well in four vocational paths – engineering, entrepreneurship, arts, and architecture. 

Can dyslexics be good engineers?

The World Economic Forum shared ten job skills that will be critical and in demand in the future. Interestingly, the most relevant skills are intellectually possessed by dyslexic individuals. These are also the key skills that employers look out for in engineers. 

So, let’s see which skills make dyslexics stand out in the crowd.

1. Complex Problem-Solving Skills

Complex problem-solving skills are the most desired skills in the current and future job market. And luckily, dyslexics are born with excellent problem-solving skills. In the realms of engineering, problem-solving means finding a problem, analyzing it by breaking it down into smaller chunks and devising a solution to fix the problem. Engineers who possess advanced problem-solving skills are in high demand. Therefore, the problem-solving skills of dyslexics can make them good candidates for engineering.

2. Creativity 

We usually consider engineers as people who have high technical knowledge in their areas of expertise. Though this is true, besides being good at technical know-how, engineers must also be creative. Creativity is essential to make or invent something new. It is also necessary to find new and innovative ways to make existing processes better, cheaper, or faster than before. Successful engineers with exceptional creativity are flexible thinkers who come up with innovative ideas and solutions using their knowledge and training. 

As dyslexics are highly creative individuals^[1] as found in a cross-cultural study, they can make good use of it in any stream of engineering. 

3. Critical Thinking Abilities

Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information to find the best solution to a problem. Critical thinking is important for problem-solving. Engineers face a lot of complex issues which can be dealt with by thinking critically about the subject. 

As critical thinking can’t be improved overnight, the need for exceptional critical thinkers is high. Therefore, dyslexics with good critical thinking abilities have a competitive edge over other individuals.

4. Reasoning Skills

Reasoning ability is the process of logically evaluating a situation before arriving at a conclusion. Good reasoning is one of the key skills engineers must possess. However, a person’s reasoning ability is often influenced by critical thinking, experience, and emotions. 

As dyslexics are good at looking at the bigger picture, they can identify trends and patterns more clearly, helping them reason better than other individuals. 

5. People Management Skills

Dyslexics are good at people management. They are empathetic and compassionate with high emotional intelligence. These are great personal skills one must have in order to communicate well and connect with others. Teamwork is extremely important for engineers. They not only work with their team members but also with people from other teams to work in collaboration to get the desired result. 

6. Spatial Visualization and Awareness

When a neurotypical person sees a cube, they can visualize it from the same angle they have seen it. However, dyslexics have strong spatial visualization skills and spatial awareness that allows them to visualize the cube from different perspectives. This skill is a unique capability of dyslexic individuals. It is a priceless possession that is highly regarded in engineering, especially in civil and mechanical engineering. An engineer requires strong spatial visualization skills to create and interpret 2D and 3D drawings. They may design bridges or machines that need high spatial intelligence to work things out. 

What challenges do dyslexics face in engineering?

The main challenge dyslexic individuals face in engineering or any other field is the lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. Once a person overcomes these, other challenges become easier to handle. 

While the difficulties vary according to the field of engineering a person is in, let’s talk about the challenges in software engineering as it is the most sought-after field. Dyslexia may affect a person’s ability to write effectively by bringing up constant syntax errors and typos, though these errors are nowadays automatically taken care of by the compiler. They may also need a longer time to understand a problem.

Other challenges could be time management, lower attention span, and more time required to learn things effectively.

Though there are some challenges, it does not mean that dyslexics cannot overcome them. Integrating the right strategies at the workplace can make things more manageable. Using white-boarding, syntax highlighting, choosing an Integrated Development Environment, and creating mental models to problem solve are a few ways dyslexics can work efficiently in the field of engineering.

Concluding thoughts

Every person has their share of strengths and weaknesses. It doesn’t matter if a person is neurotypical or neurodivergent. What’s more important is how a person works around their shortcomings to shine through the strengths they’re blessed with. 

Studies have revealed that dyslexic individuals possess a lot of skills that are necessary to be good engineers. The number of dyslexic engineers is estimated to be between 20% – 30%. How can we forget the contributions of many dyslexics like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs, who have supported the development of engineering over the years? 

So, don’t let your dyslexia hold you down if you think you have it in you! With the right approach and efforts, you can become a successful engineer.

References

1. Kapoula,  Z. and  Vernet, M.  “Dyslexia, Education  and Creativity,  a cross-cultural study”, in Kapoula, Z., and Vernet, M., Aesthetics, and Neuroscience, Springer 2016

Dr. Deepak K.

Dr. Deepak Kansal, MBBS MD (Psychiatry) is currently working as Nodal Officer of the District Mental Health program at Civil Hospital Sangrur for the last 3 years. Apart from psychiatry and substance use patients, Dr. Deepak also treats children with neurodevelopment disorders including Intellectual disability, specific learning disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and other psychiatric disorders. His research work involved studying psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients. You can follow him on Linkedin

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Comprehending the same, some young aspirants may look forward to turning into successful engineers. Can every aspirant turn into an Engineer? In this post, we will explore some relevant insights to infer if you can become an engineer being a dyscalculic.

Engineer- A prodigious career

Despite numerous respectable professions an individual may choose from, one can choose to be an Engineer. An engineer is a master in inventing, designing, analyzing, building, and testing machines to solve or simply challenges in real life.

Consequently, they are defined as ”Builders of the world”. Being aware of the same, aspirants may look upon turning towards such careers. There are multiple streams as an engineer which may obligate certain attributes for each. However, we will explore the status of common engineering attributes in Dyscalculia. 

Evaluating engineering attributes in individuals with dyscalculia 

Apart from organizational skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, and discipline, possessing a few more pivotal traits can take a person closer to being an engineer. Here we explore these attributes and also evaluate which of these Dyscalculics excel. 

1. Attention to detail

To come up with relevant solutions for a complexity, one needs to observe it from various directions giving attention to detail. Evidently, the misconception of one fact can lead to unexpected consequences later. Some reputed organizations consider this attribute in the aspirants. 

However, some people may need to work to acquire this trait. Research by Sarit Askenazi^[1] depicted that there can be specific attentional deficits in pure developmental dyscalculia. The results of the research outlined that these can have difficulties in recruiting attention, especially in number processing. 

2. Critical thinking and Problem Solving 

By definition, Critical thinking is all about objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgment. This trait is useful after observing the issue with attention to detail. Since these attributes are crucial to leading the way to determining appropriate solutions, they become obligatory for all engineers.

 Further, experts like Mimi Mohaffyza^[2] marked the need to cope with engineering students with higher levels of critical thinking to apply in the workspace later. Critical thinking can be an advantage for some aspirants. The right attitude of a person can make this attribute a clear boon. 

3. Creativity 

Creativity to design solutions effectively and curiosity to grasp newer and intriguing knowledge may lead a person towards being an Engineer. Inventions like mobile phones and computers are due to the creativity of the makers to offer utility in a compressed space. 

Being Creative can be a clear edge to people who have learning disabilities like Dyscalculia. These individuals can choose to learn notions in creative ways like manipulatives, story-making, and music.  

4. Intuition 

Intuition implies the ability of the learner to grasp anything almost instinctively. Being intuitive makes an engineer assimilate ideas to understand the problem as a whole. These skills can often be debatable in individuals.

As we know, some may take time to grasp numbers. However, they can infer other notions intuitively. For instance, a pupil having a number compromise may not feel it taxing to comprehend notions of society and geography.

5. Math and Coding skills 

Being a pro in math and Coding skills can often add up to the engineer’s personality. In our previous posts, we have also talked about how individuals with dyscalculia can become better coders. Evidently, an Engineering Degree is never complete without such subjects.

 However, these skills may not be substantial for all the profiles. Some jobs of civil and Electrical engineers need residual knowledge, making it facile for special needs people to perform their duties. For instance, a site engineer needs to have regular checks of the construction location; they may not need to make computations. 

Dyscalculics turning engineer- strategies to employ

Going through attributes, we can remark that aspirants may need to stress towards ameliorating certain traits. Employing some relevant strategies can assist the same. Here we traverse through some schemes addressing traits like intuition and attention.

1. Employ all five senses- Undertake Multisensory Learning 

Evidently, more senses employed can lead to better performance; as we know how multisensory learning is effective in preaching lessons, the same concept can be applied to other tasks as well. For instance, using the hearing sense along with visuals can improve the intuitive ability almost instantaneously. 

2. Focus on creative advantage- Bring out Creative Intuition

Dyscalulics, as depicted in previous lines, have a clear creative advantage over others. Even if traditional intuition is compromised, Creative intuition^[3] can be easily developed to exploit opportunities. By definition, creative intuition is the ability to produce novel concatenations, perceive new or emergent relationships, and discern possibilities that have not been identified by processing information comprehensively. Sometimes, creative intuition can have an added edge. 

3. Get Away from Distractions- To stay attentive 

There can be a lot of activities going around; these may distract from the work. Concentration is proven to shield distraction^[4].  This eliminates undesired processing in the brain. This implies that the brain gets a chance to focus on one task. Further, the locus of attention turns steadfast. Two basic strategies to improve concentration are to have a good sleep and meditate^[5] regularly.  

Can a dyscalculic be an engineer?

Everyone has a set of strengths and compromises. All they need to do is take advantage of the potencies and work to master shortcomings. Self-same can be the case in the journey to becoming an engineer. Taking advantage of strengths like creativity and critical thinking, Dyscacluics can develop personalized strategies to master flaws, if any. 

Grasping math can sometimes be taxing. Nevertheless, daily routine activities like managing money, and shopping can teach required math notions, which may make individuals ready for basic challenges. There have been a lot of famous people who have had dyscalculia. In fact, several engineers today, being dyscalculic, have been managing their duties successfully, showing that any individual can aspire to intriguing professions. 

Concluding thoughts

Taking inferences after weighing down the scenario from one angle may not lead to appropriate consequences. Evaluating various traits that can make one engineer can give you a draw a clear picture. While there can be selective shortcomings in some individuals, these can be covered with relevant, personalized strategies. Ponder out the suggestions above to check if any of them prove to work for you. 

References:

1. ​​Attentional networks in developmental dyscalculia. (2010, January). Sarit Askenazi. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-9081-6-2
2. An Analysis of Engineering Students’ Critical Thinking. (2017, November). Mimi Mohaffyza. https://doi.org/10.1109/WEEF.2017.8467116
3. Intuition and creativity. (2015, October). Shoaib Ul-Haq. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4641.3289
4. How Concentration Shields Against Distraction. (2015, August). Patrik Sörqvist. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415577356
5. Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. (2007, October). Yi-Yuan Tang.

Manpreet Singh

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

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