The Action Potential of Dyslexia | Martina Villa | TEDxUConn

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Published 2024-04-17

The key to many of Martina Villa’s academic successes has been seeing dyslexia as a way of being rather than a hindrance; asking others to adapt to her, the same way she adapted to them. Yet, whenever Martina didn’t see the fruits of her labor as a student, the responsibility has constantly been put on her. Her struggle with reading fluently was the impediment.

Identifying barriers within the (dis)abled individual is a dangerous mindset. It has contributed to creating a sizable gap in educational attainment between dyslexic individuals and “typical readers”. To make education truly inclusive we need to repair a defective educational system, not “defective” children. Much like a neuron, which reaches action potential only when there is a difference in the charges of cytosol and extracellular fluid, we too, as a society can only thrive when diversity is seen as a resource and not a hindrance. I was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of eight, and had the chance to sit on the other side of that very same testing table fifteen years later when I decided to join a research team investigating reading (dis)abilities. Now, I am pursuing a PhD in developmental Psychology at the University of Connecticut. I am part of the Landi Lab, where I try to detangle the genetic and environmental mechanisms by which we (fail to) learn to read, understand how to develop better interventions, and study what happens to children with dyslexia when they grow up. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

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