Review: The D Word: Understanding Dyslexia

The Newport Beach Film Festival has brought some great films to local audiences and one of my favorites is The D Word: Understanding Dyslexia.

I viewed the 52 minute film at Island Cinemas and enjoyed how well it explains the difficulties people with Dyslexia deal with on a daily basis. Filmmaker James Redford -- whose son Dylan also has Dyslexia-- said the film presents an opportunity to help others living in turmoil and I would have to agree. I felt it did a good job at providing specific examples about the learning disability, and it shows rather than tells by bringing the audience into peoples' personal lives.

The film includes interviews with young Dyslexics and there are some famous faces in the film too, who share their experiences about living with Dyslexia including Richard Branson who says he copes by "keeping things simple and saying what you mean.”

Then there was Charles Schwab who described in the film that spelling didn’t come naturally to him so instead he had to learn phonetically, while the state's Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom said he struggles with illegible handwriting and underlines and highlights to help him read.

In addition to showcasing the hardships the disability has caused for many people, it also works to clarify a few myths about Dyslexia including the fact that it's a learning disability as opposed to a thinking disability.

While the weaknesses attributed to the disability include spelling, reading, writing and pronunciation, some strengths tied to Dyselxics are perseverance, creativity and the ability to think outside the box.

Experts say one in five people are estimated to have Dyslexia and that's one of the reasons this film is so essential. I'd suggest watching this film to see its message which is, focusing on how well you can do something, instead of on how long it takes you to get it done.

I wish I had this information when my child was little and suffered from the stigma that learning disabilities often bring.

The last screening is today at 6:15 p.m. at Triangle Square 2 in Costa Mesa and will also be shown on HBO in the Fall.