“Let dyslexia set you free!” ~ Dr. David McComas

As a child, David McComas overheard his parents talking. His mother told his father that they were really blessed to have three intelligent children.

The thing is, they actually had four children.

She excluded him from that comment, and he knew he was the one not counted as being intelligent.

He was in 4^th grade and could not read.

In spite of his reading disability, he was skilled in disassembling and reassembling objects. He was constantly building and inventing things.

Through the adverse experiences he encountered, he learned to be tough-skinned and to use the skills he had.

He became hard-working and persevering… not caring what folk told him couldn’t be done.

Building on his strengths, he became skilled at synthesizing information visually, spatially, and in other dimensions.

His numerous negative experiences served as a catalyst that helped him become innovative and develop entrepreneurial skills. He learned to use his collaborative strength to brainstorm and interact with teams.

While speaking at a conference, he admitted that dyslexia made him appreciate the value of different strengths in others and become a better team member.

He believes that “You don’t have to be good at the same thing to be smart or good.”

He is happy with his “big-picture” thinking and insists that a great team is made up of people with divergent abilities.

Dyslexia hasn’t stopped him from using his superpowers to help humanity. He serves as Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University and has received numerous awards and honors including NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal.

Listen to his brief (less than 3 minutes) speech here: https://bit.ly/3CV1rqC