When did you discover you were dyslexic? “My parents took me in for testing when I was in elementary school. Dyslexia runs in our family, so they knew to watch for signs and find testing early.”

How did you cope with it in school? “Since I was homeschooled until high school, I was lucky enough to be able to work at my own pace. I was allowed to take the time I needed especially with reading and math assignments. I didn't have an IEP or request any exceptions on standardized testing, so those scores may have been lower than they would have with extra time. I always felt rushed! When I was in a public highschool, I worked extra hard to keep up with my peers. I struggled with spelling and reading speeds, but was still able to take mostly honors or AP classes. I had to spend more time on my homework than many of my friends.”

Has music helped you deal with dyslexia and how? “Music has been a great outlet for expression and a healthy coping strategy. Growing up, it also helped me feel more accomplished as it was something I could achieve and find success in. I've also read that learning an instrument is beneficial in that it creates more efficient, connected brains.”

Is being a music teacher, and having dyslexia a disadvantage? “I would say the biggest challenge in being a dyslexic musician is in the reading and learning of new music. Growing up I had to memorize everything in order to play it well. It seemed my brain didn't recognize patterns or track the music on the page as efficiently as others. It took a really long time to develop any fluidity in reading music. This has gotten better with time, but I would say I'm still a below average sight reader for my level of playing. I often felt it took me an abnormally long amount of time to learn a piece of music. However, once I learned the piece, I would often find the artistic interpretations side to be easy and natural. I could see how the sections related to each other and knew instinctively how to create emotion and character in the music. After reading more about the dyslexic brain, this made more sense to me. I was able to connect to the deeper meaning behind the music and see the big picture.“

I came across this interesting article on a study which suggests that music lessons are beneficial to improving language skills, perhaps more than extra reading lessons. Perhaps my exposure to piano all these years helped me compensate for my dyslexia.