Has anyone here been diagnosed with dyslexia but also has Aphantasia? I was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child as I struggled to read and spell. I have recently realised that I actually have Aphantasia and was wondering if this could be the cause of my dyslexic traits as I cannot picture the words in my head when trying to spell nor can I hear the words when I read. Would love to know anyones thoughts
Hi Ava,
I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was little, struggled to learn to read and write. I don’t believe I was born with aphantasia but it came on around puberty for me or maybe it just got worse but since then school and learning has become a lot more difficult. I have never been able to picture words or spelling and always struggled with that!
Hope that helps.
Yes, I am also dyslexic and for most of my life I thought that this was the only condition that made me different from other people, plus having a poor memory. But now I have found out that I have Aphantasia, plus SDAM (Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory) and Amusia. I think that all of these conditions are related which is why I have no phonetic ability, I can’t distinguish (“hear”) sounds and can’t reproduce a sound nor sing nor speak foreign languages.
I was diagnosed with dyslexia around 2nd grade. I was also diagnosed with ADD when I was in high school. I believe I have always had Aphantasia. When I was young I would watch movies and tv shows and see “sketch artists” making pictures of people from descriptions of witnesses and I thought it was one of those TV myths because how could you describe some ones face without them being right there.
I have been doing more research on dyslexia lately as it appears I have passed it, along with the ADD to my child. From what I have watched about what is “known” about how dyslexia functions in the brain, it leans into visualization centers in the brain. To me this implies they are not related, and someone with both is likely to have a slightly different flavor of dyslexia.
But I am not a doctor, academic, or processional in the field. I can only identify my personal experiences but without being able to experience someone else’s I’m just speculating.
