Entrepreneurs and image problems

The NYT reports that dyslexics form a solid succesfull economic spirit.

It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought.
The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.
“We found that dyslexics who succeed had overcome an awful lot in their lives by developing compensatory skills,” Professor Logan said in an interview. “If you tell your friends and acquaintances that you plan to start a business, you’ll hear over and over, ‘It won’t work. It can’t be done.’ But dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems.”
The study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States. Professor Logan called the number who said they were dyslexic “staggering,” and said it was significantly higher than the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.

Being familiar how miserable school experience can be for dyslexics of any stripe, the language in educational forward thinking is gradually changing from the discussion of compensation or remediation to accessing strengths and suggesting to educators in general to get out of their own learning styles somewhat and teach to strengths, not disorders.

Without parental help to aid teachers in elementary schools that is extremely hard to do. I can say that in high school few demonstrate even knowing how to account for learning style, and with the testing craze becomes an almost impossible to change mindset. Even MA MCAS basic level tests have turned into who gets the highest scores or prestige scores, eventhough the test themselves are not designed for individual or even group achievement, but baseline adequacy of the system and meeting baseline goals of improvement if needed.