When Octavia Spencer was a young girl, she discovered she had dyslexia. She was six years old. She discovered this after checking some books out from the library and trying to read them. As she was reading, she felt like the words were all jumbled, which, in the end, turned out to be dyslexia. She then began reading the Encyclopedia Brown series. She felt like the protagonist was her first boyfriend.
Dyslexia and Academy Award Winning Actress Octavia Spencer
She had constant problems reading, but then a teacher helped her by giving her books from Encyclopedia Brown. The teacher saw that it helps if she had a mystery that she could follow, helping her to read. She went on to win an Academy Award for “The Help,” after which she began to write her own mystery series for children, called the Ninja Detective. These books have a strong black, female character.
Key Takeaways:
1
Academy Award Winning actress Octavia Spencer talks about the early learning disadvantages of being dyslexic.
2
A teacher recognized Octavia’s struggles and led her to her passion of reading mystery stories.
3
Octavia Spencer is now writing Ninja Detective novels for children. Her novels include prompts for the reader to try different creative things, such as dressing incognito or hiding a secret message in an egg shell.
Author: Octavia Spencer
Author Quote
“
..dyslexia! I didn’t like reading, and then I was introduced to Encyclopedia Brown, my first boy friend…
”More Info: http://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/dyslexia-and-academy-award-winning-actress-octavia-spencer/
