Newsletter 307: Beyond Awareness to Advantage

This October, we're doing something different for Dyslexia Awareness Month. Instead of just raising awareness, we're gathering data to build better cognitive partnership tools.

I've created an 8-minute AI Readiness Survey that will:

• Give you a personalized score showing where you are in your AI collaboration journey

• Unlock immediate access to prompts, workflows, and resources matched to your level

• Help us understand what neurodivergent minds actually need from AI tools

• Inform how we build the Dyslexic AI Assistant

Your responses directly shape our product development.

[Take the 8-Minute Survey →]

Now, let's talk about why this October matters...

What You'll Learn Today

In this Dyslexia Awareness Month special edition:

• Why "awareness" of dyslexia isn't enough anymore—it's time to recognize cognitive advantage

• My journey from hiding dyslexia to building a company around it

• How AI partnership transforms dyslexic thinking from accommodation to optimization

• The specific ways dyslexic cognitive patterns excel at AI collaboration

• Why organizations should be actively recruiting dyslexic thinkers for AI strategy roles

• What dyslexia awareness should actually mean in 2025

Reading Time: 12-15 minutes | Listening Time: 10-12 minutes if read aloud

October 1st: The Day I Usually Felt Conflicted

Every October 1st for the past decade, I've had mixed feelings about Dyslexia Awareness Month.

Awareness is important. Understanding helps. But there's something that's always bothered me about the framing.

"Awareness" suggests dyslexia is something people need to understand so they can be patient with us. Compassionate toward our struggles. Accommodating of our limitations.

That narrative is exhausting.

This October, I want to talk about something different: Why dyslexic thinking is becoming one of the most valuable cognitive patterns in the AI collaboration era.

Not despite our differences. Because of them.

The Decades I Spent Hiding

Let me be honest about my own journey with dyslexia.

For most of my professional life, I hid it. Not overtly—I couldn't exactly hide struggling with dense text or mixing up numbers. But I downplayed it. Worked around it. Developed elaborate strategies to compensate for what I thought were deficits.

I built successful businesses while battling against tools that didn't match how my brain works. I wrote hundreds of newsletters while fighting with interfaces designed for linear thinkers. I succeeded, but I was exhausted.

The unspoken message I internalized: Dyslexia is something to overcome, not something to leverage.

That message was wrong.

What Changed When AI Arrived

When I started experimenting with AI as a cognitive partner rather than just another tool, something fundamental shifted.

For the first time in my professional life, I had technology that worked WITH my cognitive patterns instead of against them.

My dyslexic brain thinks in:

• Spatial relationships and visual patterns

• Connections across seemingly unrelated concepts

• Big-picture synthesis before detailed analysis

• Narrative and metaphor rather than linear logic

• Holistic understanding through multiple perspectives

Traditional software forced me to translate all of that into:

• Linear text processing

• Sequential step-by-step workflows

• Detailed analysis before synthesis

• Literal, explicit communication

• Single-perspective documentation

AI removes that translation burden. I can think spatially, and AI helps me express it linearly. I can process through connections, and AI helps me organize them systematically. I can understand holistically, and AI helps me communicate specifically.

This isn't accommodation. This is cognitive amplification.

The Dyslexic Advantages Nobody Talks About

Here's what Dyslexia Awareness Month should actually make people aware of:

Pattern Recognition Across Domains Dyslexic brains excel at seeing connections between disparate concepts. In an AI era where the most valuable skill is recognizing patterns across vast information landscapes, this is a competitive advantage.

When I research topics for these newsletters, my dyslexic mind naturally connects neuroscience insights with business strategy, educational theory with technological capability, personal experience with broader trends. AI helps me organize these connections, but the pattern recognition is distinctly human—and distinctly dyslexic.

Spatial and Visual Processing While neurotypical minds often process information sequentially through text, dyslexic minds tend toward spatial, visual understanding. We naturally think in diagrams, relationships, and three-dimensional concepts.

AI can now generate visual representations, create diagrams, and present information spatially. For the first time, technology matches our natural processing strength rather than forcing us into text-heavy interfaces.

Big Picture Synthesis Dyslexic thinkers often grasp overall concepts before understanding specific details. We see the forest, then figure out the trees.

In complex problem-solving that requires understanding system-level dynamics before drilling into specifics, this cognitive approach is invaluable. AI partnership allows us to work at the conceptual level we excel at while getting support for the detailed implementation we find tedious.

Creative Problem-Solving Through Alternative Pathways Years of finding workarounds for systems that don't match our minds makes us exceptionally creative at problem-solving. We're comfortable with ambiguity, skilled at finding unconventional solutions, and experienced at cognitive adaptation.

These are exactly the skills needed for effective AI collaboration, where the goal is finding optimal human-AI partnerships rather than following predetermined workflows.

Narrative and Metaphorical Thinking Dyslexic minds often understand complex concepts through stories and metaphors rather than abstract definitions. This narrative processing creates deeper, more memorable understanding.

AI can now engage with information through narrative frameworks, turning dry data into meaningful stories, complex systems into relatable metaphors. This matches our cognitive strengths perfectly.

What I'm Learning About Dyslexic-AI Partnership

Through two years of intensive experimentation with AI as a cognitive partner, I've discovered specific advantages that dyslexic thinking brings to AI collaboration:

We're comfortable with imperfect systems. Dyslexic thinkers have spent our lives working with brains that don't process information the "standard" way. We're not intimidated by AI that doesn't think exactly like humans. We're skilled at finding productive partnerships with different cognitive architectures.

We think in connections, not categories. AI excels at finding patterns across massive datasets. Dyslexic minds naturally think in cross-domain connections. This alignment creates powerful synergy for complex problem-solving.

We understand cognitive translation. We've spent our lives translating between how we think and how the world expects us to communicate. This makes us exceptionally skilled at bridging between human creativity and AI capability.

We're experienced with cognitive workarounds. Every dyslexic thinker develops personalized strategies for working with systems that don't match their mind. This translates directly to skill in optimizing human-AI collaboration.

We value output over process. Dyslexic thinkers care about results, not rigid adherence to "proper" methods. This mindset is essential for AI partnership, where the goal is optimal outcomes rather than traditional workflows.

The Conversation I Had With Myself

Last week, I was preparing notes for a business strategy presentation. My dyslexic processing meant I had:

• Visual diagrams of concept relationships

• Scattered bullet points from different perspectives

• Voice memos with half-formed ideas

• Metaphors that made sense to me but needed translation

Instead of spending hours fighting to organize this into "proper" presentation format, I worked with AI to:

• Maintain my spatial understanding while creating linear flow

• Keep my metaphorical framing while adding concrete examples

• Preserve my big-picture synthesis while providing detailed support

The result wasn't AI writing for me. It was AI helping me communicate my dyslexic thinking in formats that others could engage with, while maintaining the cognitive advantages that made my analysis valuable in the first place.

What Organizations Are Missing

Here's what most companies don't understand: In an AI collaboration era, dyslexic thinking patterns aren't liabilities requiring accommodation—they're strategic advantages worth actively recruiting.

Organizations should be seeking dyslexic thinkers for:

AI Strategy Development: We understand cognitive adaptation, pattern recognition across domains, and partnership with different thinking architectures.

Complex Problem-Solving: Our experience finding creative workarounds translates to innovative AI collaboration approaches.

Cross-Functional Integration: Our natural tendency toward connecting disparate concepts makes us effective at bridging AI capabilities across organizational silos.

Human-AI Interface Design: Our lived experience with cognitive translation makes us valuable for designing AI systems that work with diverse minds.

Creative Innovation: Our comfort with ambiguity and alternative pathways positions us well for exploring novel AI applications.

The companies that recognize this will have competitive advantages over those still viewing neurodiversity through an accommodation lens.

What Dyslexia Awareness Should Mean in 2025

It's October 1st, and I'm proposing we reframe what Dyslexia Awareness Month should actually accomplish:

Not: "Be patient with dyslexic people's struggles" But: "Recognize dyslexic thinking as valuable cognitive architecture"

Not: "Accommodate dyslexic limitations"
But: "Leverage dyslexic cognitive advantages"

Not: "Help dyslexic people adapt to standard systems" But: "Design systems that work with cognitive diversity"

Not: "Raise awareness about a learning disability" But: "Understand dyslexia as a different cognitive operating system with specific strengths"

My Challenge for This October

If you're reading this and you're dyslexic: Stop hiding your cognitive differences. Start exploring how AI partnership can amplify your natural strengths. Experiment with using AI to bridge the gap between how you think and how others need you to communicate.

You're not broken. You're not struggling with a disability. You have a cognitive architecture that's exceptionally well-suited for the AI collaboration era.

If you're neurotypical and working with dyslexic colleagues: Stop viewing dyslexic thinking as something requiring patience or accommodation. Start recognizing it as cognitive diversity that brings strategic value.

Ask your dyslexic team members about their AI collaboration strategies. Learn from their experience with cognitive adaptation. Leverage their pattern recognition and creative problem-solving strengths.

If you're in organizational leadership: Start actively recruiting dyslexic thinkers for AI strategy roles. Recognize that experience with cognitive adaptation is valuable expertise for human-AI collaboration design.

Stop asking "how do we help dyslexic employees use AI" and start asking "what can dyslexic cognitive patterns teach us about optimal AI partnership?"

The October I Want to See

This Dyslexia Awareness Month, I want to see conversations shift from sympathy to strategy.

Not "be aware that dyslexic people struggle" but "be aware that dyslexic thinking offers competitive advantages in AI collaboration."

Not "understand dyslexia as a learning disability" but "understand dyslexic cognition as a different—and often superior—approach to pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, and cognitive partnership."

Not "accommodate dyslexic differences" but "leverage dyslexic cognitive strengths."

The AI era doesn't just make life easier for dyslexic thinkers. It reveals that what we've been calling disabilities are actually alternative cognitive architectures with specific advantages.

It's time the world caught up to what we've always known: different minds see solutions that standard thinking misses.

Where This Leaves Us

October 1st, 2025. The beginning of Dyslexia Awareness Month.

But I'm not asking for awareness anymore. I'm asking for recognition.

Recognition that dyslexic cognitive patterns—spatial processing, pattern recognition, creative adaptation, big-picture synthesis, narrative understanding—are exactly what's needed for effective human-AI collaboration.

Recognition that experience with cognitive workarounds positions dyslexic thinkers as natural leaders in the AI partnership era.

Recognition that what we've been accommodating should be leveraged instead.

This October, let's move beyond awareness to advantage.

Have a Great October!

This is the first Dyslexia Awareness Month where I'm not feeling conflicted about the framing. Because I'm not asking for patience or accommodation anymore.

I'm claiming what I've always known but was taught to downplay: my dyslexic mind sees patterns, connections, and solutions that standard thinking misses. AI partnership finally lets me demonstrate that without exhausting myself trying to translate into neurotypical communication formats.

If you're dyslexic and reading this, you already know what I'm talking about. You've spent your life working harder to achieve what others find easy, while simultaneously solving problems in ways others can't imagine.

That's not a disability. That's a different cognitive operating system with specific advantages.

This October, let's make people aware of that instead.

— Matt Ivey, Founder · LM Lab AI

TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read For Fellow Skimmers: The Essential Points

🧠 The Shift: Dyslexia Awareness Month should move from "understanding our struggles" to "recognizing our cognitive advantages in the AI era"

🚀 The Advantages: Dyslexic thinking patterns—spatial processing, pattern recognition, creative adaptation, big-picture synthesis—align perfectly with AI collaboration requirements

💼 The Opportunity: Organizations should actively recruit dyslexic thinkers for AI strategy roles rather than viewing neurodiversity through an accommodation lens

🤝 The Partnership: AI removes the translation burden between how dyslexic minds think and how the world expects us to communicate

⚡ The Challenge: Stop hiding dyslexic cognitive differences and start leveraging them as competitive advantages in human-AI collaboration

Next: Part 5 - How cognitive partnership creates thought leadership opportunities for neurodivergent minds