How Movies “Saved” Steven Spielberg From Shame
The iconic Hollywood director didn’t let a learning disability hold him back. Here, Steven Spielberg’s advice for others struggling with LDs.
Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg recently admitted to having dyslexia — the first time he has publicly talked about it. “It was the last puzzle part in a tremendous mystery that I’ve kept to myself all these years,” says the director in an interview on friendsofquinn.com. Diagnosed five years ago, Spielberg learned to read two years later than his classmates, who bullied him so much that he dreaded going to school.
“I never felt like a victim,” he says. “Movies kind of saved me from shame…from putting it on myself, from making it my burden when it wasn’t.”
[Screener: Could I Have Dyslexia?]
Spielberg, who was blessed with parents who supported him, went back to college in his 50s to complete his degree, which he had abandoned in 1968 to pursue film making. He says that it takes him twice as long as anyone else to read a book or script, but he uses the extra time to look for things to appreciate as he lingers over the words.
His advice to young adults with LD? “You are not alone, and while you will have dyslexia for the rest of your life, you can dart between the raindrops to get where you want to go. It will not hold you back.”
