Inspirational business women Gabrielle Mathiesen has succeeded despite her struggles with dyslexia, but also says it gave her the drive to work harder to achieve her goals
Open Book Report
Mathiesen has created Open Book, an ambitious project that aims to give dyslexics and those with other reading difficulties a means by which they can manage business transactions. It struck Mathiesen that while the hearing impaired are guided in various buildings and businesses by signs depicting the yellow sign with the symbol of an ear or staff members wearing tags with this sign; the dyslexic community and those with reading difficulties are provided no similar assistance for their literacy issues. As such, she came up with an open book sign to provide assistance to individuals with literacy issues.
Inspirational business women Gabrielle Mathiesen has succeeded despite her struggles with dyslexia, but also says it gave her the drive to work harder to achieve her goals.
A Laughingstock
Mathiesen can still imagine herself the laughingstock of her classmates as the teacher poked fun of her poor literacy skills. Back in the 1950′s and 60′s, dyslexia was a non-issue as far as educators and parents were concerned. Dyslexia sufferers were left to struggle without understanding or sympathy. But today Mathiesen is a successful and independent business woman who says that dyslexia is the reason she arrived where she is today.
Daily Challenges
The young-looking blonde woman says that dyslexia still challenges her on a daily basis, but this reminds her of her aim to get involved and provide help to others with dyslexia. To that end, Mathiesen started an organization for dyslexic children and adults called Literally Challenged. The organization provides the assistance to dyslexics that she and others of her generation never received.
Literally Challenged
Literally Challenged offers help to people with literacy issues and learning disabilities. The latest project of Literally Challenged is Open Book, intended to provide a series of front-line aids to those with literacy issues as they go about their everyday business. The hearing impaired have their by now well-known yellow sign depicting an ear, meant to signal that assistance is provided to the individual with a hearing problem. Now those with literacy skills will have an open book sign to help alert them to trained staff and other forms of assistance available to those with literacy issues.
Open Book's Facebook Logo - click it to see their profile
Pictorial Advice
Mathiesen has come up with the concept of a CD that can help businesses like banks, for instance, to offer a pictorial version of instructions and advice on how to do various transactions, such as applying for a mortgage. Some major UK banks have already put out feelers about how they might work with Literally Challenged to develop such a CD. This can be taken as a sign that businesses understand that dyslexia is a real impairment and pervasive within the general population.
Reduced Workload
Mathiesen says that a well-crafted CD will reduce the workload of business staff while it gives customers with literacy challenges the information they need before committing to a contract. The inspired and inspiring businesswoman says that many dyslexics end up going to loan sharks so they won’t have to deal with complicated bank forms. She believes that a one-stop CD could stop this practice which tends to have tragic repercussions for those who struggle with literacy skills.
Another concept that Mathiesen would like to bring to fruition is the transformation of online written material to voice for the dyslexic computer user.
This article ahs been copied with kind permission of www.cognibeat.com and can be found here.
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