Johannesburg - Mel B described her diagnosis with dyslexia as a relief after feeling “dumb” at school.
The 43-year-old songstress admitted in a recent interview on Loose Women, a UK talk show, that she’d been diagnosed with the learning disorder last year after she’d struggled to read for years.
Scary Spice opened up about how she battled all these years, especially at school because she was considered to be the naughty one – but she actually couldn’t comprehend what was written on the blackboard.
“I felt very dumb, or thick, because everyone else could understand everything except for me. The school was very tough for me because I didn’t understand very much at all,” she explained.
The former Spice Girls member said before she was diagnosed with dyslexia she’d thought her brain was “wired differently” and this drew her closer to the entertainment world.
“All my life I just thought my brain was wired differently, and that’s why I love the entertainment world and that’s why I love singing and dancing and being creative,” Mel B said.
“I sort of hid it but I didn’t know what I was hiding, I’d see words written backwards and I’d have to memorise lyrics, read it over and over again, or it would take me five months to read one chapter of a book. To get diagnosed with dyslexia made me feel relieved.”
The America’s Got Talent judge went on to add that she wasn’t embarrassed by the condition and more than anything was learning how to use alternative methods to learn. “Colours on paper and writing help me learn and understand better,” she explained.
“Now I see it as a gift and a blessing, even now it’s emotional to talk about because for such a long time I didn’t know what was going on with me.
“But now I see it as, 'this is why I’ve been the way I am and this is why I’ve been part of an amazing girl group and this is why I’ve been able to cope with the pressure,' so I’m very thankful for it.”
Mel B is not the only celebrity who has spoken out about their diagnosis with dyslexia. According to the founding partner of the Literacy, Language, and Learning Institute Dr Joanne Pierson, 70-80% of people with reading difficulties are likely to have some form of dyslexia.
Sources: Loose Women, People, Dyslexia Help
