The concept of dyslexia as “disorientation” was popularized by Ronald D. Davis, author of The Gift of Dyslexia.
Ronald D. Davis, a dyslexic himself, introduced a unique perspective on dyslexia in the 1990s. He described dyslexia not merely as a reading disorder, but as a perceptual disorientation – a momentary confusion in spatial and sensory perception that disrupts reading and comprehension.
Davis viewed dyslexia as a side effect of a perceptual gift – an ability to think in pictures and manipulate mental imagery.