Learn from our past in order to design a neurodiverse destiny.

Hacking Text Interfaces To Ignite Dyslexic Ingenuity

Joanna Peña-Bickley
3 min readOct 18, 2021
TALK: HOI Foundation’s Dyslexie Week 2021

October 4 — October 10 is Dyslexia Awareness Week (DAW). I had the distinct honor of speaking at HOI Foundation’s Dyslexie Week 2021 in the Amsterdam. As many of you know, I am also a dyslexic inventor, designer, storyteller, biohacker, mother and cognitive equality activist. This talk raises awareness and shares my understanding of dyslexia in order to bring about positive change during the great reset.

From pre-industrialized kinesthetic learning practices (e.g. Apprenticeships) to the NeuroBiology of Dyslexia to our current opportunities to use immersive technologies to reimagine education, I share my biohacker’s mission to hack text interfaces in pursuit of a kinesthetic, action based, learning experiences. This is why I am pioneering Ai powered visual, gesture, voice and brain interfaces (e.g. Alexa Devices) that enable access to the worlds knowledge for 100% of humanity.

The flip side of the 4th industrial revolution is an opportunity to jump start the 21st century inclusive global enlightenment that prioritizes crafting the world’s knowledge into an immersive action learning experiences for everyone, everywhere every day.

A Guide To Talking About Dyslexia

When we speak with a clear and consistent voice about the difficulties facing those with dyslexia, our message is far more likely to be heard and understood by education leaders, policymakers and others in a position to bring about change. Whether you are a parent advocating for your child, a teacher seeking more support for dyslexic students, an advocate working to change policy (or all three!), the talking points below will help you dispel misconceptions about dyslexia and ensure all dyslexic children and adults have the support they need to succeed.

How to describe dyslexia:

  • Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to an individual’s higher level of intelligence. While those with dyslexia are slow readers, they also, paradoxically, are often very fast and creative thinkers.
  • Dyslexia is a difficulty appreciating the individual sounds in spoken language. It affects a person’s ability to rapidly retrieve the word he or she wants to say, to isolate the sounds within a spoken word and then to attach the appropriate letter to the sound. Those with dyslexia struggle to read fluently, spell words correctly and to learn a second language. Dyslexia is not reversing letters.
  • Some of the most successful people in their fields have dyslexia, including well-known writers and artists, brilliant scientists, doctors and attorneys, and government and business leaders.
  • Dyslexia is life-long, affecting 20 percent of the population and representing 80–90 percent of all those with learning disabilities.

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Joanna Peña-Bickley

Artist, Activist, Inventor, Designer of intelligent things that are useful, usable and magical. | https://joannapenabickley.com/