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“Yes, it’s possible to train your brain to grow out of dyslexia with musical therapy.”

Dyslexia was first diagnosed in 1877 in Germany.

And today, around 10% of the world's population is known to have dyslexia.

But what is dyslexia?

There's so much misinformation that plagues dyslexia that it often becomes hard to differentiate what is right and what is wrong.

Dyslexia is a neurological complication that involves challenges to read, spell, write and speak.

It is often characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding skills.

Dyslexia affects the areas of the brain that are responsible for the processing of reading, writing ,spelling and speaking.

Dyslexia: Facts VS Myths

As stated above, with the extent of misinformation available on the world wide web about dyslexia, there are so many stereotypes and negative sentiments attached to it.

For starters, there's a widespread myth that dyslexia is associated with low intelligence levels.

But do you know some of the most outstanding personalities known to us, like Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney, and Pablo Picasso, had dyslexia?

Dyslexia can impact anyone – individuals with a range of cognitive skills and intelligence levels.

Studies have shown that dyslexic people often have average or above-average intelligence – thanks to their abstract and creative thinking approach.

They tend to have great intuition and think out of the box.

Some other myths that surround dyslexia are:

Vision problems cause dyslexia.

Dyslexia is caused by not reading enough at home

Dyslexic people just need to try hard.

These are a few horrendous myths about dyslexia. However, one more myth has tremendously far-reaching negative impacts that can impair a person's whole life.

And that myth is: Dyslexia is incurable.

Now don't get me wrong. Dyslexia is not treated like the flu that can be treated with a few shots and medications.

It is a lifelong learning difference that can be adjusted and honed so that dyslexic people have their own advantages and capabilities..

Now let's look at how a dyslexic person's brain functions and how it can be supported with tools that sidestep the reading and learning concerns..

Dyslexia: Causes and Treatments

Dyslexia can occur early on in life and can have a hereditary origin.

Despite the cause, a dyslexic person's brain can be taught so that reading and learning happens through completely different neural pathways than it does for non-dyslexic people.

The traditional education system, which incorporates systematic phonetic drills and a semantic approach to language, is built on the brain's left hemisphere's strengths.

However, in dyslexic people, the brain's left hemisphere is developed differently and  the right hemisphere can compensate for this. Thus, dyslexics can use different brain pathways   and as a result they can excel in abstract and creative thinking.

Now, let's move on to the treatments available for dyslexia. The most popular ones are:

Orton Gillingham Program

Multi-sensory Instruction

However, one more treatment is gaining traction steadily, showing promising results, and is backed by various scientific and clinical trials.

And that treatment is Musical therapy.

Musical Therapy and Dyslexia

Our brain processes music through the right hemisphere.

So, by now, you can guess the notion of this method.

Several clinical trials have shown that music plays a huge role in strengthening the connectivity of various regions in the right hemisphere, precisely what a dyslexic brain needs.

The rhythmic and temporal features of music positively affect the various dimensions of the "temporal deficit" characterized in multiple forms of dyslexia.

Sylvain Moreno’s research revealed that preschool children showed enhanced verbal intelligence just after 20 days of computerized musical training. The improvements were positively correlated with the changes in functional brain plasticity.

90% of the children saw improved scores. Unbelievable, right?

But that's the power of music.

The rhythmic and phonemic improvements that music offers are the significant drivers for linguistic improvements.

The other impressive ways music benefits your brain are bolstering functions like state regulation, auditory processing, executive functioning, and emotional regulation.

So, yes. Music helps a dyslexic brain deal with the challenges a lot better and build on their strength to make your mind more creative and resilient.

How RIFFIT's Technology Defeats Dyslexia?

Despite the fantastic prospects musical therapy has, it is not always accessible or affordable  to the dyslexic people.

And that's precisely where RIFFIT comes in.

It is the world's first-ever real-time music composition platform that combines musical therapy's proven efficacies for learning and communication to create an affordable and tailored solution for dyslexic people.  

Developed by a team of scientists and technologies on a quest to unlock the potentials of people with dyslexia, RIFFIT relies on a proprietary technology that renders raw text to create audio playbacks by creating real time songs.

This app is the answer to the woes of many learning disabilities that make it difficult to read.

You can instantly hear the text played back to you in the form of a melodic song in the genre, speed, and gender of your choice. At the same time the dyslexic reader can follow the words on the screen and hence better comprehend and learn. Yes, you read that right. All of these options are available to make your experience as curated and personal as possible.

RIFFIT's musical compositions bypass the roadblocks standing in the way of language processing. As a result, the brain can comprehend songs and effectively retain information.

So, if you or anyone you know is having learning difficulties due to dyslexia, RIFFIT can be the right solution.

Let's not forget that all brains learn differently. And by simply transforming any text into a song, RIFFIT helps brilliant young minds with dyslexia understand new styles, absorb more information, and reveal their true abilities.

If you want to help us unlock brilliant minds and join the future of learning through music, join us here.  

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When a person’s left brain (the language-processing side) is impaired it creates roadblocks to learning.

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Some of the biggest names in science, trade, and movies struggled in school with their thinking and learning differences. It may be hard to believe, but many people we know that made the world a better place were, in fact, dyslexic.

Steven Spielberg, Keira Knightley, and Salma Hayek are some of Hollywood’s brightest stars - and they all have dyslexia. The greatest minds in history, like Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawkings, and Pablo Picasso were also all dyslexic. Richard Branson and Steve Jobs are mega-successful dyslexic entrepreneurs who turned their brainchild into billion-dollar companies.

These names are just a handful of representatives of what dyslexic minds can achieve. No matter what corner of the world you go to, you are bound to find dyslexic individuals who have tasted success despite being marginalized and experiencing early difficulties with reading and writing.

This is because dyslexia is not a disability; it is a learning differentiation where the individual processes language in a different way. There are many positives to it, like enhanced creativity, the ability to see the bigger picture, problem-solving skills, and so on.

That’s why these dyslexic individuals weren’t just able to think outside the box but shatter the current thinking of their time.  

In today’s blog, we will talk about three such individuals who were visionaries that impacted the world in remarkable ways.

So, without further ado, let’s get on to it!

Steven Spielberg

It would be a lie if you said you didn’t root for Indiana Jones as he ran to avoid being crushed by a giant boulder, teared up as we watched E.T fly back home, or gasped at the thought of giant prehistoric dinosaurs plaguing the earth.

Academy award-winning director Steven Spielberg is credited for some of the most iconic films to grace our screens. But do you know the director we all adore is dyslexic? (Though he wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until he was in his 60s.)

He explains the feeling of finally being diagnosed as: “the last puzzle part in a tremendous mystery that I’ve kept to myself all these years.”

During his childhood, Spielberg daydreamed his way through school. He shares that he always felt disconnected from his peers since he couldn’t keep up due to dyslexia. He learned to read two years later than other pupils.

The school administration thought he was lazy. His peers bullied him relentlessly. And after losing a hard-fought battle with maths, he finally dropped out of college.

Luckily for Spielberg, he was able to transform his daydreams into movie marvels we see on screen today. He didn’t let dyslexia hold him down. Instead, he transformed it into a great advantage.

He says: “Movies really helped me…kind of saved me from shame, from guilt…making movies was my great escape.”

And not only did movies give him an outlet to channel his energies, but feeling like an outsider for a long time helped him co-write The Goonies, a super hit film about a quirky group of friends who were all black sheep at school. “I was a member of the Goon Squad,” he adds.

Spielberg reportedly takes twice as long as most of his Hollywood peers to read books and scripts. He also went back to college in his 50s to complete his degree that he’d left abandoned in 1968.

The director has a special message for people experiencing learning difficulties:

“It is more common than you can imagine. You are not alone. And while you will have this the rest of your life, you can dart between the raindrops to get where you want to go and it will not hold you back.”

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, the German-born theoretical physicist, is the mind behind the general theory of relativity, one of the two most important theories in modern physics alongside quantum physics. He is best known for deriving the mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc2.

We all know Einstein today for his brilliance in physics and maths, but did you know he struggled with language difficulty?

Einstein also frequently described his thought process as being nonverbal:

“Words or language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought.” (This quote was taken from a letter he wrote to the mathematician Jacques Hadamard in 1945.)

Einstein had extremely delayed speech - he didn’t speak until he was three and didn’t speak fluently until the age of six. He also had a hard time jotting his thoughts down, retrieving language, and reading aloud - all characteristic signs of dyslexia.

At school, his lack of adeptness at arithmetic and language led a teacher to forecast that ‘ nothing good’ would come out of Einstein.

However, little did the teacher know that Einstein excelled at visual imagination and spatial reasoning. As a little boy, he had a strong interest in geometry. And in his teenage, he thrived at a Swiss school that taught students based on creative and visual methods while discouraging memorization.

So naturally, he credited the conception of the theory of relativity to thought experimentation, in which he imagined himself riding on a streetcar traveling at light’s speed.

While Einstein wasn’t diagnosed as dyslexic during his lifetime, he frequently described his thought process to be nonverbal on several occasions.

Here’s a quote from him during a conversation with psychologist friend Max Wertheimer:

“Thoughts did not come in any verbal formulation. I very rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterwards.”

Richard Branson

Billionaire Richard Branson’s story is nothing short of inspiring. As a dyslexic child, Branson had tremendous difficulty navigating his way through school.

Today, he’s the CEO of Virgin and an author, investor, philanthropist, and space explorer that everyone looks up to. However, things weren’t always looking good for Branson when he was a child.

Branson felt like a failure when it came to reading and writing - flunking exams and finally dropping out of high school at the age of 15. He shared that his dyslexia was treated as a “handicap.” His teachers thought he was lazy, dumb, and someone who simply couldn’t fit in.

But today, he partly credits dyslexia for his success. He shared: “My dyslexia has shaped Virgin right from the very beginning and imagination has been the key to many of our successes.”

He believes dyslexic people have a vivid imagination. He thinks one reason people with dyslexia do so well in life is that they tend to simplify things since they struggle in school, including problems.

“It helped me think big but keep our messages simple. The business world often gets caught up in facts and figures — and while the details and data are important, the ability to dream, conceptualize and innovate is what sets the successful and the unsuccessful apart.”

The billionaire believes that the skills associated with dyslexia, from problem-solving and creativity to imagination, will be soon needed in the new world of the workforce that will be shaped by automation and artificial intelligence.

And he has a message for all of us: We should stop getting children to think the same way. Instead, we should support and celebrate all sorts of neurodiversity - encouraging children’s imagination and creativity.

RIFFIT & Dyslexia

For each one of the geniuses mentioned above, there are millions of dyslexic people who aren’t able to realize their dreams and reach their full potential owing to their neurodiversity. Even with so many scientific breakthroughs we have witnessed over the last 5 decades, we have failed to understand the needs, aspirations, and potential of a large proportion of the population that don’t process information the standard way - leading them to a lifetime of illiteracy and social exclusion. And today, we’re here to change that - one song at a time in the RIFFIT app. We’re here to empower dyslexic minds by leveraging songs as a mainstream communication tool to our daily lives.

Decades of scientific evidence has shown that music has the ability to unlock improvements in reading and comprehension abilities of dyslexic people. Simply input text (word, jpeg, pdf, etc.) into the RIFFIT app, select your favorite musical genre and melody, and listen to the melodious songs on the go. Imagine how empowering it must be for dyslxic children to approach reading and writing through music - to be longer burdened by meticulous re-reading for the hundredth time.

Download RIFFIT today from the AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/riffit/id1553782662?mt=12

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A study by Cass Business School reports that 35% of US entrepreneurs identify themselves as dyslexic. Many believe it’s still an underestimated percentage.

And not just in the US - studies carried out in different corners of the world showed the same uncanny link between dyslexic people and successful businesses.

Ted Turner, media mogul; Henry Ford, successful carmaker; Ingvar Kamprad, Ikea Founder; Anita Roddick, Body Shop founder; and Tommy Hilfiger; Fashion Icon — these are just a few names of successful entrepreneurs that have founded an unfaltering legacy.

So, is it just a coincidence? Or, there is more to it than what meets the eye?

Is it because dyslexics learn strategies early on in their life to offset their weaknesses, or they’re good at identifying trustworthy people to delegate ‘responsibilities’?

There are many speculations and reasoning behind this unique connection.

Keep reading to find out!

Dyslexic People Think Differently

Studies after studies have shown that dyslexic people have strong imagining skills. If you’ve ever crossed paths with a dyslexic person, you’d know this is true in a heartbeat.

This is because dyslexic brains function differently.

The brain’s right hemisphere is active in dyslexic people, which is responsible for cognitive functions like emotions, attention, verbal ambiguity, and their meaning.

So, can you see the dots being connected? All of these functions mentioned above are imperative and common in successful entrepreneurs.

The increased capabilities in areas like visualization, logical reasoning, and natural entrepreneurial traits definitely bring a fresh and intuitive perspective.

In the regular school system, dyslexic kids are square pegs in a round hole. These creative minds are often chained by standardized tests created for standardized thinking.

But once they enter the world of business, they’re freed - at least to an extent - to think differently and do differently. Naturally, this gives them a competitive edge.

Their creative skills help them tackle old problems with new approaches. And being unconventional in the same-same marketplace definitely helps them disrupt industries sooner or later.

For example, Ted Turner’s CNN was the first news channel to broadcast news 24 hours a day! And rest is history.

Dyslexic People Keep It Simple

Owning a business means dealing with new complexities every other day. But once again, dyslexic minds have an edge. They’re absolutely brilliant at utilizing their amplified reasoning skills to look at the bigger picture and simplify problems.

In turn, this skill helps them to be bold (even eccentric sometimes), act fast, and capitalize on new opportunities. And as it goes without saying, simplifying things facilitates far better decision-making.

And we second that!

Dyslexic People Are Storytellers

As kids, dyslexic minds often try to offset their reading and writing difficulty by capitalizing on verbal communication. And this storytelling ability goes a long way in their adulthood.

Dyslexic people may find it hard to shuffle through mountains of paperwork. Still, they more than makeup for it by drafting clear messages that win over minds and hearts. They have a gifted ability to simplify the narrative and sell their vision.

Let’s look at an example of Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad.

Kamprad started out with a small mail-order sales business where his products were labeled with individual codes.

However, like many dyslexics, he found it hard to memorize the numbers. So, he created a new system where he named all furniture with popular Swedish names, which later on went to become a renowned system all over the globe.

Also, don’t forget the special assembly instructions that come with Ikea furniture - they’re all pictures, not words.

And as you already know, people don’t just shop at Ikea for furniture - they do it for the unique assembling experience that comes with it.

Dyslexic People Are Curious

Dyslexics are by nature curious and passionate people - who channel these virtues into building unique, out-of-the-box businesses. They explore ideas in quirky, energetic, and constant ways.

And when it comes to offering an unparalleled customer experience, they don’t mind going the extra mile.

Dyslexic people are gifted with this unique ability to explore, visualize, and manifest outcomes. As a result, there will be several possibilities and perspectives in business.

They’re adept at imagining how situations can pan out, helping them detect gaps and opportunities most will miss out on.

Dyslexic people are also quite brilliant at visualizing products and services from different angles, which gives them quite the edge when it comes to designing new products, services, or improving the existing products in the market.

Dyslexic People Are Good At Socializing

Connecting with people is one of the most crucial assets dyslexics have. Their sheer ability to motivate and inspire sets them apart from other entrepreneurs. And this trait has sprouted from their strong connecting skills and enhanced emotional intelligence.

Their need to be aware of their Achilles heel and focusing on strength often makes them expert delegators, which in turn can help ignite the positive spark in others too.

By having this empathetic knowledge of weaknesses and strengths firsthand, they create fantastic, thriving teams.

And when communicating with customers and clients, their high level of emotional intelligence, coupled with empathy and passion, helps them unlock deeper levels of understanding on how to resonate with customers.

As a result, this helps companies create goods and services that resonate with the existing and prospective customers in the most impactful ways.

So, what does the future look like for dyslexic entrepreneurs? The past has shown that dyslexic people have quite substantially changed the world we live in with the correct opportunities and tools at hand. So we must support everyone with dyslexia to realize their worth and meet their potential. Let’s not forget to celebrate their imagination, curiosity, and empathy - skills imperative for future entrepreneurs.

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Dyslexia is one of the most misunderstood neurological conditions to exist. Today, scientists know more than ever about dyslexia. But dyslexic people around the globe continue to be marginalized and stereotyped.

Unfortunately, many misconceptions are floating around about this learning difference that it often gets hard to differentiate facts from lies. And this isn't just detrimental to a diagnosed dyslexic person's experience. Still, it also makes it hard to read the early signs of dyslexia and seek immediate help.

Today we're going to shine a light on some of the most prevalent myths on dyslexia.

Globally, 15-20% of people are dyslexic, according to the International Dyslexia Foundation. Thus, it's crucial to educate ourselves on the topic. If you like it, don't forget to share it with your friends and families.

Myth #1 All Dyslexic People Read And Write Letters Backwards

Truth: While reading and writing backward are some of the most popular symptoms, it doesn't apply to everyone. Also, not all children who do so are dyslexic.

Reading letters in reverse is quite common in young children. It's not uncommon to confuse q for p and b for d. However, if you find your child doing so even by the time he graduates first grade, it's time for an evaluation.

That being said, dyslexic people don't 'see' things in reverse. They just have a bit of trouble with directionality.

Myth #2 Dyslexia Doesn't Show Up Until Elementary School

Although rarely diagnosed at a very young age, telltale signs of dyslexia could be present even during preschool or earlier. In preschool, the most obvious signs are children not knowing their alphabets, having difficulty rhyming, or simply being a 'late talker.'

This is because dyslexia hampers language skills that are crucial to start reading.

Myth #3 Dyslexia Is Sign Of Below Average Intelligence

Truth: You'd be surprised to know that some of the world's most creative and intelligent people are dyslexic - Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Several studies have repeatedly proved that there's no correlation between dyslexia and intelligence.

Dyslexic students typically demonstrate average or above-average intelligence. They're often more creative, intuitive, and out-of-the-box thinkers. Capitalizing on their strengths and not relying on the standard practice of just reading and writing will help them build confidence, try out new hobbies, and acquire new skills!

Myth #4 Dyslexia Is Rare

Truth: Dyslexia isn't rare - it's almost widespread. Globally, 15-20% of people are dyslexic, according to the International Dyslexia Foundation. In the United States alone, it's estimated that 30 million adults have dyslexia.

Likewise, the American Academy Of Pediatrics reports that dyslexia accounts for 80% of all learning issues.

Some have mild forms of dyslexia, while others are impacted severely. However, for many, it goes undiagnosed and untreated throughout their lives. In the United States, it's reported that only 1 in 10 dyslexic people qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

An IEP lays out the special education curriculum, instructions, and services a student needs to do well in school.

Myth #5 Dyslexia Is A Vision Problem

Truth: No, dyslexia isn't a visual problem. Dyslexic children are no more likely to have eye complications than other kids. However, some children may indeed have problems with visual processing or perception.

That is because the brain has difficulty detecting the small details in images and processing what the eyes see. There's nothing wrong with the eye's anatomy itself or its functioning.

Myth #6 Dyslexic Children Are Just Lazy

Truth: No, dyslexic children are not lazy. Being exposed to reading early on in life is important. But children don't become dyslexic just because they didn't have exposure or didn't try hard enough. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that can't be managed if the right intervention isn't taken - no matter how hard a child tries.

Making some small yet impactful changes in the teaching mechanism can help dyslexic children thrive drastically. For instance, reducing the copying task from the board or using fill-in-the-blank, matching, or short-answer format on tests.

Myth #7 Only Children That Speak English Have Dyslexia

Truth: This myth is farthest from the truth. Dyslexia exists in all corners of the world and all languages. Dyslexic cases have been well studied and documented in various languages like Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese.

However, indeed, it often takes much longer to pick up reading problems in bilingual kids whose first language isn't English.

If a child is having problems reading and writing in both first and second languages, it's an obvious sign the child needs to be evaluated.

Myth #8 Dyslexia Goes Away With Age

Truth: While early intervention, helping dyslexic children learn easily can be very impactful. However, dyslexia is a life-long condition that doesn't go away with age or once the child starts reading. Nor is it a 'disease' that can be cured.

Children simply do not grow out of dyslexia. They may struggle less with writing and reading as they grow, but it cannot be completely outgrown. That is why the right intervention at a young age is important.

Myth #9 Dyslexia Can Be Cured

Truth: Dyslexia is a lifelong learning condition. But it's not a medical condition nor can it be cured like one. Mild or severe, dyslexia is innate or permanent. However, early, systematic and intensive invention can profoundly help improve the life of a dyslexic person. Music therapy has also been proven to help children struggling to read and write.

Dyslexia can be remediated with the right kinds of instructions and guidelines and be kept under check by far and large.

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The term dyslexia was first described in 1896 in Greek, meaning "difficulty with words." Initially, it was called “reading blindness.”

A century or so has passed since then. Still, even today, we have struggled to define what dyslexia is, let alone the reason behind it.

For over 100 or so years, there have been numerous theories claiming it to be a hearing disorder, a visual disorder, and as most researchers now agree, both.

In the early years, doctors were at a loss for words to explain how bright young children couldn't master the basics of reading. But now, with the help of sophisticated imaging devices, researchers have concluded that the aliment is linked to neurological functions.

In many children with dyslexia, a neurological condition that causes complexities with reading, writing, and spelling, the deprivation of swift and intensive intervention can transcend reading failure and psychological difficulties.

Dyslexia is often ridiculed and stereotyped. Dyslexics are made fun of, touted as lazy, and even endlessly bullied on many occasions. But do you know dyslexia is far more common than we think?

Dyslexia In Numbers

According to Dyslexia International, 5-10% of the world's population is dyslexic. That roughly equates to 700 million people. How common is dyslexia?

According to the International Dyslexia Association, 15-20% of the population has a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties. Dyslexia affects males and females nearly equally as well as people from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds nearly equally.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dyslexia affects 20% of the population of the United States - 1 in every 5 people.

These numbers are just a few representatives to show you that dyslexia doesn't have any lingual boundary. It could affect anyone in any corner of the world.

But there's a good chance that you've never 'met' a 'dyslexic' person in your life despite it being so common and universal.

That's because most dyslexics don't get diagnosed throughout their lifetime and spend their lives touted as 'intellectually challenged people.

Dyslexia Under Shadow

Not everyone shows the same symptoms or experiences the same intensity of dyslexia. Some people have it in a mild form that doesn't jeopardize their everyday life. In contrast, some experience dyslexia in its intense form - severely compromising their learning process.

Getting tested and intervened for dyslexia is more complicated than it sounds. As a result, many children aren't receiving the correct diagnosis and intervention they desperately need to do well in school and social circles.

Federal law states dyslexia as a specific learning disability (SLD).

To be precise, students diagnosed in a school setting fall under SLD, while those diagnosed in clinical settings fall under Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in the Reading category.

Although both diagnoses include dyslexia with descriptive definitions, the term 'dyslexia' is seldom used in psychological and diagnostic reports.

As a result, most parents of children that need special education raise them without knowing their children have dyslexia.

According to Nation's Report Card, over 60% of fourth-graders in the United States are not proficient readers. And students that struggle to read often drop out of high school - increasing their chances of ending up in a criminal justice system and leading an impoverished life.

In the United States, only 1 in 10 dyslexic children qualify for individual education planning (IEP) and special education that allows them to get help for their reading difficulties.

Scientists from the National Center for Education Statistics report that only 4.5% of students in public schools are diagnosed with "specific learning disabilities ', a category that comprises dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

An example for some perspective: screening for hearing impairment, a problem that's a lot less likely to occur than dyslexia statistically, is conducted more frequently than that for dyslexia.

Dr. Sally Shaywitz, co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, estimates that 80-90% of children that have difficulties with learning difficulties are dyslexia.

However, most dyslexic children go undiagnosed. Failing school, which we so easily blame on the environmental factors and low intelligence, is often undiagnosed dyslexia.

The situation is quite the same across the pond. For example, BBC reports schools in England are failing to diagnose at least 80% of their dyslexic pupils. It's estimated that 8,70,000 school-going children are dyslexic, but only 150,000 were diagnosed.

But only diagnosing isn't enough. It's just the tip of the iceberg. Even the 'lucky ones' that receive diagnosis don't end up receiving the specialist help they need. Families in England are paying up to £1,000 to help their dyslexic children learn.

However, as always, pupils from poorer and marginalized communities are left behind.

This same situation persists in the United States, too. Many families don't have the means for expensive testing and tutoring dyslexic children need.

Parents that can afford it will spend thousands of dollars for correct diagnosis and help. For instance, a simple screening test could cost up to $800.

It's not that there aren't free testing and tutoring options available. However, they came with an impossibly long waitlist. As a result, the "invisible dyslexics'" - predominantly poor children - are academically doomed as their dyslexia, if diagnosed, is treated too late or too little.

RIFFIT: A Universal And Accessible Approach To Dyslexia

Riffit was developed with the vision of unlocking brilliant dyslexic minds through its pioneering, real-time text-to-song learning approach.

At a time when diagnosing and treating dyslexia can cost thousands of dollars (that too if accessible), RIFFIT has created the world's first real-time text-to-song generation App that integrates the proven capabilities of musical therapy into an affordable and personalized solution to facilitate understanding and remembering written and spoken words.

How Does Riffit Work?

Riffit firmly believes in the idea that when it comes to how our brains learn, we cannot apply the 'one size fits all" rule. For example, when it comes to dyslexic people, the brain's right hemisphere, which is tasked with comprehending music, is more developed than the left hemisphere. Our App turns any text into song in real time, thereby allowing its users to access written information via song/music. Based on decades of published research and the application of musical therapy, this is known to activate different parts of the brain whereby learning can be greatly enhanced.

Simply input text (pdf, word, jpeg, etc.,) into our app, pick your favorite musical genre and melody and in real time listen to your song. Published studies show that people will see long term improvements in their overall reading and comprehension abilities. Imagine how empowering it will be to approach homework, news articles or any other written materials through song, no longer being burdened by the agonizing process of reading and re-reading to fully comprehend written words.

Download RIFFIT today from the AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/riffit/id1553782662?mt=12

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RIFFIT was brought into this world with the vision to change the lives of dyslexic minds forever - one song at a time. And it's been doing precisely that. Helping young minds without any boundaries - physical or financial - unleash the true potential of their mind that's long been chained by the limitations of our mainstream educational systems. Last month, we put our RIFFIT app to the test.

Ms. Lisa Hecker, a speech-language pathologist from New York, analyzed and scrutinized to find out whether RIFFIT is truly as remarkable and groundbreaking as it claims or is it just another marketing gimmick exploiting neurodiversity for private gains. Ms. Hecker used RIFFIT with her dyslexic young clients, and she has quite a lot to share with you guys.

But first, let me properly introduce you to Ms. Hecker.

Ms. Hecker is a speech and language pathologist who assesses and treats clients with language delays, hearing loss, neurologic injury, auditory processing disorder, feeding difficulties just to name a few. So, without further ado, let's dive into what Ms. Hecker really thinks of the RIFFIT App.

Is RIFFIT a game-changer?

The market's saturated with tools and strategies that claim to help individuals with learning differentiation. But how impactful are they? Are they based on scientific grounds? How do you differentiate the real deal from a fad?

Ms. Hecker strongly believes RIFFIT will be a really helpful app for children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. In a toolbox of approaches designed to help dyslexic children learn, Ms. Hecker believes RIFFIT will be a crucial tool that will have a 'great impact.' And it is indeed. With RIFFIT, musical therapy is no longer limited to the reach of few who can afford specialized and often expensive classes. There's no linguistic, physical, or financial boundary that's separating a person in need from this quite  life-changing tool.

Ms. Hecker also shared what she particularly likes about this app - its multimodality approach towards learning. There is an auditory component, a musical component, and a child's active participation.

"They are actively reading while receiving the feedback  from the auditory output as well” Hecker claims. “I do think this app's going to be helpful for kids who have dyslexia, who have learning differentiations, and who are struggling."

What Improvements Did You See In The Kids After Using The Riffit App?

Ms. Hecker shared with us a multitude of improvements the kids showed following the use of the RIFFIT app. How wonderful, right? The first and most crucial improvement Ms. Hecker realized that there was a significant increase in attention.

“You know how kids are, right? They have an incredibly hard time sitting still in one spot and giving their full concentration to anything that they aren't into. It's especially true for kids with learning differentiation like dyslexia, who are often anxiety-ridden over their insecurities during therapies. “

But Ms. Hecker made a pleasant discovery. With RIFFIT, the children were able to focus more clearly and showed more interest in their learning session. Students often tend to automatically disengage with something difficult and shut down when engaging in something challenging. They just simply don't want to have any sort of involvement in doing things that are difficult for them.

"No student wants to engage in something that makes them feel negative. But when I introduced RIFFIT, they actually showed more of an interest and increasedattention skills."

Ms. Hecker also shared a sweet, heartwarming anecdote of how RIFFIT helped a young girl let go of her inhibitions, embrace the technology, and make positive strides with it. Ms. Hecker used RIFFIT primarily with reading and reading comprehension. And there was a curious girl who was determined to make the best out of it. During her session, she was always given a choice as to whether to use the RIFFIT app or not. And guess what, she always chose to use it. And naturally, Ms. Hecker witnessed swift improvements in her reading comprehension abilities.

Before using RIFFIT, whenever she was asked her to give a summary of something she had read, the little girl was only able to quote a few last sentences. But with the use of RIFFIT, she was able to give a coherent summary of what she read - much to Ms. Hecker's surprise. She was left amazed by the progress her young client had made! And that warms our hearts to know, too!

So, What's RIFFIT? And How Does It Work?

Brain scans attest to the fact that reading for dyslexic minds happens through an entirely different neural pathway than for non-dyslexic people. But they're often marginalized and ridiculed for not being able to excel at the mainstream education system, which is based on systematic phonetic drills and an almost robotic approach.

And RIFFIT’s here to change that - one song at a time - in a world where diagnosis and suitable treatment for learning differentiation aren't accessible to many - and even when it is, the cost can amount to thousands of dollars.

RIFFIT is a real-time text-to-song app that strives to translate music's power into language comprehension for dyslexics and others with learning differences.

All you have to do is input text (jpeg, word, or pdf) into the app, select your favorite music genre and melody, and listen to unique songs every time. Simply put, RIFFIT helps turn just about any text into a song instantly, enabling its users to access written information through songs and music.

And how's that exactly going to change things?

Learning through music is aimed at helping those with a diversity of learning styles, like dyslexia or aphasia. In addition, decades of scientific studies and research have proved that music therapy can activate certain parts of our brains to offer more enhanced learning.

RIFFIT effectively integrates these scientifically proven music capabilities into an economical, affordable, and tailored solution to facilitate learning in every corner of the world.

Download the RIFFIT app today on the AppStore.

[riffitnow]

The talent shortage is at a 15-year high. And employers are struggling to recruit the right skills they need for the post-pandemic. Reports show that seven in 10 employers across the world are experiencing difficulty hiring - the highest it has been at any point since 2006.

However, every dark cloud has a silver lining. And in this case, the silver lining has been the unprecedented talent represented by dyslexic people. Many employers are undervaluing a colossal pool of talent: people with dyslexia.

Now and then, the narrative around dyslexia has been positioned as baggage to businesses. For decades, dyslexic people have been expected to just shrug it off and ‘ fit in’ - measured, benchmarked, and often ridiculed.

But not anymore. Dyslexic thinking and aptitudes represent ‘in demand’ skills, with the opportunity to change the face of the workforce as we see.

Dyslexia And Post-pandemic Workforce

It’s been forecasted that by the year 2025, humans and machines will split the work 50:50. Even more, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the advances of automation and digitization. As a result, what has been heralded as the “job of the future” and “workplace of the future” have transitioned to a “post-pandemic workplace” - this is the emerging reality of today.

A dyslexic workforce is more than equipped to shine and thrive in the post-pandemic workplace. Dyslexics bring unique talent including increased curiosity, increased awareness of their environment, visual thinking, being highly intuitive and insightful, experiencing thought as reality, and vivid imagination.  Businesses need to act now to include this dyslexic talent in their workforce today or are going to miss out dearly.

The machines increasingly perform the tasks dyslexic minds struggle with, like reading, spelling, and memorizing. But, on the other hand, skills that are highly sought in today’s job market are precisely the skills dyslexic minds excel at.

Such “soft” skills of the dyslexic intellect also include, time management, prioritization, adaptability, initiative-taking, analytical thinking, communications, and empathy. These skills are more highly prized by employers than ever before. In a post-pandemic world, these skills are the backbone of success. And these very skills are strongly associated with dyslexic thinking.

Put simply, the workforce of the future needs dyslexic thinking. Dyslexic individuals should no longer be expected to ‘fit in’ but ‘stand out’ and leverage their strength. Businesses and educators alike should come forward and adapt their organizations and systems to embrace this shift, and this needs to happen fast, if we’re going to build the workforce of tomorrow.

But dyslexic skills have been misread for a long, long time. This often starts at school. Struggles with things like memorizing, reading, and spelling severely undermine the self-belief of dyslexic students. And often, the abilities they excel in other departments are overlooked by educators, classmates, and themselves.

And this ordeal continues into the world of work. Dyslexics, who have been held back in the classroom, could be less confident when embarking on a new career. They enter the world of work with inhibitions about telling anyone that they’re dyslexic in case their career progression will be hindered.

Dyslexic Value To The Workforce

As of today, many employers are still missing out on a lot because they aren’t in touch with the strengths people with dyslexia have to offer:

Made By Dyslexia’s 2018 report, Value Of Dyslexia, showed that:

Dyslexic individuals have a range of natural strengths, making them hardwired to achieve the cut-throat need of today’s automated and digitized economy.

In the near future, enhanced tasks and innovative roles are going to be created which closely match the strength of dyslexia people.

Trending demand for competencies like leadership, social influence, innovation, analytical thinking, and creativity are strongly associated with typical dyslexic strengths.

Businesses that take a strength-based approach will specialize on skills dyslexics often shine at - since all of these skills are crucial for the workplace.

Top skills that businesses are looking for that correspond closely to the skill of people with dyslexia:

Communication: Conjuring and conveying coherent and engaging messages

Imagination: Crafting an original piece of work or giving a new spin to old ideas

Visualization: Interacting with physical ideas, space, sense, and new concepts

Exploration: Being curious and exploring ideas in an innovative and energetic way

Connection: Understanding self and others, capable of empathizing and influence

Reasoning: Evaluating possibilities, understanding patterns, and making decisions

And not just that - resilience, adaptability, collaboration, teamwork, accountability, and discipline - these are all the skills dyslexic people possess that resonate with today’s workplace.

Dyslexics And Changing Workspace Landscape

But for employers to harness the essential skills that dyslexic thinkers can offer, they need to create a conducive environment where employees are accoladed for their strength, not penalized for their weakness.

A culture in which dyslexic thinkers feel encouraged to ask for assistance where they need it will help the employer benefit more from their dyslexic thinking skills.

Neurodiverse people sometimes need workplace accommodation - like headphones to avoid auditory overstimulation, to maximally leverage their capabilities. And in most cases, these accommodations are highly manageable, and the potential returns are greater by leaps and bounds.

However, to realize the benefits, most companies will have to adjust their recruitment process and career development policies to reflect talent’s broader definition.

A growing number of big companies have reevaluated their HR process to access neurodiverse talents including people with dyslexia - among them are Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft, Ford, EY, and Willis Towers Watson. Several others, like Deloitte, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Dell Technologies, and Caterpillar, have founded startups or are underway.

So, organizations struggling with skill shortages have to seize the opportunities dyslexic minds present before them before it’s snatched away. People with dyslexia have several of today’s in-demand skills in abundance, but far too often, recruiters and employers are overlooking them.

How RIFFIT Can Help Lay Foundation For Future’s Workforce

In the United States, more than 60% of fourth-graders aren’t proficient readers. But just one out of 10 dyslexic children qualify for individual education planning (IEP) and special education, which enables them to get assistance for their reading difficulties.

The statistics are grim. They’re unfortunate but also entirely preventable. And RIFFIT’s here to do exactly that.

RIFFIT is the brainchild of a group of out-of-the-box thinkers who are here to help dyslexic minds unleash their potential in ways never possible before. RIFFIT was founded on the principle of a strength-based approach. People who suffer from dyslexia are handcuffed by the lack of language processing pathways in the left hemisphere but are gifted with a superior right hemisphere. We have tirelessly worked for more than 2 years to create the world’s first real time text to song technology that re-routes reading materials through the right hemisphere and thus enable dyslexic students to comprehend the information presented rapidly.

How does RIFFIT work?

You simply have to input text (jpeg, word, pdf) into the RIFFIT app, choose your favorite genre and melody, and listen to the newly created songs in real-time. It works by strengthening the brain’s right hemisphere, which is more developed in dyslexic people.

RIFFIT’s technology is based on decades of published research and the application of musical therapy, known to activate different parts of the brain whereby learning can be greatly enhanced.

RIFFIT’s here to help dyslexic minds bypass the roadblocks hindering their way in the process of unleashing their full potential.

Our App is completely free to use. Please download the App and try it out: https://www.riffitnow.com/product.

[riffitnow]

We live in a world where millions of people fail in their educational activities, largely due to current ‘one size fits all’ methods of learning and communication. RIFFIT provides a game-changing answer to this problem by using a combination of melody and automated text reading to let you “read with your ears”.

About one in five of us have a lot of difficulty learning to read and are diagnosed with dyslexia. This population generally suffers educationally and is often being left behind from the first grade onwards. It is not surprising that a large proportion of this group drops out of school altogether, but dyslexia is not an indication of low intelligence (Einstein and Walt Disney both struggled with dyslexia). It is an inherited condition which only means that learning to read, spell words, speak and comprehend spoken words is very challenging.

The socioeconomic impact of dyslexia is enormous. According to National Assessment of Educational Progress report, only a third of our nation’s students can read at grade level. America’s students are entering high school without being able to comprehend text at a level necessary to complete their schoolwork. The situation is just as worrying amongst the adult population. According to US Dept of Education: 54% of US adults – equating to around 130 million people – lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.

Over the past few decades, it is has become clear that many of these slow readers are fast thinkers, who are being held back simply because the neuronal pathways which the brain uses to process written and/or spoken words don’t work efficiently. Fortunately, in-depth research has shown that presenting information as a melodic song uses a different neuronal route, bypassing these inefficient speech/text pathways. Using this alternative, musical route to the brain can help a dyslexic to process information better.

Despite the fantastic prospects musical therapy has to offer, it is rarely accessible or affordable, and this is where RIFFIT comes into its own. We have created the world’s first text-to-song generation platform to facilitate comprehension and recall of written and spoken words. You can instantly hear any text played back to you in the form of a melodic song in the genre, speed, and gender of your choice. At the same time the reader can follow the words on the screen and hence absorb the information more effectively. All these options are available to make your experience as personalized as possible. And, surprisingly, the current release of the RIFFIT app is free to use.

We evaluated RIFFIT song-enabled reading in a scientific study comparing it to silent reading and the results were extremely positive. 45% of the students in the study demonstrated an improvement in comprehension using RIFFIT as compared to silent reading. Within this group:

The average number of correct answers to the comprehension questions rose impressively, from 56% to 69%.

The students who had the worst comprehension with silent reading were the ones who benefitted most from the RIFFIT app - there was a strong relationship between poor performance when silent reading and big improvements when using RIFFIT.

Three quarters of the students said that RIFFIT helped them to concentrate better.

Most of the students found that using RIFFIT technology was a fun activity.

The RIFFIT text-to-song App is free to use and is clearly a promising technology for improving comprehension and concentration in students with dyslexia, especially younger students with poor reading comprehension skills.  Improving concentration and the enjoyment of reading text by translating it into song should reduce barriers to reading and increase dyslexics willingness to learn from, or simply enjoy, written text.

RIFFIT opens the doors to a new way of learning and communication. Think how exciting it’ll be to pick your music genre, enter any text and listen to your book, or read your newspaper, twitter, or e-mail message, as song. Teachers would be able to reap the benefits of speaking to their students and having them receive the spoken words as song, immediately grabbing attention and attaining improved comprehension. RIFFIT can improve the comprehension of written or spoken text for a wide range of people, especially those with learning impairments like dyslexia and autism.

Dr. John Powell (Author of ‘How Music Works’) and Deepak Savadatti (CEO RIFFIT)

https://www.riffitnow.com/

[riffitnow]

When it comes to how our brains learn, one size does not fit all!

Reading and listening to experts is not the only way to learn. Riffit delivers personalized songs that can promote increased learning and unlock the brilliance of our minds. Learning through song is aimed at helping those with a diversity of learning styles, such as dyslexia or aphasia.

[riffitnow]

When it comes to how our brains learn, one size does not fit all!

Reading and listening to experts is not the only way to learn. Riffit delivers personalized songs that can promote increased learning and unlock the brilliance of our minds. Learning through song is aimed at helping those with a diversity of learning styles, such as dyslexia or aphasia.