--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was dyslexic before anybody knew what…" description: "\"I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I was called 'slow'. It's an awful feeling to think of yourself as 'slow' - it's horrible.\" — Rob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/robert-benton-21053_awful_i-was-dyslexic-before-anybody-knew-what_1996112.png" --- # I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I… ![“I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I was called 'slow'. It's an awful feeling to think of yourself as 'slow' - it's horrible.” quote by Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/robert-benton-21053_awful_i-was-dyslexic-before-anybody-knew-what_1996112.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/robert-benton-21053_awful_i-was-dyslexic-before-anybody-knew-what_1996112.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/400/robert-benton-21053_awful_i-was-dyslexic-before-anybody-knew-what_1996112.png) > “I was dyslexic before anybody knew what dyslexia was. I was called 'slow'. It's an awful feeling to think of yourself as 'slow' - it's horrible.” [Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the pain of being mislabeled as "slow" before understanding dyslexia **In simple terms:** Being called slow hurts before diagnosis Key Takeaway Recognize and support hidden learning challenges Themes education stigma self‑esteem Mood empathetic reflective Type social psychological When to use this quote - school - workplace - family discussions - advocacy Key Concepts neurodiversity identity resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we change perceptions of learning differences? - What support helps those mislabeled? A Different Perspective Labels can limit potential and cause lasting harm ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dyslexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexia/) [Dyslexic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dyslexic/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [The woman who knew that I had dyslexia - I never interviewed her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-woman-who-knew-that-i-had-dyslexia-i-never-interviewed-her/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [When I was a kid they didn't call it dyslexia. They called it you know, you were slow, or you were retarded, or whatever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/when-i-was-a-kid-they-didn-t-call-it-dyslexia-they-called-it-you-know/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [A lot of dyslexic kids are actually more intelligent than average and are very good, because they've got very good memories, at disguising the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-french/a-lot-of-dyslexic-kids-are-actually-more-intelligent-than-average-and/) [Jackie French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-french/) > [When I had dyslexia, they didn't diagnose it as that. It was frustrating and embarrassing. I could tell you a lot of horror stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-ryan/when-i-had-dyslexia-they-didn-t-diagnose-it-as-that-it-was/) [Nolan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-ryan/) > [I'm a bit dyslexic so I found learning to read hard. 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