When you’re six years old and everyone else can write a story except you, the message is clear: you’re different.

We sit down with Chris Campbell, a dyslexia advocate, comedian, presenter, and musician who’s built a platform helping thousands of people laugh at, understand, and own their dyslexia. Chris doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, but he also knows that humour can be the most powerful way to cope.

Chris talks about that pivotal Year 1 moment with Spot the Dog that made him feel completely alone. Why his parents remortgaging their house for private school wasn’t the real game changer (it was the support and advocacy). The biggest misconception about dyslexia that’s stopping people from getting diagnosed. And why “dyslexia is a superpower” needs way more nuance than a bumper sticker.

He breaks down what actually matters: divergent thinking. Not art, not music, not the stereotypical “creative” stuff. The ability to walk into a room, see an idea everyone else sees, and have a completely different perspective. That’s what dyslexics bring to the table.

In this conversation, we explore the Year 1 Spot the Dog moment and why early identification changes everything, when humour became a coping mechanism, the dyslexia superpower debate and why it needs nuance, divergent thinking as the real superpower, the biggest misconception (moving letters on screen is Irlen syndrome, not dyslexia), how his parents advocated when schools wouldn’t, private school vs state school, finding the right teacher and support, self-esteem built through understanding, the gap between school and home behaviour, 80% of people diagnosed after leaving school, what genuine inclusion actually looks like, and AI and assistive technology changing the game.

Chris’s message is clear and funny: you don’t need to be a superhero because of your dyslexia. You just need one person who believes in you, understands how you learn, and refuses to let the system tell you you’re less capable than you are.