Hidden Potential is a moving short film on dyslexia created in Ireland. It was made by Eamonn McMahon, a talented young Irish filmmaker, with support from one of our Magic Sens project partners, the Dyslexia Association of Ireland.

The film was inspired by real-life events and highlights the importance of great teachers who understand dyslexia and know how to support students with dyslexia to achieve their potential.

Teachers are those who can recognize first if a child has dyslexia. Their support is necessary for the child to feel special and not disabled. The classmates of children with dyslexia can not understand why a child is different from them and it is very easy to be characterized stupid (as you may find out in the video below). Teachers should not only support and encourage the children with dyslexia to achieve their potential, but also to explain to other children that it is not bad for someone to have dyslexia. Mistakes, difficulties and failures are learning opportunities.

As the protagonist of the “Hidden Potential” says, as a child with dyslexia, he understood everything, even things that other children missed, but they are all kept trapped up in his head. This is the reason they have difficulties in communicating what they have learned.

It is essential to be spread awareness that children with dyslexia are not stupid, just special.

The film can be viewed here.