Hey friends,

A few weeks ago, I caught myself celebrating a prompt I'd written.

It was beautiful—stacked contexts, pulled from three different docs, generated exactly what I needed for a client presentation. Clean. Professional. Polished.

And completely hollow.

The words said everything I wanted to say. But they didn't sound like me.

More importantly, they didn't feel like me.

That's when it hit me: I wasn't using AI as a cognitive partner anymore. I was using it as a cognitive replacement.

I'd outsourced not just the typing (that part's great—I'm dyslexic, typing sucks). I'd outsourced the wondering. That messy, nonlinear, associative thinking that's actually my superpower.

AI hadn't amplified my dyslexic thinking. It had flattened it into neurotypical output.

And that was my wake-up call.

Because here's what almost 320 newsletters have taught me: The AI revolution isn't about who can use tools fastest. It's about who can think with them most deeply.

And that's different—especially for neurodivergent minds.

We're in a moment where everyone's learning ChatGPT prompts, but only a few are learning how AI reshapes cognition itself.

The real advantage isn't technical. It's cognitive.

More specifically: it's understanding how dyslexic cognition creates advantages in AI collaboration that neurotypical thinking doesn't naturally possess.

Today, let's unpack that—through three layers:

Layer 1 — Tools: The Illusion of Competence → Why speed without friction isn't learning—it's just output

Layer 2 — Cognitive Partnership: The Thinking Multiplier → How dyslexic minds naturally do what AI needs most: systems thinking, iteration, and reframing

Layer 3 — Translation: The Neurodivergent Advantage → Why empathy, context-switching, and soft skills make dyslexic thinkers uniquely positioned to lead AI collaboration

By the end, you'll see AI less as a tool that fixes your dyslexia—and more as a mirror that reveals why your dyslexic thinking is the actual advantage.

Let's dive in.

— Matt "Coach" Ivey, Founder · LM Lab AI

The Shift Nobody's Talking About

Everyone's obsessed with "AI skills."

Learn prompting. Learn automation. Learn to code with Cursor.

But the quiet truth is: the skills gap isn't technical anymore. It's cognitive.

Not "can you use ChatGPT?"

But "can you think with it in ways that multiply human intelligence rather than replace it?"

That's what McKinsey calls "contextual intelligence"—the ability to translate complexity into clarity. And in their Future of Work 2025 report, seven of the ten fastest-growing AI roles don't require coding.

They require what we've been calling cognitive partnership.

And here's what nobody's saying out loud: Neurodivergent minds—especially dyslexic thinkers—may be naturally better at this than neurotypical minds.

Not despite our "deficits." Because of our adaptations.

We've spent our entire lives:

• Building cognitive workarounds

• Thinking in systems and patterns

• Translating between different ways of understanding

• Iterating until things click

• Seeing connections others miss

That's not accommodation. That's advanced cognitive partnership.

And it maps directly to what AI collaboration actually requires.

But here's the twist: You can still lose the advantage if you use AI wrong.

If you use AI to hide your dyslexic thinking instead of amplifying it, you flatten your advantage into conformity.

That's why the three-layer framework matters—not as a ladder to climb, but as a mirror to calibrate how you're actually thinking.

The Three-Layer Skill Stack (Reframed for Dyslexic Minds)

Layer 1: Tools — The Illusion of Competence

Tools make us feel powerful.

For dyslexic minds especially, AI tools feel like magic. Finally—something that can spell correctly, organize scattered thoughts, translate verbal rambling into structured text.

But here's what nobody tells you: Speed doesn't equal understanding.

Every time AI finishes a sentence for you, it completes a thought you never fully owned.

Every time it structures your scattered ideas into linear paragraphs, it's translating out of dyslexic thinking into neurotypical format.

And if you're not careful, you start to believe that neurotypical format was the right answer all along.

You lose the friction that built your unique cognitive strengths.

Before AI, we had to think differently because traditional tools didn't work for us. That friction forced us to develop:

• Associative thinking (seeing connections across domains)

• Spatial reasoning (visualizing complex systems)

• Iterative problem-solving (trying multiple approaches until one clicks)

• Verbal processing (thinking out loud to understand)

That friction wasn't a bug. It was how we built cognitive advantages.

Now AI removes all friction. And that's dangerous—if we don't choose which friction to keep.

The Tool Paradox for Dyslexic Minds

Wispr Flow (Newsletter 314) lets me think in voice instead of fighting typing. That's good friction removal—it captures my authentic thinking.

But if I use ChatGPT to translate my rambling voice notes into "professional" linear text without reviewing what got lost in translation? That's bad friction removal—I'm conforming to neurotypical standards instead of owning my cognitive style.

The skill isn't using tools. It's knowing which friction to remove and which to preserve.

Layer 2: Cognitive Partnership — The Thinking Multiplier

This is where dyslexic minds have a hidden advantage.

Most people use AI to confirm their ideas or speed up execution. They ask: "How do I do this faster?"

Dyslexic thinkers naturally use AI differently. We ask: "How does this connect to that? What if I'm seeing this wrong? Can you show me this three different ways?"

We do this because we've spent our lives:

• Needing multiple representations to understand (visual + verbal + spatial)

• Questioning whether we're "getting it right" (because we've been told we're wrong so often)

• Building mental models through iteration (try, fail, adjust, repeat)

• Thinking in systems rather than sequences

That's not imposter syndrome. That's second-order cognition—metacognition—thinking about thinking.

And it's exactly what makes AI collaboration powerful.

The Cognitive Partner Model in Action

When I use AI as a cognitive partner, I don't just ask it to do tasks. I ask it to think with me:

• "I have three scattered ideas. Help me see how they connect."

• "I think X is true. What evidence would prove me wrong?"

• "I explained this verbally. Now show me what I meant visually."

• "I'm stuck between two approaches. What am I not seeing?"

This isn't prompt engineering. This is cognitive partnership.

And dyslexic thinkers are naturally good at it because we've been doing it our whole lives—with teachers, tutors, parents, friends. We're used to externalizing our thinking process and iterating with another intelligence.

The difference now? The other intelligence is available 24/7 and never gets tired of our questions.

Why Dyslexic Cognition Matches AI Collaboration

Remember the 10-80-10 Rule from Newsletter 312?

Dyslexic minds excel at:

• The first 10%: Idea generation, creative connection-making, seeing novel patterns

• The last 10%: Refinement, intuition about what "feels right," empathy for audience

We struggle with:

• The middle 80%: Linear organization, detailed execution, maintaining one thread

AI is perfect for that middle 80%. It loves structure, sequence, and sustained focus.

But AI can't do the first or last 10% as well as dyslexic minds can.

That's not accommodation. That's optimal cognitive division of labor.

When you use AI to handle your 80% weakness, your 10% strengths compound exponentially.

But only if you don't let AI flatten your thinking into the 80%.

The Research Connection

Remember the Virginia Tech study from Newsletter 315?

They found neurodivergent users naturally use AI for:

• Interpreting and reframing (32-36% of use cases)

• Organizing scattered thoughts (25-48% of use cases)

• Translating between different cognitive styles (11-40% of use cases)

We're not just using AI. We're using it the way it's meant to be used—as cognitive partnership, not cognitive replacement.

Layer 3: Translation — The Neurodivergent Advantage

This is where dyslexic thinking becomes a leadership superpower.

Most AI discussions focus on technical skills: prompting, automation, efficiency.

But the rarest skill in the AI economy isn't technical. It's empathy.

Specifically: The ability to translate between different ways of knowing.

And dyslexic thinkers have been doing this our entire lives.

We're Natural Translators

Think about it:

We translate between:

• Verbal and visual thinking

• Scattered and structured organization

• Intuitive understanding and linear explanation

• Our internal logic and others' expectations

Every time a dyslexic person explains something, they're translating.

From their nonlinear, associative, spatial-visual thinking into language others can understand.

That's not a deficit. That's a highly developed cognitive skill.

Why Translation is the AI Advantage

AI generates outputs. Translation creates outcomes.

I can ask ChatGPT to analyze customer feedback. It'll give me themes, sentiment scores, patterns.

But creating meaning from that—turning patterns into narratives that marketing understands and product can act on and leadership can budget for—that's translation.

Same data. Same AI. Completely different impact.

Because translation requires:

• Context-switching (seeing from multiple perspectives)

• Empathy (knowing what different audiences need to understand)

• Pattern recognition across domains (connecting technical insights to human needs)

• Comfort with ambiguity (holding multiple interpretations simultaneously)

Dyslexic thinkers do all of this naturally.

Not because we're special. Because we've had to develop these skills to survive in neurotypical systems.

The Soft Skills Advantage

The Virginia Tech research (Newsletter 315) noted something crucial:

Neurodivergent users expressed concerns about AI helping them "mask"—appear more neurotypical instead of authentically themselves.

That tension is real. And it reveals the critical choice we face:

Option A: Use AI to hide dyslexic thinking (mask) → Faster conformity to neurotypical standards → Loss of cognitive advantages → Burnout from sustained masking

Option B: Use AI to amplify dyslexic thinking (translate) → Keep the nonlinear, creative, associative thinking → Use AI to help others understand it → Leadership through authentic cognitive style

Translation isn't masking. Masking hides who you are. Translation helps others understand who you are.

The dyslexic thinker who can:

• Generate creative solutions (first 10%)

• Partner with AI for execution (middle 80%)

• Translate outcomes for diverse stakeholders (last 10%)

That's not just AI literacy. That's cognitive leadership.

The Non-Obvious Insight (That Changes Everything)

Here's what I've learned after almost 320 newsletters:

AI doesn't make us think less. It just removes the time we used to feel ourselves think.

For neurotypical minds, that might be fine. Their thinking patterns match the default format anyway.

But for dyslexic minds? That feeling—that friction—was where our advantages lived.

The messy, nonlinear, "why can't I just organize this" struggle forced us to:

• Build visual mental models

• Connect across domains

• Iterate until things clicked

• Develop multiple representations

We didn't become good at those things despite the struggle. We became good at them through the struggle.

So when AI removes all struggle, we have to consciously choose which struggle to keep.

Not because struggle is noble. Because some friction builds the exact cognitive muscles that make us valuable in an AI economy.

The Playbook: Building Your Dyslexic AI Advantage

1️⃣ Master Tools — But Keep Your Cognitive Style

Use Wispr Flow. Use ChatGPT. Use all the tools.

But don't let them flatten your thinking into neurotypical output by default.

Mini-Challenge: Next time AI organizes your scattered thoughts into linear structure, pause.

Ask: "What connections did I see that this outline misses?"

Those missing connections are your advantage. Don't let AI delete them.

2️⃣ Practice Cognitive Partnership — Ask Meta Questions

Don't just ask AI to do tasks. Ask it to think with you.

The 3R Framework (Reframed for Dyslexic Thinkers):

Reflect: "I see this pattern. What pattern am I missing?"

Revise: "I explained this verbally. Show me what I meant visually."

Reframe: "I'm stuck between two approaches. What question am I not asking?"

Mini-Challenge: Keep a Thinking Log. After every major AI interaction, note:

"What did AI organize that I shouldn't have let it organize?"

Review weekly. You'll see where you're conforming vs. amplifying.

3️⃣ Build Translation Skills — Your Leadership Advantage

Translation is where dyslexic thinking becomes leadership.

Mini-Challenge: Once a week, take one AI-generated insight and translate it for three different audiences:

• Technical team

• Non-technical stakeholders

• Complete outsiders

If all three understand and care, you're translating.

If they just understand, you're simplifying.

Translation preserves complexity while creating clarity.

That's the skill.

4️⃣ Design for Friction — Preserve Your Cognitive Advantages

AI's biggest gift and greatest risk is removing friction.

Deliberate Cognitive Friction for Dyslexic Thinkers:

After every AI response, pause three minutes. Ask:

• "What nonlinear connection did I have before AI organized this?"

• "What's the visual/spatial version of this explanation?"

• "If I explained this out loud, what would I add?"

Mini-Challenge: For one week, add three-minute "dyslexic thinking preservation" pause after every AI interaction.

Capture what you notice.

That pause surfaces the advantages AI almost deleted.

5️⃣ Use AI for Your 80%, Not Your 10%

Never let AI do these things:

• Generate your original ideas (first 10%)

• Decide what "feels right" (last 10%)

• Determine what your audience needs to understand (last 10%)

Always let AI do these things:

• Organize scattered thoughts into structure (middle 80%)

• Handle detailed linear execution (middle 80%)

• Maintain consistent formatting (middle 80%)

Mini-Challenge: Map your last five AI interactions:

Which were first 10%? (Stop doing this) Which were middle 80%? (Keep doing this) Which were last 10%? (Stop doing this)

6️⃣ Build a Translation Portfolio

Every time you translate an AI insight for different audiences, save it.

Not just the final output. Save:

• The original AI response

• How you translated it for technical audience

• How you translated it for non-technical audience

• What you added that AI missed

That portfolio proves your translation advantage.

It's not what you prompted. It's what you made others understand.

A Quiet Warning (That Nobody's Saying Out Loud)

There's a risk specific to dyslexic AI users:

Cognitive conformity.

When we use AI primarily to make our thinking look neurotypical, we:

• Lose the associative connections that are our advantage

• Delete the nonlinear insights that create breakthroughs

• Flatten three-dimensional spatial thinking into linear text

• Trade cognitive diversity for cognitive conformity

That's not skill development. That's skill erasure.

The Virginia Tech researchers (Newsletter 315) called this the "masking problem"—using AI to appear more neurotypical rather than to think more effectively.

And masking leads to burnout, depression, anxiety.

So here's the question we have to ask ourselves: Are we using AI to amplify dyslexic thinking, or to hide it?

Because one builds advantage. The other erodes it.

Closing Reflection — The Three-Layer Stack Isn't About AI. It's About Us.

If there's one through-line in 320 newsletters, it's this:

Dyslexic thinking isn't a deficit requiring accommodation. It's a cognitive advantage requiring amplification.

Layer 1 (Tools) taught us that speed can imitate mastery. But tools that remove all friction also remove the struggle that built our advantages. The skill is knowing which friction to keep.

Layer 2 (Cognitive Partnership) revealed that what we thought were weaknesses—needing multiple representations, questioning our understanding, iterating endlessly—are actually advanced metacognitive skills that make AI collaboration powerful.

Layer 3 (Translation) showed that our lifetime of translating between different ways of knowing isn't a burden. It's the rarest skill in the AI economy. Empathy, context-switching, and creating meaning across cognitive styles—that's leadership.

Here's the deeper implication:

As AI compresses cognition and removes friction, dyslexic thinking becomes more valuable, not less.

Because what remains when all friction is removed? The things dyslexic minds are naturally good at:

• Creative connection-making

• Systems thinking

• Empathy and translation

• Intuition about what matters

We're not catching up to neurotypical AI literacy. We're already ahead—if we use AI to amplify rather than conform.

Three Habits to Keep (The Ones That Compound)

One Why, One What-If: For every AI output, ask: "Why did it organize it this way?" and "What if I organized it differently?" Keep your cognitive style alive.

The Dyslexic 3R: Reflect → Revise → Reframe, but through your lens. What connections did AI miss? What feels wrong even if it looks right?

Translate Weekly: Explain one complex thing to three different audiences. If they understand and care, you're building leadership capital.

The Paradox Worth Sitting With

AI will keep making it easier to appear neurotypical. But the work that will matter is the work that stays authentically neurodivergent.

Tools build output. Cognitive partnership builds perspective. Translation builds trust.

Trust is the scarce asset that turns intelligence into impact.

So if you remember one line from today:

Don't learn to use AI like a neurotypical person would. Learn to use it like a dyslexic thinker—and translate the results so everyone benefits from your unique way of seeing.

That's the part no model can automate. And it's the skill that will age the best.

See you next time,

— Matt "Coach" Ivey

(Dictated, not typed. Because dyslexic thinking works better that way.)

TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read For Fellow Skimmers: What We Learned Today

🎥 Cognitive partnership actually works - Watched Kailer engage for 20 minutes, understand content, ask to do it again. Not theory—Thursday morning homeschool.

🗣️ Voice removes barriers, not thinking - When spelling/writing doesn't drain cognitive energy, dyslexic minds think MORE, not less. CLR in action.

🔄 10-80-10 Rule played out in real time - Kailer's insights (first 10%) + AI's structure (middle 80%) + Kailer's intuition (last 10%) = optimal cognitive division of labor.

📚 Socratic beats interrogative - "What did you notice?" (explore) works better than "What did you learn?" (prove). One invites thinking, one demands proving.

🛠️ Platform is real, validation isn't done yet - 90+ prompts live at dyslexic.ai, frameworks documented, tools working. But observation ≠ peer-reviewed research.

📊 The frameworks need proper validation - CLR, CPAS, AOH scoring exist but need controlled studies, academic partnerships, statistical evidence, funding.

💡 Translation is the hidden advantage - Dyslexic minds translate between cognitive styles naturally. That's the rarest skill in AI economy, not a deficit.

⚠️ Masking vs translating matters - Using AI to hide dyslexic thinking (masking) causes burnout. Using AI to amplify it (translating) builds advantage.

🔬 One kid learning ≠ validated research - Kailer's success is real but not proof. Need 100+ users, controlled studies, academic rigor to validate frameworks.

🤝 Your participation = research data - Survey responses, prompt testing, feedback—you're not just helping yourself, you're contributing to validation research.

💰 Honest reality check - Running on personal savings for 2 years. Can't continue indefinitely without research partnerships, funding, or community support.

🎯 Core insight - Dyslexic minds aren't catching up to neurotypical AI literacy. We're ahead—if we amplify instead of conform.

🧠 The friction built the advantage - Years of adapting, translating, iterating = exactly the skills AI collaboration requires. We trained for this our whole lives.

❓ The question - Will you help us prove it? Take survey, try tools, join community, connect researchers, fund validation.

Take Action This Week

Audit Your AI Use: Which interactions amplify your dyslexic thinking? Which hide it?

Practice the Dyslexic 3R: Reflect → Revise → Reframe after one major AI interaction

Preserve One Connection: Next time AI organizes your thoughts, capture what it missed

Translate for Three: Take one insight, explain it to three different audiences

Join the Community: Share your discoveries at dyslexic.ai—we're documenting this together

Read the Research: Newsletter 315 (Virginia Tech study) + Newsletter 313 (Google Learn Your Way)

Book a Call: Need help building your dyslexic AI advantage? Schedule on our site

The AI revolution isn't about who uses tools fastest. It's about who thinks most authentically. Dyslexic thinkers don't need to hide. We need to amplify. The advantage was always there. AI just makes it undeniable.