What's your superpower?
Dav Pilkey says ADHD and dyslexia are his superpowers. The creator of “Captain Underpants” and “Dog Man” told Understood that his ADHD “helped me to write stories that were not boring, and my dyslexia helped me too. It helped me to choose my words very, very carefully.”
All kids have superpowers. This doesn’t mean every child excels in some area or does something better than everyone else. It means all kids have strengths or passions that can help them thrive. It’s what revs them up and keeps them going.
A superpower can be a special talent. It can also be a personality trait or a frame of mind. Many people who learn and think differently have grown to see their challenges as superpowers. Dav Pilkey is a great example. The creator of Captain Underpants and Dog Man told Understood: “My ADHD helped me to write stories that were not boring, and my dyslexia helped me too. It helped me to choose my words very, very carefully.”
“These challenges that I had ended up being my superpowers,” he says.
“I encourage all of you to find your superpowers,” Pilkey says. “I think one of the reasons why Captain Underpants has resonated with so many children is because of the two boys that star in the books, George and Harold,” Pilkey said in a recent interview with Reading Rockets, one of Understood’s founding partners. “They’re always using their imagination…. That’s kind of an attainable superpower that we can all have.”
As a child, Pilkey’s hyperactivity got him in trouble a lot at school: “My teacher would just point to the classroom door and say, ‘Mr. Pilkey, out!’ And I’d have to go sit out in the hallway.” But he used that time to work on his drawing and storytelling. He created Captain Underpants and Dog Man in second grade!
Find out more about Dave Pilkey's super powers.
All kids have superpowers. This doesn’t mean every child excels in some area or does something better than everyone else. It means all kids have strengths or passions that can help them thrive. It’s what revs them up and keeps them going.
A superpower can be a special talent. It can also be a personality trait or a frame of mind. Many people who learn and think differently have grown to see their challenges as superpowers. Dav Pilkey is a great example. The creator of Captain Underpants and Dog Man told Understood: “My ADHD helped me to write stories that were not boring, and my dyslexia helped me too. It helped me to choose my words very, very carefully.”
“These challenges that I had ended up being my superpowers,” he says.
“I encourage all of you to find your superpowers,” Pilkey says. “I think one of the reasons why Captain Underpants has resonated with so many children is because of the two boys that star in the books, George and Harold,” Pilkey said in a recent interview with Reading Rockets, one of Understood’s founding partners. “They’re always using their imagination…. That’s kind of an attainable superpower that we can all have.”
As a child, Pilkey’s hyperactivity got him in trouble a lot at school: “My teacher would just point to the classroom door and say, ‘Mr. Pilkey, out!’ And I’d have to go sit out in the hallway.” But he used that time to work on his drawing and storytelling. He created Captain Underpants and Dog Man in second grade!
Find out more about Dave Pilkey's super powers.
