Gwen Stefani shares three sons, Kingston, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 6, with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale.
Once upon a time, the popular misconception was that people with learning disabilities were not "intelligent enough." However, this thought process is changing slowly. The many awareness campaigns are helping us accept that learning disabilities are not something to be ashamed of. These disorders can affect anyone, and it can also be genetic.
Singer Gwen Stefani recently revealed that she has dyslexia and so do her three sons. The Hollaback Girl singer, 51, said that it took her a long time to figure out she has dyslexia, and she "discovered" it only after her sons, Kingston, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 6, started having trouble reading, as per People.
A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics showed that it was possible to diagnose people early now. Dyslexia and language impairment, which are common learning disabilities, make reading and verbal language skills hard. Both of these disorders have a substantial genetic component, as per Yale News.
In her own words, she "failed at school." The usual public school system might not work for kids with dyslexia if the institution is not equipped to handle it. "I was a good girl. I didn't do any bad stuff. It was just really hard for me to function in that square box of school that everybody was supposed to be understanding. And my brain didn't work like that; it still doesn't. But it works in different ways that are probably a gift that other people can't do," she said.
It affected her as a young adult as well. In her early years as a member of the rock band No Doubt, she said that she depended heavily on one of the members. "At that time I had written that whole record not even knowing how to write a song and I had literally laid my entire life out for everyone to hear. And then, I'm still in the band with Tony [Kanal] who I was so dependent on, because of probably my dyslexia," she said.
She described how it would affect her self-esteem. "I didn't know any of this until now, but I think that I didn't have any confidence in myself, at the time, but when I would write a song or I would get on stage, it just felt so right and the only thing that was going right for me," she said.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music for the latest edition of his At Home With conversation series, she said, "One thing that I've discovered through having kids is that I have dyslexia — everyone has things that happen and mine was that. And I feel like a lot of the problems that I have had or even decisions that I've made for myself stem from that, because now the children — obviously, it's all genetic — they have some of those issues."
"But now they get all these benefits. They have these incredible teachers and schools and they don't have to have shame about it. They understand that their brain functions in a different way. All of our brains do, you know what I mean?" the mom-of-three said.
She shares her sons with her ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. The Let Me Reintroduce Myself singer recently got engaged to country singer Blake Shelton, 44, and described him as her "best friend."
"We tell each other everything. I don't want to do anything without him. He's my homie. And he's just a very generous, generous guy. He's full of love and generosity," she said.
They have been together for five years now and he has become someone she "could lean on and trust." The pop star's heart was broken by Rossdale, who cheated on her and that led to the end of their marriage.
References:
https://people.com/parents/gwen-stefani-sons-dyslexia/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929713002218?via%3Dihub
https://news.yale.edu/2013/06/12/yale-researchers-unravel-genetics-dyslexia-and-language-impairment
