Howard Engel: The Writer who forgot how to Read

Howard Engel is an accomplished Canadian novelist. One day, Engel suffered a stroke that left him with alexia sine (Latin for without) agraphia. Also known as 'acquired Dyslexia' and in this case it was 'acquired' during a stroke.

Alexia is a condition which prevents a person from being able to read written words, without a major effort, while retaining their ability to write. In alexia or 'acquired dyslexia' the brain can no longer process text and the meaning of text, as a fixed reference.

Engel was puzzled by the fact that he could still write, but shortly after writing a piece of text, he was unable to read it. So Engel devised a way to use this remaining ability to regain his literacy.

Cartoonist and animator Levni Yilmaz produced this video for National Public Radio explaining how Engel was able to do it.