NEUROSCIENCE, WRITING

Use Synesthesia to Help You Spell

The colors! The colors!

I realize this article’s title limits its audience. I decided to write it because I haven’t covered spelling yet in my overview of how to edit your own writing, and since I have synesthesia and use it to help me spell, I thought it might be interesting to share my experience with you, even if you don’t have this trait. Also, if you have young children with synesthesia, I hope this article will help you guide them in how to use their unusual ability to advantage.

What is synesthesia?

Synesthesia is a sensory experience in which stimuli presented through one sense will spontaneously evoke sensations in an unrelated sense (Brang, Ramachandran 2011). About 2%–4% of the world’s population has it in varying degrees and types. It is thought to be genetic, but the genetics of it are not known with certainty, and no one can say what genetic advantage having synesthesia provides, if any. It is thought to be caused by increased communication between sensory regions in the brain.

Synesthesia in my life

I have grapheme-color synesthesia, in which numbers and letters of the alphabet are associated with distinct and stable colors in my mind. I also see colors when I hear musical tones, but since I don’t have perfect pitch, I can’t swear that the colors I associate with any particular musical tone are consistent from one hearing to the next. Interestingly, I do not hear music when I look at particular colors, and I don’t see letters or numbers when I see the colors I usually associate with them; the grapheme or the music must always occur first.

I have experienced this all my life and was very surprised when members of my family told me that they didn’t see a beautiful ribbon of red, gold, and green light whenever they heard Gregorian chant. It turns out that I fit the common profile for synesthesia on two counts — I am female and left-handed (Thomas, 2020).

I don’t remember how old I was when I first realized that letters of the alphabet and numbers had colors associated with them. I don’t believe I noticed a color association right away. I can tell you that I learned to read within a week. One night, the print in Snow White and the Seven…