--- title: Top WNBA prospect A’ja Wilson wants you to know dyslexia is real description: University of South Carolina women’s basketball player A’ja Wilson is the projected number-one WNBA draft pick. She’s making news with an essay sharing her struggles with dyslexia. slug: top-wnba-prospect-aja-wilson-wants-you-to-know-dyslexia-is-real author: Tara Drinks published: '2019-10-16T12:13:10.099Z' thumbnail: https://cdn-images.understood.org/p0qf7j048i0q/B127013CB7A64AAD8BD5449B9BB73798/9b8cb71b584caced52a4f4e1e3eefa6f/AP_18077118926366.jpg source_url: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/top-wnba-prospect-aja-wilson-wants-you-to-know-dyslexia-is-real lang: en --- # Top WNBA prospect A’ja Wilson wants you to know dyslexia is real University of South Carolina women’s basketball star A’ja Wilson is a force to be reckoned with. The 21-year-old led her team to this year’s NCAA women’s semifinals, and she’s expected to be the number-one WNBA draft pick overall. But it’s her openness about [dyslexia](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-is-dyslexia) that’s making headlines. Penning a personal essay to [*The Players’ Tribune*](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/aja-wilson-south-carolina), Wilson says she’s always struggled with reading. Growing up, she dreaded being called on to read aloud in class. “It’s not that I flat-out couldn’t read. I definitely could,” she writes. “But I didn’t always comprehend what I was reading … I’d get so *mixed *up.” Her early school years were difficult. She was told: “You’re just being lazy, A’ja. You need to try harder.”  “But that’s the thing,” she writes. “I was trying. I really was.” Wilson wasn’t officially diagnosed until her sophomore year of high school, and it still took years for her to accept it. Her first steps were to get accommodations and support in school. Then, when she started college, she and her parents decided every professor should know about her dyslexia. Wilson credits her college coach, Dawn Staley, for helping her open up fully about dyslexia. Staley would ask her to read a Bible passage to the team before every game. The exercise helped Wilson to become more confident as a player and as a person with learning differences. “I think A’ja, in dealing with dyslexia, you always think that you’re less than because you don’t pick up on things as quickly,” Staley said [in an interview](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-womens-basketball/article206707279.html). “Your processes are just a little bit different.” By writing her essay about dyslexia, Wilson wants people to “understand it’s real.” And she wants to show the human side of her struggle with reading. As one of the best athletes in University of South Carolina history, and with a WNBA career in front of her, it looks like she’s just getting started.  Wilson is just one of [many athletes speaking out about learning and thinking differences](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/athletes-who-learn-and-think-differently). *Any opinions, views, information and other content contained in blogs on Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by, Understood.* --- ## Explore related topics and articles - [High school sports star with dyslexia shares how he overcame reading struggles](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/high-school-sports-star-with-dyslexia-shares-how-he-overcame-reading-struggles) - Armoni Coppins, 18, of Derby, Kansas, is a champion on the wrestling mat and on the football field. In his junior year, he won his state football championship and placed sixth at state wrestling. And as a senior this school year, he became a first-team all-league tight end, placed first at Regionals - [Having dyslexia inspired this teen to create a resource to help others](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/having-dyslexia-inspired-this-teen-to-create-a-resource-to-help-others) - It takes courage to open up about learning and thinking differences. It takes even greater courage to do it as a teenager. For 15-year-old Jacob Blumenstein, reading hasnt always come easily. He says he didnt learn how to read until the fourth grade. Jacob has dyslexia. It took me a long time to acc - [How my career ambition got in the way of helping my daughter with dyslexia](https://www.understood.org/en/articles/how-my-career-ambition-got-in-the-way-of-helping-my-daughter-with-dyslexia) - We first saw signs of my daughter Olivias dyslexia in preschool. She wasnt talking, and even when she did, she had trouble finding the words she wanted to say. At first, we didnt think it was a big deal. Then, when Olivia kept having speech issues, my wife and I started to think it might be her hear --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.understood.org/en/articles/top-wnba-prospect-aja-wilson-wants-you-to-know-dyslexia-is-real#webpage","url":"https://www.understood.org/en/articles/top-wnba-prospect-aja-wilson-wants-you-to-know-dyslexia-is-real","description":"University of South Carolina women’s basketball player A’ja Wilson is the projected number-one WNBA draft pick. 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