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Some of my earliest memories that were possible indications of my dyslexia were way back in senior kindergarten. The teacher would give us spelling tests and if you got a perfect score on the test you got to put a sticker on the front cover of your journal. I remember watching all the other kids in my class getting stickers. By the end of the school year, everyone’s journals were covered in stickers except for mine.
It felt like I was unintentionally playing a game of scrabble 24/7. My mom and dad started noticing my frustration and asked my teachers how I was doing. My teachers were never under the impression I could have a learning disability. Instead, they recommended I continue practicing my reading, writing and spelling over the summer. The summer before first grade my mom came up with every darn reading and writing activity you could possibly imagine. We practiced spelling words in the sand at the beach, making letters with playdoh, taking turns reading stories together and practicing my penmanship with gel pens. I had no patience for reading, especially in the summer. In grade one everyone started reading small stories out loud to the class. It became clear to me that I was falling behind all my friends. I did everything I could to catch up with my peers, but nothing was enough. I was so frustrated that I started breaking my pencils. After my parents became aware of the pencil-breaking situation, they decided to remove me from public school and into the private school system.
My parents thought I might do better in school if I could have more one-on-one time with my teachers and a smaller class size. I started getting a lot more help from my amazing second and third-grade teacher however my struggle to read just became more apparent. In the third grade when we started having individual reading time, we were assigned different reading level books by the teacher. Of course, I was given the easier books to read but still found it nearly impossible to understand any of the material. I remember one day being given a small chapter book and feeling very proud of myself until I discovered that the rest of the class had been reading chapter books well before I had even started. That’s when my parents took me to get tested. I spent a couple of days solving a wide range of problems with a nice lady. After the tests were finished, we waited a few weeks for the results. That’s when I first heard the word dyslexia. The doctor told my parents that I was an extremely bright girl that I did in fact have a learning discrepancy. Steps were then immediately taken to fill out my Individual education plan (IEP) which consists of my diagnosis and a list of accommodations I am entitled to have in school. Once I finally got my diagnosis things started getting significantly easier for me with my accommodations. I stayed in the private school system up until grade seven before I made the decision to switch back to the public school system again.
When you switch from private school to public school it takes time to have your IEP transferred. Consequently, for the first quarter of school I wasn’t given any of my normal accommodations because my IEP wasn’t recognized. My eighth-grade teacher was reluctant to help accommodate my dyslexia and was extra hard on me because of it. Being in a bigger class wasn’t hard for me and having less one-on-one time with my teacher wasn’t a problem. The only issue I had in switching back to public school was not having an understanding teacher. Eventually, I got to work with an amazing resource teacher at school who helped me develop skills for reading and writing and was extremely supportive.
I was the only person in my eighth-grade class who worked with her, which felt isolating and embarrassing at first. I was the only person in my class who had to stand up and leave during French to go to the resource room, and then come back to rejoin the class again when the period was over. However, the programs I was taking with my resource teacher were extremely helpful and I found that the public-school systems resources had significantly expanded since the last time I was there. The real test still laid ahead of me which was going to be the transition between grade eight and grade nine at my massive high school. The whole point of switching back to a public school in grade eight was to see how I could do in a larger class size and a slightly different curriculum. Thankfully I was learning how to be a good advocate for myself which is the most crucial skill for anyone with a learning discrepancy.
During my freshmen year of high school, I took a course that specialized in developing good study habits and skills that any student could benefit from. This course was only available for people with IEP’s but could have been helpful to anyone regardless of their circumstances. My new resource teacher and resource department has been fantastic. For me, having a resource teacher is like having my own personal coach. If I ever need guidance or advice, they are always there for me. It has made my high school journey a lot easier because I know that my concerns are valid and being listened to. I am now in grade 11 and happy to say I know how to help myself and manage my dyslexia! I can still do all the things I love like playing baseball, volleyball, basketball and I do well in all my academic classes. The journey to find resources was a struggle but now that I know how to ask for help and use the software available to me, I can work with my dyslexia instead of against it.
Below is a list of some tools and tips that have helped me work with my dyslexia:
Google Read and Writes: a software extension you can download on your computer that can read all text on any google server including google docs aloud.
Kurzweil 3000: a reading tool that reads text, highlights, flags, bookmarks, defines and so much more.
Making sure you have an IEP that specifies the accommodations you’re entitled to in a school setting or working environment.
Being able to have a software system or another person read your work out loud, whether it’s an essay, email or written paper.
Not being so hard on yourself when you notice how your dyslexia affects you or caused you stress.
How my dyslexia gave me power!
I believe that my dyslexia is unique to me because in some ways, although it makes everything more challenging, it also allows me to think differently from other people. My brain is wired very differently than others giving me unique perspectives and problem-solving skills. I like to use a baseball analogy to describe my dyslexia; You are going to strike out, everyone does, but when you do you will pick yourself up and adjust for the next pitch. Don’t be discouraged you can always look to your coach (teachers and people you trust) for assistance. Don’t let your dyslexia stop you from achieving some incredible milestones that you are more than capable of obtaining.