A recent broadcast series on dyslexia on National Public Radio-Education (NPR Ed) stirred up strong emotions in many listeners, particularly in those who have long endeavored to overcome the challenges associated with dyslexia. Numerous listeners responded on Twitter, Facebook and by email to comment on the series. One person even admitted that he cried with the realization that someone understood his struggle with dyslexia.
Inspirational broadcast highlights struggles and achievements of those with dyslexia.
A faculty member at Rice University, who describes herself as severely dyslexic, told of how accommodations and tutors helped her graduate high school as the valedictorian. She has gone on to complete a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and is nearing completion of a PhD in sociology. Another individual, who was not diagnosed with dyslexia until he was 32 years old, shared his story of a lifelong struggle to read. A retired teacher from Iowa recounted her efforts to teach students with dyslexia in a small rural school. There were even some international responses.
Stumbling on every sentence people would label me as ‘not so sharp,’ ” wrote Al Guillermo in a Facebook message. He expressed his ongoing struggle to read the simplest of texts and the panic that comes from public speaking. “I have worked so hard at trying to read or to spell correctly. Something people find easy to do in the third grade, I have never mastered.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Junia Howell, a faculty member at Rice University, explains her journey through severe dyslexia to becoming a professor.
- Schools should look into reading specialists to assist with working with dyslexic students so that they succeed as well as their peers.
- Some are not even diagnosed with dyslexia until well into adulthood.
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