Student and Family Perspectives on Dyslexia
Perspectives about dyslexia and why it matters:
In a movie called Read Me, a student, in an effort to avoid reading in front of the class, asks to go the bathroom, where he alternates psyching himself up and wasting time at the sink. When he returns to class he is pleased to note that the reading selection progression has moved well passed his seat and he has avoided reading to the class from the front of the room. When the teacher loops back to him so he "has a chance to read" other students snicker and laugh. The teacher tells the students to stop laughing and reminds the reader to sound out the words. The student, who looks to be in 4th or 5th grade, cannot sound out the first word on the page. He is embarrassed and ashamed. As an adult he continues to be embarrassed about his lack of skills reading, describes himself as an idiot, has low self-esteem and is looking for work where he doesn’t have to read. As the story unfolds we also see that he has developed amazing social awareness skills, musical talent and interpersonal skills as well as coping techniques to hide his lack of ability to read.
Dyslexics are individuals who struggle to read due to problems in their brains ability to process phonological constructs. They are not stupid or lazy but need additional support to help address their specific learning challenge. Those who are challenged with dyslexia may be gifted athletes, scientists or artists. They may excel at problem solving and visual spatial tasks. Their inability to match sounds and letters, store or retrieve the information or create the visual representation of sounds through words has challenged them not their thinking. Their brain scans show while there is a deficiency in the phonemic processing part of the brain on the left, there is more development on the right side in numerous areas. These brain scans show what many dyslexics and family members have known for a long time: Those with dyslexia are not stupid but they are gifted in other ways. Many have adapted around their deficiencies, developed their creative problem solving parts of the brain and mastered many other skills at which they excel. There are some dyslexics however, who don’t thrive. One statistic show that while 35% of dyslexics are entrepreneurs another 35% are criminals serving time. What creates the difference? Is the shame as seen by the student at the beginning of the film? Their perceived lack of self worth and shame that comes from not being able to read? Maybe.
Some of the struggles include:
Impact on our classrooms and system of education:
As students struggle and persevere with dyslexia and have parental and teacher support, they can find that these deficiencies may enable them to become better problem solvers, better at creative writing, better at studying as they learn to master studying skills to master their learning challenge. Perseverance is critical.
What if we as teachers and ensure our classroom environment fosters creativity, skill building and one of support so that each student felt valued for something they created, built, wrote, did, said. So that regardless of our math, reading, and writing skills students looked to others as a beacon of inspiration and someone they could learn from or teach or help. While we may all be equal, we are not the same in what we look like or are able to do. Our innate skill sets are not fixed either. We can grow and develop skills as readers, writers, thinkers, poets, athletes. It is through perseverance that we improve and thrive. In order to grow we sometimes need to make ourselves vulnerable, to seek help and guidance to grow in those areas we struggle. Is this what life is about? Isn’t that what school is about?
Works Cited:
Zara, F. (Writer), & Zara, F. (Director). (2016). Read Me [Sketchbook Productions]. Christie, A. & Sullivan, J. (Producers). Sketchbook Productions.
In a movie called Read Me, a student, in an effort to avoid reading in front of the class, asks to go the bathroom, where he alternates psyching himself up and wasting time at the sink. When he returns to class he is pleased to note that the reading selection progression has moved well passed his seat and he has avoided reading to the class from the front of the room. When the teacher loops back to him so he "has a chance to read" other students snicker and laugh. The teacher tells the students to stop laughing and reminds the reader to sound out the words. The student, who looks to be in 4th or 5th grade, cannot sound out the first word on the page. He is embarrassed and ashamed. As an adult he continues to be embarrassed about his lack of skills reading, describes himself as an idiot, has low self-esteem and is looking for work where he doesn’t have to read. As the story unfolds we also see that he has developed amazing social awareness skills, musical talent and interpersonal skills as well as coping techniques to hide his lack of ability to read.
Dyslexics are individuals who struggle to read due to problems in their brains ability to process phonological constructs. They are not stupid or lazy but need additional support to help address their specific learning challenge. Those who are challenged with dyslexia may be gifted athletes, scientists or artists. They may excel at problem solving and visual spatial tasks. Their inability to match sounds and letters, store or retrieve the information or create the visual representation of sounds through words has challenged them not their thinking. Their brain scans show while there is a deficiency in the phonemic processing part of the brain on the left, there is more development on the right side in numerous areas. These brain scans show what many dyslexics and family members have known for a long time: Those with dyslexia are not stupid but they are gifted in other ways. Many have adapted around their deficiencies, developed their creative problem solving parts of the brain and mastered many other skills at which they excel. There are some dyslexics however, who don’t thrive. One statistic show that while 35% of dyslexics are entrepreneurs another 35% are criminals serving time. What creates the difference? Is the shame as seen by the student at the beginning of the film? Their perceived lack of self worth and shame that comes from not being able to read? Maybe.
Some of the struggles include:
- working hard but perceived as a slacker or slow
- constantly trying to catch up
- school is not fun when reading is everywhere
- some have physical reactions: panic attacks, stomach aches
- desire to be “normal”
- parental despair, disappointment, denial then relief
Impact on our classrooms and system of education:
As students struggle and persevere with dyslexia and have parental and teacher support, they can find that these deficiencies may enable them to become better problem solvers, better at creative writing, better at studying as they learn to master studying skills to master their learning challenge. Perseverance is critical.
What if we as teachers and ensure our classroom environment fosters creativity, skill building and one of support so that each student felt valued for something they created, built, wrote, did, said. So that regardless of our math, reading, and writing skills students looked to others as a beacon of inspiration and someone they could learn from or teach or help. While we may all be equal, we are not the same in what we look like or are able to do. Our innate skill sets are not fixed either. We can grow and develop skills as readers, writers, thinkers, poets, athletes. It is through perseverance that we improve and thrive. In order to grow we sometimes need to make ourselves vulnerable, to seek help and guidance to grow in those areas we struggle. Is this what life is about? Isn’t that what school is about?
Works Cited:
Zara, F. (Writer), & Zara, F. (Director). (2016). Read Me [Sketchbook Productions]. Christie, A. & Sullivan, J. (Producers). Sketchbook Productions.
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