I’m dyslexic and I worry that stigma surrounds it.
- piperfeene
- Dec 12, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 14, 2020
I’m dyslexic and I worry that the stigma that surrounds it causes people with Dyslexia to feel inadequate. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). (Mayo Clinic 2017).
The beginning of my studies did not go as easy as others. For me, learning to read and write seemed hugely harder than it was for the other kids. It seemed that all the children in my class had just acquired a knack for reading and writing that I could not possess for the life of me.
To grasp where I'm coming from, imagine walking into an interview, knowing all the answers, but knowing you could never go to finish it in time. Even though you have been studying as hard as anyone else -- perhaps even harder -- you start to understand that no amount of research will prepare you. You try to strategize which questions you can answer the fastest.
I did not think much of this until another student saw what I was writing and made fun of me for illegible handwriting. Even though I was only six years old, grades became my life and the social stigma that surrounded my disorder became my identity.
Even though I was only six years old, grades became my life and the social stigma that surrounded my disorder became my identity.
I would throw a fit and become self conscious because of the self-doubt after every test where (if I was lucky.) would only answer half the questions correctly. My grades on the exam would have sealed my fate and controlled how I looked at myself as a person. I'd give up learning and forget my schoolwork. And I was only six years old!
My first-grade teacher did not motivate me and my family to get extra time on tests. He believed I would grow out of it and that I would catch up by the end of the school. He said he didn’t know if I had a learning disability or not. However, He said that even if I did have a learning disability it would be minor and livable without accommodations.
However, my parents saw things differently. They noted inconsistencies on how I scored on tests in class and fought for me to get accommodations. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia at six years old and in the end I did get extra time in all my classes (time and a half to be specific). And yes, added time on tests was been beneficial. However, extra time was not the whole solution to the situation.
Reading groups, while they helped my reading and writing, destroyed me socially. Bullies called me names and I was excluded from many events just based off of the fact that I was different from the rest of the kids. But in high school, reading groups end; labels and bullying, however, began. So, labels took on even more meaning, like getting extra time or reading groups. I started to doubt my own belief that extra time was needed as an already insecure teenage girl, vulnerable to problems that most girls experience in high school.
Being titled as “Girl Who Has Special Needs” terrified me. The persons who went into different rooms to take tests were "Special Needs kids" and something was so wrong with them that they could not take tests in the same room as others. Being known as the “special needs kid” became an identity to me because of high school bullies. I felt very alone because of it. Labels were my biggest problem in high I didn't want to be marked as one of those kids, I didn't want to be marked as different.
I received a lot of therapy because of my bullying situation. In therapy I learned that I should have seen my skills as a result of a particular style of learning that allowed me to do things differently, not in an inferior manner. I should have seen my abilities and I honestly should have been encouraged to embrace them by my peers and teachers.
I should have seen my Dyslexia as a consequence of a new method of learning that allowed me to do things differently, not in an inferior manner.
I can now see clearly the differences in how I take tests and why I need extra time, as I have taken tests both regularly and with extra time in college. Nobody should be embarrassed that they have a method. Everyone has a method of his or her own.
But, luckily, school isn't a rivalry. Learning isn't a game with fixed rules. It is possible to take any path you wish to get to the finish line. At some point you will learn the material provided enough time. It's huge for dyslexics to be confident they write and read. And the best way to do that for people with dyslexia. Is to gives them confidence they need, and the time they need.
Many people struggle with Dyslexia. The IDA (International Dyslexia Association) explains “Nevertheless, many more people— perhaps as many as 15–20% of the population as a whole—have some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words.” (IDA 2020). However, most to those people include infamous people such as Tom Cruise. And being compared to scientologist is not a great look. However, there are other more respected people such as Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg. We must idolize more people like Whoopi Goldberg, who talked about her experience with dyslexia in multiple interviews, and Henry Winkler, who used his creativity to write his children's book series Hank Zipzer about the challenges of people with learn disabilities.
If people like Henry Winkler and Whoopi Goldberg were more idealized, people with Dyslexia would probably be more apt to look at themselves in a better light.
In the end, I had quit thinking, too about how people were looking at me. Dyslexia is not a hindrance, to an extent Dyslexia is a gift. Dyslexics are capable of viewing things from several distinct points of view. We are highly creative. In our capacity to see the world from all angles, makes us extremely creative. We just use our brain differently. Take this example of a piece of art done by Dyslexic artist Vince Low, who creates art from the chaos of pen lines. And Dyslexic artist Ash Casper, a designer and illustrator from New York who draws how it feels for a dyslexic person to read or write.
I feel that my feelings of inferiority could have been eradicated if people were just more understanding and not as mean. If people were more kind and understanding I probably would have gotten help for myself a lot earlier than I did.
Learn which steps to take if you think your child may have dyslexia. If you ever find out your child has dyslexia.
REFERENCES
A, I. (2020, March 10). Dyslexia Basics. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from
Casper, A. (2017). Orientated [Cartoon]. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.ideastream.org/news/finding-words-in-paint-how-artists-see-dyslexiaFinding Words in Paint: How Artists See Dyslexia
Clinic, M. (2017, July 22). Dyslexia. Retrieved December 13, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353552
Hank Zipzer THE WORLDS GREATEST UNDERACHIEVER [Advertisement]. (2020). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.penguin.com/static/pages/youngreaders/children/features/hank_zipzer/
Johnson, L. (2017, January 25). Finding Words in Paint: How Artists See Dyslexia. Retrieved November 28, 2020, from https://www.ideastream.org/news/finding-words-in-paint-how-artists-see-dyslexiaFinding Words in Paint: How Artists See Dyslexia
Low, V. (2013, July 21). Morgan Freeman [Cartoon]. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2372565/Dyslexia-artist-Vince-Low-scribbles-portraits-famous-dyslexics-highlight-condition.html
Mccann, J. (2013, July 22). Dyslexia artist Vince Low scribbles portraits of famous dyslexics to highlight condition. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2372565/Dyslexia-artist-Vince-Low-scribbles-portraits-famous-dyslexics-highlight-condition.html
Speech, F. O., Ltd (Director). (2014, March 13). Whoopi Goldberg talks about her dyslexia [Video file]. Retrieved November 28, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWGINKlhst4
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