1 thought on “Introduction to Dyslexia”

  1. Thank you for all that you do!

    I’ve earned two master’s degrees. The first is in education, and the other in addiction counseling. Growing up in the ’60s with ADHD and dyslexia was a very painful experience. I was never assessed and got by on my personality, and talents, but couldn’t read, do the math, and didn’t understand, or process the material like other students could with ease. So, I danced and sang my way through it. I developed a major defense mechanism and a strong personality as protection against the cruelty that comes from living in a world I didn’t fit into.

    Some teachers in my formative years were just cruel, who had no business teaching little children. Thank goodness for those patient, kind, nurturing, and loving professionals that helped me learn, not to be embarrassed to raise my hand and ask when I didn’t understand (which was constant). I use to blush terribly.

    As I continued on into university with my undergraduates, I was like a sponge and couldn’t get enough. I didn’t read all of the material, but highlighted, listened to the lectures, and took notes the best I could. Again, my notes didn’t look “normal” because of the way my brain works it out.

    In my first masters, I had progressed further into drinking which had become a life-saving tool that helped get me through the traumas in my life, until it stopped working. I did very well in that master’s degree in education specializing in curriculum and instruction. I was one in three Caucasian students in a class, which was 97% percent African American. My black professor understood my brain completely, and I sat amongst others whose brains were similar to mine. There were videos and slides, teams that worked together and helped each other understand the material. It was during this time I learned the type of learner I was.

    By the time I began the Addiction Counseling integrated recovery for Co-Occurring disorders graduate degree, I had 25 years in Al-Anon, and 15 years sober. I was 48 years old when I finally got the formal diagnosis of ADHD with dyslexia. I’ve worked with many in recovery who have the same, and plan to spend the rest of my days helping these individuals to overcome the hurdles they face in attending institutions with a standardized curriculum and testing.

    We are brilliant, we just need loving professionals who understand us. I don’t see it as a mental illness, instead, a gift today. It’s been my experience in meeting others with this type of brain that we are intuitive, sensitive, super creative, and compassionate individuals. In fact, we are the motor behind or in front of many of the world’s greatest creations!

    Thank you again for everything you’re doing for us in the world!

    Reply

Leave a Comment