We have to write a paper on one of our life changing event. This one event still has a major affect on my life to this day. This was when I was diagnosed with Dyslexia in the fourth grade. Many people always ask me what it is. The easy way to explain it is that I mix up some letters or numbers. It’s not as bad as many people think it is but occasionally it can get annoying. This is because it almost always happens with numbers, and when is really about the only time you have to work with numbers nonstop? Yes, that’s right during math class. This always hurts me during this class just because I always switch numbers like 1245 may come out 1425. Then you get your test back and there’s always the big red question mark like you had it right all the way up to the final answer. But lets go back to the beginning to where it all really started.
Back in the 4th grade I lived in Prattville Alabama, just a little north of Montgomery. I went to Daniel Pratt Elementary School. During the 4th grade I was reading at a 1st grade level, when I was really suppose to be reading at a 3rd or 4th grade level. After this my teacher, Mrs. Reed had noticed that my reading level was so low she called a conference with my parents. My teacher told my parents, “Something is wrong with this and this shouldn’t be happening.” My parents responded, “How do you know what’s normal for him? You’ve only known him for a few months. You don’t know how the schools are run in California.” After this Mrs. Reed said, “We have seen this with many of the kids that have gone through here. It’s normally a reading or eye disorder. Something like dyslexia.” After this long meeting of my parents and her going back and fourth she referred us to UAB in Birmingham Alabama.
They were conducting a major study on this disorder and how it would affect peoples learning and things like that. The first time I walked in the building it was sort of small and not very roomy but there were three chairs sitting against the wall next to a cabinet with toys and games in it, for all the little children that come in. Across from the chairs was a desk, not very fancy, just the type they give a teacher with four cabinets, two on each side, with the fake layer of vinyl they call wood. It was like any other doctors office. You sit there forever in the waiting room, play with all of the toys once, and then do it all over again. After starting back on the toys for the 3rd time the doctor poked his head out of the door and yell out your name. Then you follow him back into this room with all the cool little gadgets that a normal eye doctor would have. After this they tell you to sit in this huge leather chair. But it has plastic all over it which makes it slightly uncomfortable. Then instead of waiting in the waiting room with all the toys and everything like that you have to wait in this boring room that has all the fun equipment that you can’t play with. So all you can do is sit there. After a nice little wait the doctor walks in and introduces himself.
After introducing himself he starts to explain what we are going to do. So he talks for about a half hour and pretty much says we are going to run a lot of tests. Most of them are going to be the type that I would have to read these certain passages. Although some of the tests were fun but it takes forever to do. After going to UAB about 4 or 5 times, and the 3 hour drive for Prattville to Birmingham, they finally diagnosed me with dyslexia. What they did was they took all my scores on the fun and not so fun tests that they made me take and analyzed them. The doctor said, “What we look for is a major deficit between reading and all of the other things.” The good part about being diagnosed is that it made me eligible to receive accommodations. These are things like extra time on test and thing like that.
They also gave me a special teacher known as a case manager. These are the people that make sure you have all of your accommodations. They would also pull you out of class for meetings. Because I was diagnosed with dyslexia I was put on the local news because I was able to make other people aware that it’s not really uncommon. But other then that nothing really exciting happened. Through out the rest of my elementary school career I was put in a special class to help my reading. This also happened in my middle school years too. Finally getting into high school I did have a major transition from middle school to high school. At this point I had moved away from Alabama for the moment. I was living in Rockville, Maryland, right out side of Washington DC and right next to Bethesda. In high school I had been put in a class that was suppose to help my study skills. I had an amazing teacher Ms. Roit. She always fought for everything that I needed. She was probably the best teacher I have had throughout my learning career. After my sophomore year I moved back to Alabama, this time Huntsville. I started going to Grissom High School. Throughout the rest of my high school career I had to make a few changes. These were things like using a computer for my exams and things like that. This was because it really is Alabama. When I first moved here we sat down with the teacher and presented our case. When we mentioned using a computer they said, “This is Alabama and we don’t have that many computers for the kids.” It should be required that each class has another computer just incase someone else like me comes along and have to use a computer to type everything up.
Nothing else really happened until college. I had walked in at UAH to apply for my accommodations. They looked at my file and said that it was out of date and not the right testing. This means something very bad; I have to retake all of the tests. Although it was not that bad because I got to miss an entire week of school and have it excused. So I got to sleep in and go take some tests, eat lunch where ever I want, and go early and relax. When I was talking to the disability counselor she had mentioned two things to me. The first thing was called Dragon Speaking Naturally. This is a program on the computer that you can type up a paper, or surf the internet. This has really helped me with my writing because I’m able to just say it and it puts it on the computer. The other thing was from a website called bookshare.org. This is a place where I can go on to the internet and look up a book then download it on to my computer and have it read the text while I read it right in front of me on the computer. This really helps me read the required reading that people have me do.
Dyslexia isn’t as bad as it really sounds. Granted it does provide some difficulty with certain things but it’s not to the point where it affects my life to the point to where I have a hard time making it through. Although I do admit it I am special…….SPECIAL ED!
