By Ruben Navarrette
The Dallas Morning News
Published August 1, 2003
During my years as a student, I was so busy trying to learn different things that I never stopped to consider that others might learn differently.
It wasn't until I met my wife, an elementary schoolteacher who specializes in helping children with learning differences such as dyslexia, that I gained respect for those who struggle with reading, writing and spelling - but press on just the same. I had always assumed that low achievers were lazy or slow or defiant. Now, I know better.
So should anyone who read the engaging story in last week's Time magazine: "Overcoming Dyslexia."
The article explains what dyslexia is and what it isn't. It isn't where the letters in a word appear backward. That's a myth. Nor is it accurately described as a disease. It is a language-based learning difference.
Studies show that some brains are wired differently than others. Dyslexics have a glitch in the wiring that turns a language-based task like reading into a Herculean chore. There is a built-in inability to associate letters with the sounds they represent.
A student with dyslexia might hear a word like "sugar" and then spell it "shoogr" because that is how it sounds phonetically. Dyslexics also have difficulty rhyming words, recognizing the sounds that letters and syllables make, or recalling words that they read just moments earlier. They may misspell the same word over and over, as if hearing it for the first time.
This is just another day at the office for Joyce Pickering, executive director of the Dallas-based Shelton School and Evaluation Center, the largest school in the country specializing in teaching students with learning differences.
(A bit of disclosure: My wife teaches at the Shelton School.)
"Dyslexics don't understand or perceive anything about the structure of the language," Ms. Pickering said.
It is estimated that dyslexia affects as many as 20 percent of schoolchildren, including many who go to high-performing schools and possess average or above-average intelligence. In fact, students with dyslexia often excel in numeric-based subjects like math or science. They just can't seem to put what they know down in writing.
Dyslexia doesn't discriminate. It affects rich and poor, boys and girls, and children of all races and ethnicities. It is believed to be hereditary. And it doesn't go away. The best society can offer at this point are specialized educational programs, some of which stress step-by-step instruction, manipulation of sounds, practice and repetition.
So what can parents do if they suspect their child may be dyslexic? The key is early detection. The thinking among experts is that children should be tested in kindergarten. The Time article suggests that a child who has trouble rhyming words or remembering names of letters or learning nursery rhymes should be evaluated.
Dyslexia can't be cured, but it can be overcome and coped with. It even can be turned into an asset. The more I learn about dyslexia, the more I lean toward the view that - disorder or not - it is more blessing than curse. Dyslexics are forced to think outside the box. That feeds their creativity, artistic ability and skill at problem solving. Unlike those who think sequentially, dyslexics arrive at solutions from innovative directions. Stumped by the written word, they can become exceptionally skilled at verbal communication. And with hard work, they can persevere and succeed.
Their ranks include Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, brokerage leader Charles Schwab, filmmaker Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Cruise.
In fact, some of the most formidable obstacles faced by dyslexics are external. They include the ease with which teachers, parents and others might assume that a learning difference is a learning disability. It isn't.
"The hardest thing on a human being's concept of themselves is unfairness," Ms. Pickering said. "If a person is unfairly blaming you for something that you're trying so hard to do but you really don't know how to do it, it is very wounding."
Now that I think about it, there are some brains out there that do need to be rewired. They belong to those who can't appreciate that learning comes in many different forms.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is an editorial columnist for The Dallas Morning News. His e-mail address is [email protected].