Dyslexia: Gifts and Gratitude

The thank you note from the third grader says it all: “Thank you for teshing me abut that people that have Dyslexia and can stily chang th world. By Jacqueline.”  My educated guess, from her spelling and writing is that Jacqueline may be dyslexic. (And good for her for spelling that long, difficult, French name correctly!)

Little Jacqueline is one of the hundreds of students I had the privilege to speak to in their classrooms during the annual “Disability Awareness Day” on campuses throughout the community. Over the course of several years, I was “the dyslexia lady,” and explained dyslexia in creative ways to engage young children and teach them several important takeaways.

Concepts I taught included: 1) It’s OK to ask for help; 2) It’s important to be a good friend, so you help instead of hurt if you hear another student having difficulties with reading, writing or spelling (because those hurtful memories last a lifetime) 3) And as Jacqueline clearly understood, People who have dyslexia can do anything, and may even change the world–with plenty of examples of those who have.

Depending on the age group, I used a combination of video, colorful assemblage art, age-appropriate books and props and plenty of multi-sensory interaction to help reinforce the lessons.  I loved the opportunity to present dyslexia in a positive way to these children, and was especially touched when one would share a dyslexia story–whether about a cousin, a parent, or sometimes, their own personal journey. And then there were the times when I would be in a store, the park or other place in the community and a child would come up to me, usually dragging mom by the hand and say, “I know you, you came to my class and told me about dyslexia.” Such a sweet connection!

It was always interesting to speak with the teachers and classroom para-educators before or after the presentation–often they learned new information, too! And my dyslexic philanthropic supporter said memorably , “If someone like you had come to my classroom when I was in second grade, I would have thought you were an angel, letting me know that I wasn’t the only one and that I would be okay.”

In DyslexiaLand, where we’re all in this together, the gifts go both ways, and so does the gratitude.