My Dyslexia's Effect On Success

I’m a senior at the University of South Carolina Upstate and have been diagnosed with dyslexia since childhood. This label could have caused for a disastrous college experience, but there has always been something in myself pushing beyond the stigma.

In the essay “On Being Seventeen, Bright, and Unable to Read,” David Raymond offers information on him having the experience of dyslexia.  He explains how dyslexia plays a major role in his learning. In a positive and negative way.  Dyslexia doesn’t only stop him with other educational activities but effects his self-confidence. While dyslexia brought Raymond many struggles as a child, it also played a huge role in Raymond’s confidence such as him saying that he wanted to die since he was different to everyone else. David visibly tells us how his dyslexia held him back from every day activities as a child. While reading, he says, “My family began to suspect I was having problems almost from the first day I started school.” This quote makes

Several studies have shown that when dyslexia is undiagnosed, it can cause a lot of frustrations and anxieties in the individuals involved (Riddick & Edwards as cited in Glazzard, 2012). Dyslexia is a ‘hidden’ disability, as there are no obvious external signs for people to recognize (Riddick as cited in Glazzard, 2012). It is not like some other disabilities, as for example down syndrome, or cerebral palsy which people can recognize from the moment they see them. People can get confused and assume different reasons for the children’s poor performance in school. That is why, when dyslexia is undiagnosed, the characteristics like ‘stupid’, ‘thick’, and ‘lazy’ are commonly used to describe students with dyslexia. People who are not aware about dyslexia cannot find any other explanations for them who are not doing well at school. Lack of assessment may result in low self-esteem compared to non-dyslexic students (Humphrey as cited in Glazzard, 2012 ). On the other hand, lack of appropriate help and support can have long-term effects for people with dyslexia when reaching adulthood (Morgan & Klein,

However, I refuse to let it hold me back. English homework that takes classmates thirty minutes to do takes me twice as long. When teachers ask students to read out loud, I never raise my hand because of fear I’ll mess up. I slump down in my chair praying the teacher doesn’t call on me. Instead, I participate in other ways like answering questions teachers pose to the class. When people ask what it’s like to have dyslexia, I try to explain, but there’s nothing I can say that will allow them to truly understand. Often, I share one of my earliest memories. In preschool, we were learning the difference between right and left. The teacher kept saying your left hand is the one that makes an “L.” I stood there staring at my hands in confusion. I didn’t know which way “L” faced. It’s hard for those who haven’t experienced this to fully comprehend the obstacles I’ve had to overcome to get where I am.

Again I have dyslexia and I have already said how hard it was for my mom, but I also have a hard time with it. When I was little it was hard because everyone always thought I was weird because I was in AIG and in the special needs class. When I got into the key school I was so excited I was telling everyone but I also heard people whispering that Kylie is a idiot because she has to go to a different school for stupid people that read everything backwards.

Once a week I would attend my dyslexia class to learn how to read,write, and speak english right. I had a hard time learning how to spell and pronounce long words. I would always walk into the class and get right to work because I wanted to be able to read the same as the other kids in my class. In and out of the class I would work on my reading by reading books or just looking at billboards why we drive from place to place.

When we think dyslexia, we immediately cast the victim as the underdog in most situations. The reason why we do so is because we think in order to be successful in this competitive world, you have to be able to do everything better than your competitor does. When in reality you do not have to. David Boies, a world-renowned lawyer, had dyslexia. But he realized his weakness and made it his strength. Beginning at a young age, Boies realized he had a hard time reading, but instead of giving up, he tried harder. Boies would listen carefully and contently as someone spoke and his memory became a formidable instrument. This was Boies’ greatest strength: his ability to listen and keep everything he heard in his memory. Boies and many other dyslexics were not always successful at doing so. For example, Gary Cohn had discovered that he failed more than he succeeded. Gary realized that accepting the chance of failure made his life a whole lot easier, and sometimes more exciting. At a young age, he made a fateful decision to jump in a cab with a stock broker, who happened to be very high up in the ranks, and within an hour he was able to manipulate this man into believing that he was a successful options trader. The man bit the bait hook line and sinker, landing him a job and setting him up for a

Every good teacher knows her job is to support the whole child, not just the academic one. This is even more important for students with dyslexia. They experience significant struggles in school as compared to their peers and are often keenly aware of it. This is especially true if they have not been provided with appropriate early intervention (Eide & Eide 205). They can be frustrated with themselves and with the system as a whole, leading to stress, a negative self-image, and a negative perspective of school. Parents and teachers must work together to assure students with dyslexia develop confidence, a healthy self-esteem, and a realistic and positive understanding of their strengths and struggles. Research suggests that the best way to do this includes both internal and

People who are in school and have dyslexia will have trouble understanding assignments. For example, people who have dyslexia tend to overthink the task they are assigned to do. They are self-conscious of the work they do because they process their work as not good enough and they tend to re-do their work multiple times compared to a person without dyslexia. For instance, students with

As an individual with dyslexia, both Jonathan Mooney’s book and lecture were incredibly meaningful to me. Much of what he said really hit home because I experienced similar prejudices as a kid. During elementary school, I was in the “special” reading group and everyone knew it. It made me feel so terrible about myself that from elementary school on I just completely hid the fact that I was dyslexic all together. I didn’t tell teachers and I never asked for more time to complete exams. I didn’t want to be the dumb kid that need more time or attention from the teacher. I also didn’t ever want an excuse for my poor performance. I wanted to own my failures and not just pass it off to being dyslexic. So, I mostly hid my “disability”.

No matter who you are, or where you came from you are going to have road blocks. You can either sit around and let those blocks take over your life, becoming a slave to them, or you can pick yourself up and fight even harder than you were before. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia I choose the latter, using the tools that I had to become stronger and to eventually become the person I wanted to.

Most of my life I’ve known that I learn differently from others, since I have the disability dyslexia. But what has always been a mystery for me is why is dyslexia classified as something inherently negative. Dyslexia has helped me gain many strengths to succeed not only in school but in life too. This trait has led me to being a critical and creative thinker to help me overcome obstacles in every type of learning environment.

First of all, Dyslexia is where the creative side of your brain is larger than the mathematical side of your brain. Dyslexia has brought me troubles in all subjects at this school besides the creative ones. My biggest struggle is in Literacy class. Once in awhile I will write the first letter in a word and just move on, or maybe I will leave out words in a sentence all together.

People with dyslexia can be very bright. They are often capable or even gifted in areas such as art, computer science, design, drama, electronics, math, mechanics, music, physics, sales, and sports. In addition, dyslexia runs in families; having a parent or sibling with dyslexia increases the probability that you will also have dyslexia. For some people, their dyslexia is identified early in their lives, but for others, their dyslexia goes unidentified until they get older.

A student is in school and the teachers have noticed a student who is struggling. They see that the student can’t read or solve problems as fast or easily as the other students. At home the student’s parents are pushing him to do better even after he says he’s doing his best. The teachers then decide to test him and it’s discovered that he has dyslexia. Now the teaches and the parents know that he is doing his best and just needs a little help, so they get him the help he needs and his grades start to improve along with his mood. As most individuals know, dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the brain and the most commonly is known to make those who have dyslexia see words backwards. This is true but isn’t the whole truth about dyslexia.