Personal Narrative: My Dyslexia As An Excuse For Failure

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.

The first time I realized I was different was in Kindergarten. All the students were so excited to start reading, and pronouncing words. Myself on the other hand, did not share this excitement. Instead I dreaded it. I struggled to pronounce the words, to recognize the words, and to comprehend the words. This caused frustration and a hatred for going to school. It was not until I transferred to Roundtown in second grade that I got the help I needed. They had diagnosed me with dyslexia, a learning set back that will shape me into I am today.

Dyslexia is a lifelong struggle with constant challenges with reading and speaking. About five to ten percent of the United States population deals with the learning disorder dyslexia (Van den Honert, n.d.). It is a neurological condition that is mainly caused by genetics but there are some rare cases in which it is acquired. Dyslexia interrupts the normal processes of reading and speaking (Van den Honert, n.d.). All of which are used in daily life and this makes life and school so much harder for dyslexics. They must learn to live with the condition for their entire life and there is not really a treatment for it. With the constant struggle and reminder of their

I have Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols. However, it doesn’t affect a person’s general intelligence. Living with Dyslexia is an everyday struggle. When I was younger, learning was something that I considered to be a nuisance; especially when I entered into middle school and high school. I noticed that there were things that I had trouble with that my peers didn’t seem to have a problem with.

According to the Dyslexia & Learning Disability Centre in Las Vegas, Dyslexia is an ability within the sensory mechanism of the nervous system to perceive the world with a multidimensional view. However it comes with poor word reading, word decoding, oral reading fluency and spelling. Though with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexic individuals can learn successfully throughout their lives. Also, when properly trained and informed, a dyslexic can use their

My sophomore year at Central High School did not start out the best. I was recovering from an awful grade point average, awful for me at least, I was sitting the bench in a sport that I had lost interest in, and overall I just did not enjoy school anymore. I personally did not see the point in coming to school at all. It took some time, but I finally started to get my grades up, my season had ended for football, and I knew I was not going back. After everything was starting to go my way I started thinking, “What am I going to do next?”

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.

I am a student that has had to work hard for as long as I can remember in achieving my goals, dreams, both personal as well as academically. After many years of testing, I was diagnosed with dyslexia in my sophomore year of high school. Dyslexia is a congenital language process disorder. It can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence

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,

Throughout my life, I have been through many different things. I have been through struggles and successes. I have been through multiple setbacks and breakthroughs. There is one specific setback, however that is very important to me that I overcame. It was not easy, but I finally did it. This setback took place during the time between when I entered high school and the end of my sophomore year.

What many don’t realize is that many of the people that made an impact in our world overcame these very diseases. Leonardo De Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man, and although he had many talents he had an equal amount disabilities of which were dyslexia, ADHD, and many other disorders. (Kilmartin 4) Despite his many difficulties, he is not known for them but rather for his ambission and creativity. Charles Darwin is widely known for his theory of evolution. What is unknown to many people is the fact that historians have recently claimed that Darwin suffered from dyslexia as well as obsessive compulsive disorder. (Kilmartin 3) Agatha Christie, a successful mystery author, was unable to read and write legibly, and she suffered from dysgraphia. (similar to dyslexia affecting writing, spelling, and math) (Kilmartin 3) Inspite of this, her creativity and writing changed the world and many writers were and are inspired by her life. All these people had one thing in common. They persevered and did not let statistics or opinions get in the way of their dreams that later changed the

Since being diagnosed with dyslexia, I've always had to redo my work multiple times to understand. With cars if everything isn’t working, then the car isn’t working. Dyslexia has made me better with cars because naturally I double check my work. Dyslexia has helped me instead of pulling me down . It has actually helped realize the organization is everything. If I'm not organized It will take me twice as long to do something. Just like in a car's moving parts, if it's not organized and tucked nice and away, then it will rub or not work. what I am reading because of this It made me committed to whatever I do. When I can't figure something out with cars I can't stop trying to figure it out. Cars are kind of like reading and they can only work a couple ways, and if you can’t comprehend your car it will not run just like if you don't understand reading. Dyslexia has helped me find what I enjoy It has helped me learn how to adapt to difficult situations. My difficult situations may not be the same for others like something as simple as doing a project worksheet if there is always the thought in my head that I can’t mess up and if I read the wrong thing, then write it down then I just got my group points off for something I

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.

In my past, I perceived failure as an imminent prelude to a destitute fate. Familial conditioning made this pattern nearly impossible to break. My black and white perspective of failure made dealing with life’s inequities difficult to deal with. When I experienced failure- it defined who I was as a person and crushed my esteem and what I believed I was capable of. Through my experience of committing to better my education at Chinook College, I realized that my perspective of failure hindered my ability to rebound, rebuild and learn from my mistakes. When I first enrolled at Chinook College to upgrade my high school courses, I was scared and nervous. I had given up on my academic learning when I was a child, a devastating time in my life when

In retrospect, I would have never recovered hadn't I taken the first step. No matter how much I struggled, even with the support of my family and teachers, it was through my own actions that I improved. Instead of being content with complacency, I now constantly challenge myself to improve my weaknesses. It was because of this experience that I now see difficulties as opportunities for