Running head: DYSLEXIA IN SCHOOL

Dyslexia in School
Aaron Swahn
Sport and Medical Sciences Academy
November 6, 2015

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Dyslexia in School
Being in todays world, every person needs to work their hardest and try their very best to
be at the top. For most people in the world, that is very difficult for people especially for those
with learning disabilities. A major learning disability which affects 15 (McCollum, 2006, 11)
percent of the United States population is dyslexia. Dyslexia affects how a person is able to
learn how to read, write, and interpret letters, words, and other forms of literature. Having
dyslexia can really slow down peoples education, as if they have a bolder on their back.
Dyslexia can make learning the simplest words and letters into making it feel like a person is
learning a second language when the person cannot even learn the first language. Dyslexics need
to learn how to deal with dyslexia and practice methods to improve on the skills dyslexics have
trouble with. Improving on these skills dyslexics have trouble with will help them in everyday
life extensively.
When a person has dyslexia, it does not mean the person is stupid or unintelligent. All
dyslexia means is that whoever has dyslexia is going to have a much more difficult time learning
things than a person who does not have dyslexia. Famous actress, dancer, and model, Bella
Thorn, has dealt with the struggles of dyslexia her entire life. The author Burling for Choices
Magazine interviewed Bella on how Dyslexia has affected her life and how it feels to have
dyslexia. Bella stated, Dyslexia has affected my life in a big way, Bella tells Choice. At first,
I was really afraid and self-conscious because I didnt feel like I was as smart as other kids and I
couldnt read the way they did. I was happy to know that it was something that affects other
people and that I wasnt alone, but I also felt bad because I knew I had a big struggle ahead of
me. (Burling, 2011, 5). Bella, as many people with dyslexia are, was very scared about what
dyslexia will do to her and how it will affect her life. She did not want to really face the fact of

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having dyslexia because she felt out of place, as if she was stupid, like she could not do what
others are able to do in school because she has dyslexia. Having this language-based learning
disability, people with dyslexia feel as if they are second best. As if they can never be at the top
because they feels as if they are going to be held back in school and especially in life due to the
fact they have dyslexia. What those people need to figure out is that dyslexia does not mean you
cannot do what others are able to do; dyslexia just means you need to work harder and do what
you need to do to deal with dyslexia to be able to be at the top and not be second best.
In everyday life there are people judging one another and people who judge themselves
as well. Students with dyslexia always are constantly judging themselves. Students with
dyslexia often feel like, They are aware that others in their classrooms are reading better, are
completing assignments on time, and do not take as long to learn things. This can really impact
self-esteem over time, causing them to withdraw. (Labrien, 2015, 3). The students will judge
themselves so easy just because they see others doing better than themselves. These behaviors
occur every single day to such a big majority of people but students with dyslexia find it even
more difficult because it takes them much longer to learn the simplest of literature needs that will
affect the students in the long wrong. Mother of a dyslexic child, Dylan Redford, Kyle Redford
talked about how dyslexia is not a thinking disability, it is all mechanical (Redford, 2012, 1).
Students with dyslexia need specific and special accommodations to assist in dealing and
supporting dyslexia.
Having dyslexia is very difficult and growing up with dyslexia is a huge struggle. People
with dyslexia go through difficulty with reading, writing, math, and anything along that line of
literature. The ways the brain of dyslexics work are different on how they view what they see. A
author Choices Magazine, McCollum, states, Their brains, though, have trouble connecting the

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sounds of letters and syllables to words on a pageDyslexics have more difficulty retrieving the
meaning for the words they see written down. (McCollum, 2006, 11). People with dyslexia
read and view everything they do different from how others without dyslexia will read and view.
When a person with dyslexia reads, writes, or copies words down they have trouble
comprehending the words which can cause misspelling. Letters can be switched, for example
b to d or q to g, or just have difficulty with what the dyslexic will see. People with
dyslexia can appear to write and see words and letters that are not actually there (Davis, 1992. 1).
They can add or take away words along just by reading a word. When people have dyslexia they
will often have trouble hearing what they are trying to hear. By getting distracted very easily by
sounds, dyslexics can hear multiple things at once, which make it even more difficult for a
student with dyslexia. When trying to say things out loud, a person with dyslexia can sound
choppy and have trouble speaking (Davis, 1992, 1). Inside of the head of a dyslexic, the dyslexic
can know what they want to say, just like many people can. Although, when the dyslexic
attempts to explain what they are thinking, it can come out misunderstood. The people listening
may not know what the person with dyslexia is trying to say. Even if the person with dyslexia
knows what they are trying to say, others may have difficulty understanding people with
dyslexia, which will make thoughts of dyslexics not be able to be spoken. Having dyslexia is
extraordinarily difficult to live with; it can affect the dyslexic themselves and the observers of the
dyslexic.
A student with dyslexia often feels out of place, as if they do not belong. Dyslexics can
feel stupid and left behind, but having dyslexia does not mean that person is stupid. A dyslexics
brain is not inferior in anyway which McCollum states, Dyslexia brains are perfectly healthy.
Many dyslexics excel in math, art, mechanics, and sports-areas that dont require strong language

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skills. (McCollum, 2006, 11). Literature is not the most important thing in the world.
Dyslexics can expand in the things that they are exceptional at. Having great math skills can
help a dyslexic become something great which will allow the person to succeed in life.
Expanding in the fields a dyslexic is superior in can help a person with dyslexia succeed in life
and help others in the process. Having dyslexia just means the person with dyslexia has to work
harder and not give in to weakness.
A real life person who grew up with dyslexia is a young woman named Kristian Seaman.
She was behind everyone else in her class. She felt like she was not getting the best education
she deserved. She had a different colored reading book because she was behind in her education
due to dyslexia (McCollum, 2006, 11). She was excluded in class because her teacher had put
her in the back of the classroom. Kristen decided not to let this exclusion control her so she took
control of her own life and education by working extra hard and not giving up. The outcome of
her working her hardest in life was graduating from high school and being accepted into college,
I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth with a fourth-grade reading level. I cried when
Beacon accepted me, believe me. (McCollum, 2006, 12). Kristen is a prime example of how
having dyslexia does not mean a person with dyslexia cannot succeed in life. Even with such a
low reading and writing level, a person can do great things, including graduation high school and
going to college which are a couple of the greatest accomplishments for every person. More
people with dyslexia need to learn to not give up on life. By working harder and not giving up,
dyslexics can accomplish things they have been striving for their entire life. Having a great
education or even passing classes and doing well in school is the dream for a person with
dyslexia. Dyslexics need the mental stability to tell themselves dyslexia will not shorten the

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chances and opportunities in life. Dyslexia will not stop any person as long as the person does
not take dyslexia as an impossible challenge in life.
For people with dyslexia to be successful in life they need to find ways to deal with
dyslexia. There is no real treatment for dyslexia but there are ways in which people with
dyslexia can learn how to deal with it and manage with the struggle of dyslexia. One of the most
important techniques is to manage time and work to the best of ability (Hall, 2015, 4). Managing
time is very important for everyone but this is especially important for people with dyslexia. A
person with dyslexia can improve their education and emotions by being smart about time
management (Labrien, 2015, 2). Getting work done fast is not the objective, but to get work
done in an organized fashion and to understand what he/she is working with. Another very
important technique people with dyslexia need to learn is to ask for help and to know that asking
for help is okay. Asking for help can provide guidance and make sure they know what they are
doing. One on one action is very important as well; private tutors (Labrien, 2015, 2) can assist
people with dyslexia because having the extra personal help will improve the dyslexics
education. Attitude is very important because people with dyslexia cannot put themselves down.
They need to stay optimistic and believe in themselves. To not feel judged and want to prove
themselves wrong by showing themselves they can succeed in life.
Ways for dyslexics to deal with dyslexia more sufficiently are learning important
practices to help with their education and everyday life. The Yale Center for Dyslexia and
Creativity (Hall, 2015, 1) give tips to dealing with dyslexia. Some worthy tips to pay attention to
are their tech tips. Using some type of tape recorder to hear yourself read papers and writing
assignments you are writing then playing the recordings back to yourself is very useful (Hall,
2015, 3). This technique can help the dyslexic hear their own mistakes in their writing and work.

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Listening to books on tape or CD can help the person with dyslexia keep up in the readings in
class and not feel left behind. Reading things over and over to the dyslexics self can really
improve their vocabulary, memorize how to spell words, and say the words correctly. Doing
these little things can help dyslexics so much by just doing what is necessary to be the very best
they can be in life.
There are people in the world who have been very successful in life and people would
never even guess these people would have dyslexia. Dianna Labrien wrote 20 Things Parents
Of Children With Dyslexia Would Understand (Labrien, 2015, 1) which stated, They should
continue to re-enforce the facts that a huge number of highly successful people had/have
dyslexia. Heres a few: Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford,
Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Muhammed Ali, Steve Jobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Picasso,
and Richard Branson. There is virtually no field in which dyslexic people have not excelled.
(Labrien, 2015, 3). There are so many famous, intelligent, artistic, and genius people who
everyone knows about and might have changed the world and who actually have dyslexia. All of
these people have done great things and helped change the lives of millions of people and all of
these people have dyslexia. Dyslexia does not mean a person cannot be great and do what others
can. People with dyslexia can do the greatest things imaginable; they just have to work as hard
as they possibly can. People with dyslexia are some of the successful people in the world and
that is because they have worked their hardest and not given up due to dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a very difficult learning disability, which affects 15% of people in the United
States alone. It can be very difficult to do what others do at such ease. What a person with
dyslexia needs to figure out is there are ways to help improve their lives and that they are not at
the bottom. Dyslexics can do a lot of things in life; they can do a lot of great things which can

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help improve not only their lives but other people without dyslexia as well. Having dyslexia is
not a burden but something that people need to be constantly aware of so dyslexia will not get
the best of those who have dyslexia. Dyslexia does make literature much more difficult for the
people who have dyslexia, but dyslexics can overcome dyslexia and find ways to deal with it.
Dyslexics need to believe in themselves and to not give up which will reward them into earning
greatness.

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References
Burling, A. (2011). Dealing With Dyslexia. Searchasaurus, 26(6). 4-6. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/sas/detail?sid=4944882a-47c4-4312-9b7f93d197815994%40sessionmgr4004&vid=7&hid=4206&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPQ%3d
%3d#AN=59649568&db=prh
Davis, R. (1992). Test for Dyslexia: 37 Common Symptoms. Dyslexia. 1. Retrieved from
http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm
Hall, N. (2015). Types from Dyslexic Students for Dyslexic Students. The Yale Center for
Dyslexia and Creativity. 1-6. Retrived from
http://dyslexia.yale.edu/DYS_Student2Student.html
Labrien, D. (2015). 20 Things Parents Of Children With Dyslexia Would Understand. Lifehack.
1-8. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/285680/20-things-only-parents-childrenwith-dyslexia-would-understand?dgs=1
McCollum, S. (2006). Decoding Dyslexia. Searchasaurus, 22(2). 10-12. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/sas/detail?vid=2&sid=3ff064db-33f1-4be4-bacd582c245073fd%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4206&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPQ%3d
%3d#AN=22666742&db=prh
Redford, K. (2012). Navigating School With a Dyslexic Child: One Moms Story. The
Huffington Post. 1-2. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle/dyslexicchild_b_2040967.html