Dyslexia

Noah Sperling

26 March 2018

English 12: British Literature

Introduction to dyslexia

Many great minds have been known to have dyslexia and have been successful in their

lives, with people like Steven Spielberg, Mohammed Ali, and Albert Einstein. All of theses

people have made great impacts in the world and yet, not many people know that they all grew

with Dyslexia, since it is often known as the hidden disability, “Dyslexia is defined as a disorder

that involve difficulty learning to read or interpret words, letters and other symbols, but does not

affect general intelligence” ( Webster dictionary) Many of these famous people have shown that

you can overcome your struggles and adapt to their own unique learning style. Even with great

difficulties in their lives these great influential people have shown you can become an actor,

scientists, athlete, and directors or anything else one puts his mind to.

Even though many intelligent people have been to know to have dyslexia, many more

people have gone undiagnosed and have struggled academically their whole lives, For years

Dyslexia was seem as a visual problem. Doctors believed that students saw letters backwards and

that was causing them to be poor readers. Over time it has been proven that the disorder is more

a linguistic problems then a visual one. When teacher and scientist started looking into Dyslexia

more they realized that by teaching these students in a different way can and continue to succeed

even growing up with a learning disability like dyslexia. The problem kids have with dyslexia is

reading and writing. While these kids have a hard time reading and writing they can learn other

ways like hearing what is happening or seeing it. Every kid has strengths and weaknesses and

each learning differently and this is no exception for kids with dyslexia. In the end, kids with

dyslexia are just as intelligent as the kid next to them but they do lear differently. Schools have

argued for a long time about how tho diagnosis and teach children with this disability. There are
many strong arguments on both sides. Many times the diagnosis is misdiagnosed or completely

missed all together.

Counterargument for Dyslexia

The argument for Dyslexia is that it is a curse and that it should not be mentioned in

schools in todays world. People believe having it diagnosed affects how they would be seen and

schools in todays world. People believe having it diagnosed affects how they would be seen and

treated by other kids and teachers in the school, “People see only the diagnosis, not the person. A

diagnostic label can negatively define the individual be focusing on the specific problem and

down playing many positive personal characteristic.” (smp.psych.ucla.edu) These students

should not be looked at differently just because people with Dyslexia learn different then most

kids. This does not make them stupid and they should not be looked at differently because of

their diagnosis. People do not like being noticed for being different, because kids can be bullied

because of their disabilities, “Children who are dyslexic and who go to school with students can

be bullied by others who do not understand and are ignorant about this disability.”

(greengarageblog.org) Teachers often do not know how to teach students who are dyslexia.

They often either let them just pass to move them along or continue to fail them because they

blame the students for not trying. Both of these options are a curse because the student is not

being taught and will continue to be unsuccessful, “most students who are diagnosed with

dyslexia are not identified until at least third grade and many more into adolescence.”

(Overcoming Dyslexia) This being the most critical time for learning. Public schools often lack

staff, tools and the experience to understand and teach the proper skills needed for this

disability. Although public school do have reading specialists and para educators, sometimes it

takes a team of those to work together to find the best Individual Education Plan for each
individual student. Often times the public schools must use the tools they have , for example

Spell Read, to help with dyslexia. Although it has been shown that Orton Gillingham training has

had better success.

Argument for Dyslexia

The argument for dyslexia to be noticed in school is different than the argument against

it. The argument is that kids with dyslexia learn differently that atypical students. Students can

learn through visual or auditory learning. People believe that dyslexia should be recognized and

taught to them differently, “ Research suggests that all children were taught to read using

approaches that work for students with dyslexia, reading achievement would improve overall” (

Overcoming Dyslexia). Teaching this way will allow students not to fell hapless in class and

learn not feel stupid in class. Also there are many kids who grow up with dyslexia and still have

it because it does not magically go away, “ Advocates claims 20% of school-aged children have

dyslexia and over 40 million adults have dyslexia in the .U.S. ( smhp.psych.ucla.edu). being

diagnosed at a young age and having early intervention in school is important because although

there is no cute it can equip a student with the keys to success. This will help them learn how to

be their own advocate later in life. Schools specifically designed for dyslexic kids. To get a better

image, consider someone that is in a wheelchair with a disability. He or she learn to adapt to their

disability because it is not going to go away magically. The person will learn to live with it and

learn how to adapt to their new life and live with it. This is comparable to dyslexia because once

you are diagnosed you need to learn the skills to adapt and function in society.

The Catholic Church’s Stance on Dyslexia

The Catholic Church has a opinion on what should happen with kids with dyslexia. The

church believes that the government should fund schools for the students with disabilities with
tax money, “The national Catholic education commission director Ross Fox said the proposal for

the government to share income tax could provide a potential source of funding particularly the

government schools.”(Catholicleader.com.Av) Here is a example of someone explaining how

being faithful through school helped him and made him stronger and about getting help from

saints:

“My school report was so bad that my eldest brother was commissioned
with the task of teaching me to read. But when he could not even mange
to teach me how to read the beans, he reigned his commission and
commended me to St.Jude of hopeless cases.But even St.Jude failed. It
seemed that in those days it was not only in school but in heaven too, that
dyslexia was unheard of. St. Anthony was the only real friend that I had. Most
people who now know about dyslexia still do not realize how it affects your
short-term memory. That is where St.Anthony came in. He might not have
known much about Dyslexia, but he was able to find the things that I was
always losing. It was through him that I found St.Francis of Assisi who may
not have been dyslexic, but on his own admission, he had little more that an
elementary school education.” (Catholic Stand)

This shows that there are saints out there to help poplin need and that one can find certain people

to help one to be strong in times of need. In the end the Catholic Church is very helpful and tries

to understand people who have dyslexia.

My Stance on Dyslexia

In my opinion, I believe that Dyslexia needs to be advocated and recognized by schools. I

have grown up being Dyslexic and having to struggle at different points during my school career.

I have been teased and forgotten by my peers and teachers who have given up on me. I

understand both sides of the argument for why it should be noticed in schools and why it is often

overlooked and ignored, but in the end the positives of it being recognized outweigh the

negatives. I believe in the end noticing it in schools will help students get the help and support

they need at an early age. One place I have heard about someone succeeding with dyslexia is
from the host of the television show “live” with Kelly and Ryan. Kelly’s son was diagnosed with

the disability and is exceeding all expectations by going to a school to help them learn how to

study and succeed with dyslexia. People with dyslexia have a different way to learn and need to

learn how to live their best life. I believe that being allowed to learn in different ways helps and

allows kids to succeed and not to fail in school. My experience at North Catholic has been very

positive. I have become more independent with knowing what I have to do to be ready for tests

and papers. I have also have been able to receive help when it is needed by me. Perhaps schools

created just for dyslexia is the answer for some students. This might make them not feel

incompetent about struggling to learn to read and write along side their peers. Many successful

people have overcome dyslexia proving that people can learn, just in a different way. “Albert

Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Tom Cruise, Richard Branson have all been successful with dyslexia.”

(understood.org) Seeing all these people succeed in their lives with their own challenges is very

motivating to someone who also has dyslexia.

Conclusion to dyslexia

Dyslexia is considered a curse by some and a gift to others. Great minds have struggled

with Dyslexia and overcome it, while others have not and have failed. There are two sides of

having Dyslexia and it is different for everyone. People all over the world struggle every day

with disabilities. Weather it be due to tragic circumstance or being born with a learning

disability. He or she must decide if they are going to work hard to overcome and be the best that

they can or continue to struggle.We all face challenges throughout life, the way we respond to

them determines our success.