How I Learned About Dyslexia
Henry Brockman
Around 6 years ago I learned something that changed my life forever. In second grade I did all of my work and listened to the teacher, but I just kept falling behind in reading and writing. I would work hard but never go anywhere, then one day my parents told me to go to the office after school to take a test. I didn’t know what it was for but I went to the office anyway. I met a woman that I had never seen before, “My name is Charlotte,” she said. “What is yours?”
“Um, my name is Henry,” I said in response. She led me to a small room with walls covered in posters about ADHD and, “Diclexa, no Dyslexia.” I thought to myself, “What is that?” Little did I know that what I was about to do in that room would be the reason that my life turned out the way that it did.
In the beginning, I was confused because we weren't doing any kind of test I've ever taken. She made me tell her what patterns I saw and repeat what she was saying. It began to get frustrating as it got harder. It made me feel stupid that I couldn’t remember what she said just seconds ago. It felt like she was mocking me.
“Repeat after me,” she said. “The boy was late to class because he forgot his blue and white backpack.”
“Um… the boy ran late to school because he forgot his white backpack,” I said, trying to remember what I heard.
After I was done with the test, my parents picked me up and took me home. When I got home, I started to play with my toy cars knowing nothing about what I just did. Nothing else happened for a week or two; I went to school and did my work like normal. Eventually, I forgot that anything even happened until my parents heard the news.
They told me that I was dyslexic. I didn’t know what that meant so they explained it to me. “Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes it harder for someone like you to read,” my mom said. It was a lot to take in so I didn’t react immediately. Later that week I walked into my parent's room and found a book titled What Is Dyslexia? I got scared and started to think that my parents thought I was weird and different. A month later, my parents and I went to look at a school called Charles Armstrong. ”The teachers at Charles Armstrong will help you with your Dyslexia,” my mom said.
Although I didn’t approve of the idea of leaving my school, I agreed to take a shadow day. We drove down a long driveway type road and parked in the huge parking lot. My mom and I walk towards the office and met with a woman. The woman took me down the hall to a music class. In the class, there were guitars, ukuleles, and some instruments that I've never seen before decorating the walls. In a circle were about 25 kids sitting on red chairs. I was nervous and didn’t know what to do so I just took a seat and sat there until the class was over. At the end of the class, the teacher scolded the kids for being loud, and told them to act like the shadow. I didn’t appreciate the attention but I was grateful for the compliment. Then, we got in line and went back to the homeroom. While I was looking for a seat in the homeroom, the teacher pulled me to the front of the room and introduced me. I was scared to go up to the front at first, but once I saw the warm smiles I was receiving I felt better. Later that day, a kid named Gus came up to me and started talking with me. After a while, we were actually having a good time talking and I realized we had a lot in common. Soon the day was over and I went home.
A few weeks later, my parents told me that I was going to transfer over to Charles Armstrong in the middle of the year. I argued with my parents about it until I realized it wasn't worth my time to argue because I wasn’t going to win. The next day I told my friends goodbye and went home, understanding that I wouldn’t see them again. I woke up in the morning and got in the car to go to Charles Armstrong. Because I was nervous, my mom promised that I could have chocolate milk for lunch, and chocolate milk I had. Once I got to the school the teacher reintroduced me and I sat down. I saw Gus and was happy to have a friend already there. After three weeks of going to school there, I was finally comfortable.
I spent about 4 years at Charles Armstrong. They helped me to understand my Dyslexia, as well as to manage it. At Armstrong, they implement many different learning tools into the curriculum and hire teachers that will push you and support you. By going to Armstrong at such a young age I was able to fix my problem before it got out of control. The years I spent at Armstrong were probably some of the best years of my life because of friends such as Gus and all of the wonderful teachers there that helped me become who I am today. Overall, that test I took 6 years ago changed my life for the better.
