I didn’t know what the word meant. I just had to go to these special classes where I would walk on a balance beam and trace these strange lines and letters. I also remember looking at these pictures of shape, numbers and letters. The word was dyslexia. When my parents sat me down (you know the way parents sit you down to tell you something that is difficult) and broke the news to me, I still didn’t know what the word meant. I just knew I had trouble reading.
My case of dyslexia is very mild. I have finally found out what the word really means. I think it has more to do with learning than reading and actually what I discovered is that dyslexia is an auditory issue. I discovered this after watching Susan Barton's 3 hour WebCast. Through further studies, I have finally found out how my brain works. When I read I have a problem decoding the words on the page. There is only so much space in the working memory part of the brain. I like to compare it to a shot glass and a gallon milk jug. The shot glass represents the size of our working memory; the gallon milk jug represents the size of the amount of information that can be stored in our brains long term. Part of my shot glass gets filled quickly because I am working so hard to decode the words that I read. When I read I have to read and reread the same text over and over until decoding the text is no longer an issue and most of my working memory shot glass is not filled up. When my working memory is not filled up with decoding I can then continue to read and devote more of my working memory to comprehension.
I also use some technology to help myself with my dyslexia. I use a program called ReadPlease2003. ReadPlease2003 can be downloaded for free from ReadPlease.com. This program allows me to copy anything that is in HTML format and paste it into ReadPlease2003. Then the program reads the text to me. As the program reads the text it hightlights the words in yellow. I have shown this program to reading expert Dr. Ellin Keane and she said, "However you can get a read aloud is a good thing." This is also further research to show that ReadPlease2003 helps both students with and without reading difficulties.
Dyslexia, which my spell check ironically keeps telling me I've misspelled, is just a word. Dr. Mel Levine, who I had the honor of meeting recently, would say that dyslexia is just a label. For me, Dyslexia is a part of who I am. As a teacher I fully understand when a student or a colleague struggles with any part of learning.
