Dyslexia – My Secret

When my parents first explained to me that my brain is wired differently, I didn’t want to tell anyone.  I was scared they would treat me differently. The next day at recess I pulled one of my best friends aside and told her I needed to tell her something important. I told her that I am dyslexic, and that that meant I have problems reading.  I tried to explain everything I understood about being dyslexic, which was really nothing looking back on it.  Willa just smiled at me and said ok, and we went back to playing. I have slowly told other friends over the last 5 years.

At school my teachers are supposed to be notified at the beginning of the year that I have dyslexia and what my accommodations are. The beginning of a school year is crazy busy and not all my new teachers have been brought up to speed.  We learned this the hard way in third grade.  It was the first week of 3^rd grade and I had a question about a large word.  The teacher supposing that I was being lazy told me to just try harder. (Nope, that doesn’t work for dyslexics). When I told my parents, what had happened that day we realized we were going to need to make sure we told each teacher.  Every time I got a new teacher in elementary school, my parents would take a copy of my ARD so the new teacher would know exactly what I needed.  I am proud to say that this week as I started middle school, I was brave enough to tell each of my teachers without my parents’ involvement. Being different doesn’t have to be a bad thing and it doesn’t have to be a secret.