A success story

I thought I would write about a young man I taught 7 years ago, when he was 21. This young man has had a profound affect on me. I honestly think I learned more from him than he learned from me; we broke even, at least.

I first met James's mother when I had an information meeting to tell people what my reading clinics were all about. I held this particular meeting in a small town to make it easier for rural people. Since I knew everyone in the town, Jame's mother stood out for me as I had never seen her before. She was quiet, and didn't ask any questions during my speil. She did approach me at the end of the night and told me about her son. She had driven out from Kamloops to hear what I had to say.

James was 21 at the time, and was in his second year at the Unversity of BC. When she started telling me about him her eyes shone. Her love for her son filled the room. He was a talented hockey player, a humanitarian, and a wonderful son. He also couldn't read very well. He had had a very miserable time in school. He was taken out for a time and sent to a special school, and had learning assistance all through elementary school. He finally refused the help in grade 8."Why?" he asked. "I have been going for 7 years and I don't read any better now than when I started." His family worked extremely hard to keep his self esteem in tact. He was a brilliant hockey player, so the family spent hours at rinks, being his cheering section. His mother and father made a concerted effort to dwell on his strengths when he was at home- school was discussed with humour and grace, but it was never the measure of a man. They managed to avoid some of the terrible pitfalls that sometimes befall kids who experience repeated failure. James had just as many successes in other areas under his belt. She said he was so proud to have gotten into UBC, and had held his own in the first year, with the help of outside tutoring. In the second he was starting to drown. She teared up when she explained that her beautiful son who was always so positive and who met challenges head on with gusto- was starting to doubt himself, and he began to feel foolish for thinking he belonged at university. She asked me if I thought I could help him, and all I asked was if he was willing to go back to the beginning and build up his reading skills from ground level. She said she would get back to me. It turns out, he did.

James started in May, as soon as he returned from Vancouver. I tested James before we began and he was reading at a beginning grade 5 level. I shuddered thinking about the texts that he had had to read. He was very matter of fact about this reading level. He whistled and said, "I knew it wasn't going to be very high. I live with it!"
We did indeed start at the beginning, and I taught James the 44 phonemes of the English language and how they are made in the mouth. He loved this and was fascinated to look at his mouth in a mirror as he carefully pronounced each sound. He exclaimed after learning how vowel sounds are produced- " I could always tell you what the five vowels were, but I didn't really know what they were for!". Through the next three weeks we met and worked for two hours a day. He asked really good questions, and wanted to know WHY about everything. I was pleased to be able to answer most of his questions. When I couldn't, I did some research and came back with answers the next day. It was thrilling for me to work with a very bright young man who was excited about understanding how his own language worked for the first time in his life. He asked every other day, "Why don't they teach this in school?"

One day James mentioned that he had actually been on the honour roll for one term in grade 9. I asked him how he managed it. His answer floored me, and is solid proof for anyone who needs it that people with dyslexia are often extremely bright individuals. This is how James got on the honour roll. No doubt his popularity helped make this strategy work!

James acknowledged that he could not read the novels that they studied in English. So, he would hang around a group of guys during breaks and before and after school. He would put a general question about the novel out there for consideration. He would say something very general like, "Hey- you know that book we're reading in English? What do you think of it?" and the group would offer opinions with varying degrees of details. James would probe, mining for more details without anyone knowing that he hadn't read it. He had an extremely good memory,and he would take in all the discussion. He said that he read faces really well, so if he said something that was way off track, he would watch the expressions of the boys, and if they looked puzzled he would quickly back up and try something else. Then, he would go find a group of girls who got good marks, and hang out with them for awhile, using the info he had just received and asking questions that went deeper into the story. He said girls talked about stuff way more, so he always went to them as soon as he could converse half-way intelligently about the book.
He was able to pass all the chapter tests with good results from this method. For essays, he would get together with his girlfriend and talk over various topics. She wrote down what they discussed, and the James would rewrite it using the phrases and bits she wrote to construct an essay. His mother would proof read it for him.
I remember James telling this to me as though it was the most natural way to learn. I was amazed. I commented, "It must have taken so much energy for you to learn that way!"To which he shrugged and replied, "Not as much energy as it would take to read the book."

James finished the 3 week clinic and tested at a grade 9 level when we wrapped up. Still a long way from university level, but much better than grade 5. He was delighted and felt like a million bucks. He pledged to keep reading on his own and continue to improve.

I went and visited Robert in the spring of his next year at UBC. He continued to do well (still with a tutor, but getting good marks). He told me the story of how he first realized he was "reading like everyone else". He lived with three roommates in a residence apartment. One Saturday morning he was lazing on the couch reading the newspaper. He had done that before, usually reading the comics, but this time a political article caught his attention. He said he called out to a roommate who was sitting at the kitchen table, "Hey John! Listen to this!" James proceeded to read the entire article to his roommate. It was only afterwards that James realized that he had done this spontaneously, without thinking about it, and without a mistake. It was the first time he had ever volunteered to read anything outloud. Ever!
James graduated from university with a degree in Geography. He also became the spokesperson for of a junior hockey league and did lots of public speaking, including writing his own speeches.

James had the magic ingredient that successful people with dyslexia often have: resiliency. He also had parents that believed in him and helped him have balance in his life.