Dear Young Dyslexic,

With the new school year beginning, I thought it would be helpful to discuss some strategies for success.

Because of the emphasis on self-advocacy, these strategies are meant for high school and college students.

Number 5: Work your butt off. As school gets more demanding, dyslexics have to work two or three times harder than their friends.

I know that this is not fair. However, the world is not fair. This is as good a time as any to learn this.

The payoff is that if we learn to work hard now it will help us be successful in later life. I believe this is one of the reasons dyslexics make such great entrepreneurs. It is hard work starting your own business and dyslexics already know how to work hard.

I have many examples of how I ended up working harder than my friends in school. Often times I would explain ideas and principles to them and then they would end up getting A’s on the exam while I got C’s.

One of my most frustrating experiences was trying to write term papers in college. I had great ideas and was knowledgeable, however, my spelling and grammar made writing an adequate term paper impossible. I therefore had to start on papers a month to six weeks before they were due.

I would do the research and write my rough draft two weeks before they were due. Then I spent two weeks with a friend editing the paper and having it typed.

My senior roommate, who I had many classes with and who was not dyslexic, would just come in at 12 o’clock the night before the paper was due. He would turn the wastepaper basket upside down, put his typewriter on it, and start typing. Two hours later his paper was finished. He usually got a better grade than I did! 

That is it for now. Stay tuned for number 4 next week.

Be well and make a bit of noise,

Dr. Michael Ryan

 

 

 

Dr. Michael Ryan