A Voice Where One is Needed

Children with dyslexia need to have their voice heard, and we hope that we're helping make that happen. Our short film, "What I Wish Teachers Knew About Dyslexia," is close to 10,000 views. We've received a few more comments on YouTube that show the common experience.

• "I cried when I saw this as I have dyslexia and I totally understand those kids. I wish more people know how much harder it is for us and not just label us as lazy, stupid because I work so hard and get no results an it's really discouraging so if you know anyone who is dyslexic, please help them. Just by helping/correcting my spelling makes any dyslexic kid day so much better. "

• "I hope every teacher can take the time to learn more about the most common learning difference they will encounter in their classroom year after year. The students deserve the joy of learning and learning how to read and write."

• I can really relate to this because I can't say some words correctly and I always get low scores on tests because I can't complete it due to me not able to read it correctly and my brother calls me stupid and dumb because I get low scores

• "I'm in an art college where we do filming and animation. I have few assignments they give that make me have to write a lot of essays. I'm struggling really bad. I can't understand…I wish my lecturers knew how hard this is for me."

• "i am a really good student with dyslexia and last year we had to read passages and answer questions about it, i read and reread and reread before answering and I would always get a 75 and below and my teacher would always say " your child is lazy and need to try harder " and reading that on the paper always made me cry because it made me feel stupid and worthless, that teacher never thought about the possibility of me having a learning disability when I really did, when I really needed the help, i had to help myself with dyslexia and i still do, when ever i get a bad grade on something the teachers always write " Olivia just needs to try harder " or " Slow down and reread" or " Olivia is very lazy and skims there the passage" like no, ask me if I'm having trouble reading, even MY PARENTS don't believe me when i say I'm dyslexic, that's my saying " please help me, i want help becoming a better reader" ever since I figured out in dyslexic I've been trying to cure myself because there is no adult around to help me or believes I have the learning disability"

Read our blog post called "More on our film" for more examples of how it's resonating with viewers. Please continue to share "What I Wish Teachers Knew About Dyslexia" with educators, administrators, school psychologists, friends and family. 

"Mama Bear" Creates Dyslexia Buddy Network to Support Kids and Spread Awareness

Thank you to our friends at SayDyslexia.org for this great blog on our group! 

(Reprinted with permission.)

When Illinois "Mama Bear" Kristin Paxton discovered her son, Mason, had dyslexia, she made it her mission to help connect him with other kids who shared similar academic challenges. That's when she started the Dyslexia Buddy Network, a rapidly expanding group serving kids throughout Illinois.

Here's how they describe themselves:
We are children in Illinois with dyslexia who are smart, capable, and talented. We are artists, musicians, debaters, hockey players, chess champions, swimmers, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts. We are ages six through fifteen, so far. We have thought for many years that we were the only kids going through this. We have believed for too many years that we are not smart. We are children who are terrified of being asked to read aloud. We are children that work harder than anyone knows, yet are told at school to try harder. We are children who are so sick with anxiety about school that it is destructive. We are children who are in the trenches at school.

To help the kids see a light at the end of the tunnel, Kristin brings in speakers who tell the kids of their own experience with dyslexia and organizes fun social events for the kids to build friendships.

But Kristin didn't stop there. Last month, she partnered with the director of Embracing Dyslexia and released a short film, entitled, "What I Wish Teachers Knew About Dyslexia." Its purpose was to show the common experience of the dyslexic student to the 300 teachers attending the 2015 "Everyone Reading Illinois" annual conference.  Perhaps even more importantly, Kristin wanted to show the dyslexia "buddies" that their voices mattered. 

Little did she know just how far-reaching her short film would become.  As of today, the film has been been viewed over 7,000 times.  As Kristin describes in this Dyslexia Buddy Network Blog, the film is having quite a "ripple effect," although Mason (whose favorite YouTubers have "millions" of followers), remains unimpressed! 

Well, Mason, your mom may not be producing captivating Minecraft videos, but we think her efforts are awesome examples of the power of a grassroots movement to foster connection and promote awareness.  Way to go, Kristin and all the dyslexia "buddies"! 

#SayDyslexia