I first read about dyslexia on sabinews.com. Before then, I never paid much attention to the word. After the long read, I went to wikipedia. You see, I never knew that the inability to read and learn is a disorder and that it actually has a name. I never understood why someone cannot grasp a sentence after reading it over and over, up to five times. I didn't see them as unintelligent; that would be mild, I called them dumb, stupid, unserious. I was younger and ignorant, I don't think that's an excuse though.
There was this course mate of mine, I called him dull. I disliked him. I hated it whenever he talked in class. He disliked me too. He said I was rude and disrespectful. I told him to go and work on himself and earn my respect. We had a big clash. I overlooked the fact that he was always trying to learn, always studying. I was too angry to see beyond the surface.
I can't remember what took me to sabinews that day but after reading that writeup and some other articles, I realised he was dyslexic. I started watching him closely. His major problems were figures and reading out loud. Writing a simple line of program was a serious challenge. I saw how hard he was trying to catch up. I didn't know how to help but I began to understand that it wasn't his fault. I started listening to him. We got talking. I didn't know he had such a big heart. We're friends today.
There are many people like this. Sometimes when I print bad results for parents and watch their faces, I already know what will happen when they get home. Some children play a lot: true. But after giving a child much attention, after placing him under observation and nothing changes. Have you considered that something may be wrong somewhere? Have asked the child what his challenges are?
Dyslexia maybe the most disguised disability, and most ignored. They're often seen as dumb people. You can tell someone is blind, crippled or deaf by just looking at the person. But you have to talk to a dyslexic person before you notice. Sometimes, you won't even know till it's time for brain work, in the case of mild ones.
Bottom line; dyslexia is not a sickness. People with the disability are not brain dead, they're normal humans, they just lack the ability to understand fast. How many of such people do you come in contact with everyday? How do you treat them? Chew on it.
