Being Different Doesn’t Mean Being Wrong

Christmas season is here! Christmas Day is right around the corner! Oftentimes, I’ve been asked what do I want Santa to bring me for Christmas?  Usually, I will say that I have all that I need for Christmas; therefore, I don’t want anything.   Even though I don’t need much, it sounds good to me.

The other day I saw a young lady with purple hair and I immediately formed a biased opinion of her and this was wrong. I don’t even know her heart. My opinion could be detrimental to this young lady if I was a person of influence or maybe work with her. Being different doesn’t mean being wrong.

I remember this young hyperactive energetic student who was always the first to answer the teacher’s questions without raising his hand. The majority of the time, his answers were right and his verbal skills were off the chart. Every morning 11 a.m., he left the class for one hour to take a special class because he has dyslexia. The students teased him about going to a “special” class.

If the truth be told, he was the smartest kid in the class. Despite his high IQ and outstanding verbal skills, he could not read nor write.  Getting the right remediation in a timely manner usually determines if this student one day will be able to learn to read and then read to learn for life.

Being different with dyslexia or a (learning difference) exhibits itself in various ways.  What about the person you take the time to give direct instructions and they act as if they didn’t hear you? What about the young man that’s left handed or ambidextrous but seems to dance to a different beat?  What about the young lady that makes straight A’s at school but at home her life is in disarray? Yes, in every example the people are different possibly because of a learning difference.

Being different doesn’t mean being wrong. Everyone in America can recognize when someone’s hair has been colored, especially if it’s purple. You are using your visual modality to give you feedback. But if a child has dyslexia or a learning disability, you will not be able to see it. You will see something different but it’s not as obvious as the lady with purple hair. The time frame from noticing something different and providing remediation will determine if that child is destined to Yale versus jail.  Research shows that 3 out of 4 men in prison cannot read, but they were at school every day during kindergarten through 2nd grade. Being different doesn’t mean being wrong.

For the 2019 Christmas season, this is what I want Santa to bring me. My answer is different. I would like for Santa to bring me and all of my readers my latest book titled “Why Sammy Still Can’t Read” so we all can discover the more than 70 symptoms that make our children different. This book shows you how to spread love in the educational arena by increasing the awareness of dyslexia to all parents, teachers and providing remediation services in a timely manner to all children that will not only learn to read but read to learn for life.