Refocus your efforts on helping the truly needy among us.

[Hope]

As a person with dyslexia, life has been extremely difficult and profoundly frustrating. Compounding my struggles with this disability has been growing up in a single parent, impoverished inner city household and the resulting extreme social and educational deprivation I have faced. What little success I have experienced in life has been a result of me having to embrace the protestant work ethic from a very early age, and more than just believing in the Horatio Alger's story of the American dream, but coming to personify this folk philosophy of the average American. In fact, given the absence of any real and truly caring parental or other adult role models in my youth, this philosophy was really all I had to connect me to main stream American values, hopes and dreams. From a very early age, I desperately wanted to succeed, and I worked very hard in my attempt to materialize my hopes and dreams for a better future. In spite of my Herculean efforts that few supported or appreciated, I faced frustrating and insurmountable hurtles that dimmed those many youthful hopes and dreams I once so very much loved and believed in.

On my journey of life, I confronted, profoundly low expectations by the adults in my young life, ignorance, indifference, exploitation, an down right social bigotry and prodigious. In spite of all this, I graduated high school, with academic honors, within a school system in which most drop out of school. In fact, my sister and two brothers all quit school. Against all expectations for me, I graduated undergraduate school and earned a Bachelor Degree in Business, went on to graduate school and earned an MBA in International Business, and then went on to the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University to do PhD work that I did not complete. Regardless of my substantial academic achievements, after completing school I faced continuous under employment and unemployment. My hopes and dreams, earning potential, career, social status and my very life all have been devastated by this very private and profoundly lonely battle I have fort all my life, and there is no consolation in fighting the good fight, where there is so much at stake, and coming up empty.

If you really want to make a difference in helping those with dyslexia and others with learning disabilities, focus your efforts on helping, not those that are easy to serve, but search out those that are less obvious, who are growing up in despite poverty in American and have no real access to quality remedial education and education in general. Sadly, it is too late for me, but maybe, with a little more circumspection, those within the professions that serve the learning disabled my chose not to go about business as usual, and think outside the box, and at least make an equal effort in attempting to save the least of us from a life of humiliation, hardship, and frustration; as I attempted to save myself. Good luck and be true to your cause. A mind (life) is a terribly thing to waste.

Sincerely,
Hope

[Morning]

I understand. But, all dyslexics are in need, despite income level. I know that from experience as I work with many types of communities. We do not ignore a dyslexic child who is from a high income family as they may not know what to do. We do not ignore the poor dyslexic child. My energy, because of my own LD child, is to serve both.

Never think--because a person has money--that they have all the resources. Many small towns have limited budgets and do not offer the top of the line reading programs. Many familes in those small towns cannot afford private schools. As a result, many kids in small towns (especially LD kids) are being left behind. Yet, inner cities are getting grants, etc. They are doing well, believe me.
Small towns have limited special ed. budgets, limited tax base, etc. Guess who suffers--the kids. The same kids people l think are "well off" -- are getting pushed through high school with 2nd grade reading levels. Look at the state masterty scores of small towns and see what is going on. It is a shame.

So, let's be careful in telling people where and how their time should be spent. Instead, I focus on where my talent is best needed and I see emotional poverty in all income classes. My goal is for children to read.

[Morning]

I grew up in an inner city. Guess what--there is hope. As one who grew up among neglect and abuse, I will never say to favor helping one group over another. Dyslexia research is important for all people. The word "truly" as in truly needy is misguided. For I know that it serves no purpose to put down those who have. For the old saying, "walk in another person's shoes" holds true for you.

There are many stories of hope and achievement out there from those who have had it far worse than you. Yet, you make it sound like the end of the world. I am a mother of a dyslexic child and I show strong signs of dyslexia. I never gave up or blamed others for my problems. I fought my way through. And, most importantly, I am willing to advocate for others regardless of income levels and social status and race. Guess what, I am African American.

I guess I learned such from my father (who had it far worse than you or me). He grew up in the segregated south and lived through the process of desgregation. Guess what, he never taught us to hate. He taught us to help all people from the rich person on the other side of town to the drug addict who was cold on a winter's night. We are all human. See, he never gave up or blamed others, society, etc. on his status, condition, etc. The best examples he gave us were to be persistant, be faithful, don't blame, take risks and move on.

If you feel that there is no hope for you--look inisde yourself very deeply and please don't try to impose guilt on others. Believe me, it will only hurt you. I wish we could sit down and talk and have a discurse on all of this. But, it this post helps you to have hope--then it has served a purpose. As a mother, I know how hard this all must hurt you.

Believe me, There is hope but it has to come from within yourself. I live in a small town and my son was pushed along through the school system. This was a surburban school. Imagine that. If those reading your post took your advice, my son would be left behind. I am glad that many people see beyond class lines and help dyslexic kids of all races, income status, etc.

Please have hope, get help and believe in your future. Look at yourself, you have finished college--more than most dyslexis. You are able to put your thoughts down on paper, more than most dyslexics. You have an MBA--my gosh (you are blessed). The stories I hear will make you cringe about what happens to those who give up. You made it. I would suggest you become an advocate for dyslexics and see the beauty in helping all types of people. I am proud that you made it to get your MBA.

[steve]

as a child growing up in the 60s i all ways had to struggle in school i was tested inconclusevly for dyslexia.i think if i was tested now they would say yea you got it son.any way as a teen i was kicked out of high school and went in to the the trades.i now make up to six figures working on industrial eqipment and am putting my daughters though collage [tx am and ut austin]. my problem with the system is that it filters us into the street even if we are gifted in some area.i was given strong problem solving skills. man i wish this thing had spell check