As an only child, Cathy Drennan gravitated toward grown-ups, especially smart ones. “I was kind of an intellectual, geeky kid,” she laughed. “I’d go to a dinner party and there was a kids’ table and an adults’ table, and I was like, ‘I’d rather sit at the adults’ table, ’cause the conversation will be more interesting!’ I was a nerdy little kid!”

Come first grade, the “nerdy little kid” landed in the highest reading group at school, only to realize she could not learn to read.

“And they’re like, ‘Okay, let’s, like, drop her down a little bit … Nope. How about down a little further?'” Drennan said. “And I don’t know how many reading groups there are, but I was in the bottom.”

Determined that her smart child not fail, Drennan’s mother did research, found a specialist, and got the diagnosis: Severe dyslexia.

Watch the full piece here.