Dealing with dyslexia: Student gives inside look at his struggle
By Evan Carden SA Editor

Matthew Strickland watches one of the instructional DVDs provided for him, which is designed to help him stay on the same learning level as the other students in his fifth grade class at Leroy High School. (Photo by Nan Strickland)

Matthew Strickland, a fifth grader at Leroy High School, wants desperately to be like other children, but he knows there is one part of his life that will always make it somewhat tougher for him to function.

Matthew struggles each day to deal with dyslexia. He has the desire to learn, but gets frustrated because his brain makes it harder for him to process the information given to him.

"Dyslexia is a living pain," he said recently, in describing his disorder. "The worst part is that I have trouble with most of my subjects at school. Right now science is really difficult."

Matthew sometimes has a hard time telling you what is on his mind, but those who have the patience to give him the time to get his thoughts out, begin to realize that he is a very bright young man despite his condition. His dyslexia, coupled with attention deficit disorder (ADD) has put him in a double jeopardy position when it comes to keeping up with the other students in his class.

This is the area of the library designated for Matthew to review his special teaching lessons on DVD to assist him in learning how to use body movements to relate to the things he reads. (Photo by Nan Strickland)

Repetition and memorizing things are the tools Matthew has learned to use in order to do the best he can in school. "If I hear it a number of times I can get the main points," he said. "I memorize a lot of things, especially for tests," he said.

A good example of how Matthew struggles is open book tests. Whereas most students do well on such exams, he has difficulty. "On an open book test we are required to give the page number and paragraph where we found the answer," he said. "That's where I get in trouble, because the dyslexia causes me to have difficulty reading."

Spelling has been a huge struggle for Matthew. Since his diagnosis, teachers do not count off for spelling errors. Because it takes him twice as long to complete a task, he is often given about half the work as the other students to complete.

"That makes other students and some of their parents think he is getting an unfair advantage," said Matthew's father, Dwain Strickland. "What they don't realize is that it is a lot more difficult for him to complete lessons than the average student."

Dwain and his wife Nan have worked tirelessly to get their son the help he needs to bring him up to the same learning level as his classmates. "Thankfully he (Matthew) has had teachers who have been willing to work with us and who understand what he is going through," added Dwain.

There are a few subjects Matthew doesn't have as much trouble with. Math is one of those and the other is music.

"He joined the band this year, which scared us a little at first," said Dwain. "But, because a different area of the brain is used for music, he is doing surprisingly well with it."

Nan said another surprise is the fact that her son actually enjoys public speaking. "He isn't afraid to get up in front of a large crowd and talk," she said. "That really took us aback."

Dwain said his son also shows an aptitude for mechanics. "On one occasion he figured out what was wrong with our lawn mower when it quit working," he said. "Another time we got caught on the roof when our ladder fell and he figured out that we could lower the drill by the cord, hook it under one of the rungs and lift it up. It amazes me how his thought process works."

Matthew's older brother, Paul, is not dyslexic. He has had virtually no problems making good grades.

"It's hard watching him have such a hard time learning," he said. "I also worry about people picking on him because of his dyslexia."

Paul said he doesn't mind helping his little brother with his homework because he wants him do well. "He gets distracted easily, so it's hard for him to study sometimes," he added.

That tendency to become easily distracted spills over into the time he spends away from his class during school to take his special training course. Because the regular classroom lessons are not broken down enough for him, he leaves one of his classes for approximately an hour each day to view and interact with a special DVD program provided by the Scottish Rites Foundation.

A space has been set up in the library for Matthew to take part in the program, but there is no guarantee that is where he will be every day, because sometimes classes utilize the library while he is trying to learn.

"I never know if I'm going to be in the same place working with the program," said Matthew. "If other students are around and making noise, it makes it harder."

"That goes back to his ADD," said Nan. "He is so easily distracted, the least little thing disturbs his thought process. The ideal situation would be that he has a quiet place where he isn't disturbed."

The Stricklands said they will never give up on obtaining the help their son needs to be a good student and a well-functioning human being. They will attend a training session conducted by the Alabama chapter of the International Dyslexia Association, Oct. 21, in Birmingham. The seminar is designed to help educators and parents learn how do better deal with the disorder.

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