Dyslexia Stories
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Dyslexia Stories
Dyslexia from a Girls Perspective
Katie Fludgate, a 16-year-old high school student from Brooklyn and one of our youngest volunteers, writes about dyslexia from a girl’s perspective. Katie highlights the phenomenon that girls are identified late or not at all. Her perspective is corroborated by a range of studies on the subject, including Arms, Bickett & Graf (2008), suggests that girls habitually miss out on diagnosis because boys are more likely to cause active disruption by not behaving in class when they’re disengaged – girls are more likely to disengage quietly, to daydream or talk quietly, making it less obvious when something is wrong and a less pressing matter to pursue a diagnosis. This hinges on differences in how both parties are socialized and unconscious gender biases within the education system. This needs to change as girls with untreated dyslexia are more likely not to attend college, become teenage mothers, victims of addiction, and require public assistance.
References:
Emily Arms , Jill Bickett & Victoria Graf (2008) Gender bias and imbalance: girls in US special education programs, Gender, and Education, 20:4, 349-359, DOI: 10.1080/09540250802190180
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Dyslexia from a Girl's Perspective
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Dyslexia affects 10-20% of the population according to a New York Times report in February 2023 but without legal standards for testing in New York City countless children go undiagnosed. I was one of those children and did not get diagnosed with dyslexia until I was thirteen years old in Eighth grade. It was April 2020 and I was online learning during COVID-19 when I was assigned a math test and copied all of the problems from the zoom screen wrong in my notebook. I was a strong math student and couldn't understand when my teacher returned the test how I could have gotten so many questions wrong. When I spoke with my math teacher she pointed out that I had copied all of the numbers down incorrectly. After getting over my initial shock and embarrassment, I went and cried talking to my mom explaining that I struggled with copying off the screen to notes. My mom originally thought I might have a vision problem and immediately scheduled an eye doctor appointment but as we started talking about issues I struggled with my mom realized there was likely another issue going on.
For years I had struggled with spelling constantly in the lowest spelling groups in elementary school and feeling ashamed I couldn't learn to spell like the other kids in my class. I could read, but I would find my eyes scanning around on the page missing words. I attributed this to just not enjoying reading like my friends but in retrospect, it was that it was hard for me. There were other small, but subtle signs that I didn't fit the norm of a typical child. I couldn't use scissors properly and cut in a straight line and I disliked writing when I was younger. As my mom and I talked, she decided to notify my school and call a neuropsychologist to evaluate me.
Fifteen minutes into my neuropsychologist appointment I remember the doctor leaving the room to talk to my mom. I could hear him outside the door "This is looking clearly like dyslexia." I remember hearing those words and wondering how that could be true. I could read after all and wondered how it was possible I could be thirteen and not know I was dyslexic. After three days of intensive testing, I sat with the neuropsychologist and he explained my diagnosis and the types of support I would need at school. He explained how common it is for dyslexia diagnoses to be missed, particularly in girls as they can appear more quiet and cooperative at school making it easier to hide learning struggles as they don't voice their problems as much so they are missed by schools. That resonated with me as I remember not telling my teacher how hard spelling was for me or what I struggled with when reading books. I was able to get through regular reading screenings and my diagnosis just slipped through the cracks.
I am lucky that my family was able to get me evaluated and an academic plan in place and my school has been very supportive and helpful, but for so many children this isn't possible. It can be economically prohibitive, schools don't have the support in place to provide help and many students will continue to go untreated. Without the academic support I have in place now, I definitely would not be able to be where I am, and know it's only advocacy and change to literacy laws and testing that can help other children like me who without these changes will go undiagnosed. If the reported percentage of New York City children is 10-20%, imagine the real number of diagnosed children if proper laws were in place requiring mandated screenings and support for children at risk for dyslexia.
There are a lot of misconceptions about dyslexia. Students in my class are shocked when I say I'm dyslexic as I'm a good student. They then will point to something and ask me if I can read it. I am always perplexed when people do that, but I understand there's a lot of confusion about dyslexia and learning differences. My brain learns differently than other people and I know that with extra time and tools like audiobooks and typing my notes instead of handwriting them I'm able to achieve a lot more academically. Just knowing my diagnosis and getting an academic plan in place with my school has been a major change in improving my confidence and success in school. All students deserve these supports and New York politicians should demand change to not leave any more children behind. Literacy is a problem that doesn't have to exist in New York. All students can learn and the impact on their life and our community in New York would be significant with basic changes to our laws. I know this firsthand.
It's all of our responsibily as New Yorkers to use our voices to demand change laws and screening around dyslexia. Literacy is a basic human right and we all need to demand action to help give a voice to the children like me who went undiagnosed for far too long. Sadly, literacy problems in New York are not limited to dyslexic students. In fact, 51% of New York State’s 3rd grade general education students read below grade level. This is a crisis in New York and legislation needs to be put in place to combat this serious problem.
For years I had struggled with spelling constantly in the lowest spelling groups in elementary school and feeling ashamed I couldn't learn to spell like the other kids in my class. I could read, but I would find my eyes scanning around on the page missing words. I attributed this to just not enjoying reading like my friends but in retrospect, it was that it was hard for me. There were other small, but subtle signs that I didn't fit the norm of a typical child. I couldn't use scissors properly and cut in a straight line and I disliked writing when I was younger. As my mom and I talked, she decided to notify my school and call a neuropsychologist to evaluate me.
Fifteen minutes into my neuropsychologist appointment I remember the doctor leaving the room to talk to my mom. I could hear him outside the door "This is looking clearly like dyslexia." I remember hearing those words and wondering how that could be true. I could read after all and wondered how it was possible I could be thirteen and not know I was dyslexic. After three days of intensive testing, I sat with the neuropsychologist and he explained my diagnosis and the types of support I would need at school. He explained how common it is for dyslexia diagnoses to be missed, particularly in girls as they can appear more quiet and cooperative at school making it easier to hide learning struggles as they don't voice their problems as much so they are missed by schools. That resonated with me as I remember not telling my teacher how hard spelling was for me or what I struggled with when reading books. I was able to get through regular reading screenings and my diagnosis just slipped through the cracks.
I am lucky that my family was able to get me evaluated and an academic plan in place and my school has been very supportive and helpful, but for so many children this isn't possible. It can be economically prohibitive, schools don't have the support in place to provide help and many students will continue to go untreated. Without the academic support I have in place now, I definitely would not be able to be where I am, and know it's only advocacy and change to literacy laws and testing that can help other children like me who without these changes will go undiagnosed. If the reported percentage of New York City children is 10-20%, imagine the real number of diagnosed children if proper laws were in place requiring mandated screenings and support for children at risk for dyslexia.
There are a lot of misconceptions about dyslexia. Students in my class are shocked when I say I'm dyslexic as I'm a good student. They then will point to something and ask me if I can read it. I am always perplexed when people do that, but I understand there's a lot of confusion about dyslexia and learning differences. My brain learns differently than other people and I know that with extra time and tools like audiobooks and typing my notes instead of handwriting them I'm able to achieve a lot more academically. Just knowing my diagnosis and getting an academic plan in place with my school has been a major change in improving my confidence and success in school. All students deserve these supports and New York politicians should demand change to not leave any more children behind. Literacy is a problem that doesn't have to exist in New York. All students can learn and the impact on their life and our community in New York would be significant with basic changes to our laws. I know this firsthand.
It's all of our responsibily as New Yorkers to use our voices to demand change laws and screening around dyslexia. Literacy is a basic human right and we all need to demand action to help give a voice to the children like me who went undiagnosed for far too long. Sadly, literacy problems in New York are not limited to dyslexic students. In fact, 51% of New York State’s 3rd grade general education students read below grade level. This is a crisis in New York and legislation needs to be put in place to combat this serious problem.
