Up to 1 in five people are dyslexic, but many people are never diagnosed and public schools struggle to adapt to students with the learning disorder.
Clearwater’s duPaul School for Dyslexia specializes in helping students overcome the difficulty dyslexia causes for them in reading, but can accommodate only 100 students in kindergarten through 8th grade. It recently won accreditation from the Florida Council of Independent Schools, the only school for the dyslexic to earn that distinction. The school was founded in 1983 and its curriculum is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to learning how to read, which was developed by Dr. Charles Shedd.
Annemarie McEwan, the head of school and executive director of the dePaul School for Dyslexia, discussed the challenges of overcoming dyslexia on WMNF WaveMakers with Janet & Tom on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
People with dyslexia are usually of average or higher IQ than someone without the disability, but can often made to feel stupid when they can’t recognize words. And that can lead to frustration and anger, which can lead to behavioral problems in school, said McEwan, whose own children attended dePaul. “They know that they don’t know,” said McEwen. “It’s not because they’re a bad person or a bad kid.”
Many successful people have overcome dyslexia, including Steve Jobs, the legendary CEO of Apple. One prominent local example is Richard Gonzmart, head of the Columbia Restaurant Group and the 1905 Family of Restaurants. Gonzmart struggled in school, unaware he was dyslexic until he was diagnosed and treated in his 40s.
Earlier this year, when receiving a lifetime achievement award from Tampa Tiger Bay Club, Gonzmart he told the crowd that his academic struggles made him feel stupid. But, he added, “we’re not stupid, we just think differently.” And maybe that ability to think differently is one reason he started the Ulele restaurant in a largely deserted area of Tampa Heights that has since been transformed.
Public schools with their stretched budget struggle to teach dyslexic students because to be effective classes need to be under 10 students. State-supported vouchers are available for parents who enroll their children in private school.
It’s rare that a public school will diagnose a student with dyslexia, McEwen said, because teaching them is so challenging.
Hear the entire conversation by clicking the link below, going to the WaveMakers archives or by searching for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you listen to podcasts.
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