LD Blog

The Battle Creek (MI, US) Enquirer picked up an article by Meredith Bivens of the Lakeview High School Crystal about Suzee Dunn, a fellow student who has dyslexia. It’s a nice story of achievement in the face of the adversity that comes with Learning Disabilities.

Ms. Bivens captured some of the important ideas about LD. In addition to describing Ms. Dunn’s personal view of dyslexia, Ms. Bivens touches on the Dunn family, the importance of hard work, and other features revealed by the case. Although readers of LD Blog will recognize a myth that Ms. Bivens repeats (anyone?) in the following quote, the story also reveals some serious problems with LD.

Dyslexia is thought to be genetic, and that seems to be true in the Dunn family. While Greg Dunn, Suzee’s father, finished school with a 4.0 grade-point average, her mother, Kathy Sue Dunn, and her brother, Bud, both struggled with dyslexia from an early age.

Once Suzee began showing signs of dyslexia, Mrs. Dunn noticed immediately and knew what was going on. From kindergarten through third grade, teachers thought she would grow out of it, or she might be suffering from other problems.

“My third-grade teacher suggested going to see an eye doctor, which we did. I didn’t need glasses,” Suzee said. “She then suggested getting my hearing checked. We did that also, and I had no hearing problem.”

Luckily for Suzee, her fourth-grade teacher recognized the signs of dyslexia. Suzee’s pediatrician referred her family to the Kalamazoo Pediatric Neuropsychology Doctor.

“I was tested that summer, and we were informed that I had both dyslexia and dyscalculia (the transposition of numbers),” Suzee said.

I’m glad someone had the foresight (excuse me) to rule out vision problems in Ms. Dunn’s case, but I’m very sorry that her teachers did not take action earlier in her life. To the extent that Ms. Dunn’s recollections accurately represent what happened, it is embarassing to see that teachers promoted her difficulties by dismissing her problems or attributing those problems to spurious explanations.

Link to a PDF of the actual issue of the student paper that included Ms. Bivens’ story; it focuses on dyslexia and includes several other features, too (check the art!). Otherwise, Link to Ms. Bivens’ story in the Enquirer.