How dyslexic students can advocate for themselves

Commander Ben salutes all dyslexic students in front of Lake Travis near Austin, Texas.

October is dyslexia awareness month. I want to share with you my greatest tip: advocate for yourself.

Advocating for yourself is of the utmost importance. If you do not advocate for yourself, not only will people not understand your condition, they may even consider you resistant to learning or lazy. (And dyslexic students are not lazy!)

How can you advocate for yourself through your words and actions?

• Use your words. Go and talk to your teachers directly, explain your difficulties reading, and ask them for their help and understanding.
• Do the best that you can in your subjects, even the small assignments. This will show that you’re a hard worker, and you don’t let your dyslexia hold you back.
• Stay positive. Not only will this help you in coping with dyslexia, this will prove to others that you’re resilient and strong. You won’t allow the challenges of your learning difference to get you down.

As dyslexic students, we have more challenges than other young people, and I believe that helps forge us into steel. Steel is very strong, and our experiences, our efforts to overcome challenges, and even the failures that we learn from will give us the strength to achieve great success in the future.

Learning Ally and the Sound of Reading

I made the Sound of Reading documentary last year to help shed light on the struggles of having dyslexia, and how Learning Ally has helped to provide audio versions of textbooks and other printed materials to dyslexic students and those with learning difficulties. Their audiobooks give students, like myself, the opportunity to learn and be successful.

Texas Book Festival and Rawson Saunders

At last year’s book festival, I had the opportunity to interview director Luis Macias about his Embracing Dyslexia movie. Many thanks to Ms. Mandy Tucker and Rawson Saunders for giving me the chance to talk with the director and the talented students from the Rawson Saunders school.

In 2014, Rawson Saunders students will also be sharing their latest works. Be sure to visit them if you’re at the Texas State Capital this weekend for this year’s Texas Book Festival.

Your friend,
Ben