At the beginning of high school, it was determined that I had a visual processing disorder, which is very similar to dyslexia. I have trouble remembering things, understanding patterns in math, reading, writing, and worst of all I have extreme test anxiety because of it. It takes me longer than other students to complete tasks such as solving an equation or writing an essay. My school psychologist gave me paperwork that states that in any test, assessment, etc. I should be given time and a half on every timed test or assignment that I needed. One of my teachers in high school would make me go to a separate room than all the students in my class because of it. If I had a question on one of the problems on the test I would not have access to asking her because she rarely came and checked on me or put any kind of thought into why this might be unfair to me as a student. Additionally, she would introduce the new unit of work immediately after the previous unit test. I never was taught the basics of each topic, leaving me behind before I have even had the chance to start. This teacher made me feel like I was less than all of the other students because of something I have no control over. 

          There are many historical precedents relating to the discrimination of peoples with dyslexia. It is believed that scientists and psychologists have only been studying dyslexia for about 130-150 years, which is not that long. Due to this in the past, there has not been much reliable research conducted about dyslexia. This leaves the people to draw uneducated conclusions about it, creating a false narrative. One of the most common conclusions drawn about dyslexia is that it is just a “middle-class myth”. The people that believed this thought that parents would just say that their kids had dyslexia to cover up the fact that their child was just not good at reading. Many people that had dyslexia in the past have lost out on both educational and job opportunities because employers were not obligated to acknowledge dyslexia as a disability nor provided accommodations. Dyslexia was not widely known or acknowledged in the past, and it only became protected under the ADAAA just recently, in 2008 when revisions were made to the initial ADAAA. This major protection against discrimination created a foundation for those that were being discriminated against to fight back for their rights. In 2016 a case between two companies and a man named Kevin Lebowitz was introduced to the court. Kevin is a carpenter and he showed up to his first day on a job and was required to read a safety procedure manual, he explained that he had dyslexia and that he could take it home to find assistance reading it. He was then fired from the job because it was deemed that it was too unsafe for him to work because he could not read the manual. He was offered no accommodations. This case went to trial and ultimately Kevin won and was promised two settlements for “damages”. Many other previous cases of discrimination due to having dyslexia have gone unnoticed and unspoken because of the lack of government support on the issue until just recently.

          Going forward I hope that the world as a community can normalize and accept dyslexia as a disability. 15% of people are believed to have dyslexia, so it is not as uncommon or weird as people might think. I would tell the future generations to accept and look out for those who have dyslexia. I would suggest that schools work to normalize dyslexia. Students often feel as if they are weird or stupid if they have “symptoms” of dyslexia. Nothing can ever make up for discrimination of any kind in the past, but as humans, we should be able to acknowledge mistakes and create change for a better future. I think that schools should provide more accessible, and widespread testing for dyslexia at an early age. This would help so many students succeed, and learn ways to cope with dyslexia, rather than just overlooking it as most people do. I know that if I had known in elementary school or even middle school I would have been more successful in school and would have learned to adapt sooner and quicker. I leave the future generations with this, do you want to be the generation who continues to oppress those that need your support first, or are you going to be “the generation that gets it right”? -- Sister Juanita Shealy CSJ.