Welcome to Part 2 of my blog series. To read Part 1, please click here. Also, please email me with any feedback that you might have on the series. Now, continuing on to 5th – 9th grade.
Fifth grade: “Your daughter is smart.”
I had my favorite teacher in fifth grade. Mr. Hawkins was able to take my standardized test scores from 0 in some areas to the highest percentile in some subject areas. It was his innovative way of teaching that allowed me to learn. He built scroll machines and would have our lessons written on butcher paper. He would feed the lesson through the machine while saying aloud what was written.
This multi-sensory way of teaching allowed me to follow along and understand the material being presented. His innovations are what has always inspired me with my work. You never know who or how you may be helping others.
Sixth grade: “No, Betsy cannot be a dentist. She will never past the vision test.”
After getting my first toothbrush at the dentist, I thought being a dentist would be what I’d want to do for a living. I dreamed about how I would decorate my office with race-car-themed exam chairs and have a really good prize draw for all of my patients. I remember when I went in for one of my checkups, my mom asked my opthamologist, “Do you think Betsy can be a dentist?” He answered very matter of factly, “No, Betsy cannot be a dentist. She will never pass the vision test.” It was at that time it dawned on me that my vision kind of sucked.
Seventh and eighth grade: I am socially awkward.
In this grade, many girls started having crushes on boys. I, on the other hand, had no concept of how to interact with someone else, so I was very socially awkward. My parents thought I was a very shy introvert. My underlying fear of speaking and being made fun of is what really kept me hidden in my room away from my peers.
During this time as well, I stopped being able to play sports because everything seemed to just start dislocating. I went through a series of operations, one that continued into my early 20s, to keep my kneecaps, ankle tendons, and the bones in my feet in the proper place.
On the plus side of things, the lack of a social life and laying on my back recuperating gave me a lot of time to do my homework and I also learned how to sleep on my back in a stationary straight line very well.
Ninth grade: Putting sounds to sleep, doing therapy for a five-year-old at 17.
In the summer of my ninth-grade year, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. This was a surprise to my parents. There was a speech therapist in town who did the testing and said that she could do therapy with me to help with my dyslexia, but it was too expensive.
My very resourceful mom did some research on her own and found Lindamood-Bell. Lindamood-Bell is a company that has pioneered several programs to develop the sensory-cognitive processes and help develop people’s reading and comprehension. As a downside of living in rural New Mexico, there was not a Lindamood-Bell center for me to go to for therapy, so my mom contacted the company and asked if she could buy the materials from them and be my therapist. I really appreciate my mom taking the initiative to do this. She learned how to run the program and be my therapist.
We started therapy during my summer break. I was very excited to be finally getting help, but quickly that excitement turned to tears and embarrassment. I quickly learned that many activities, actually the entire program, was designed for five-year-olds.
I remember doing an exercise where my mom laid out six cards at a time. It was my job to say the sound of a letter on a card and then “put the sound to sleep” (the name of the game) by laying a piece of felt over the letter. I would make a noise and my mom would say “No, it’s this…” I would try again and she would say, “No, listen, it’s this…” She would also demonstrate where my tongue should be placed in my mouth and the shape my lips should have.
We went back and forth, back and forth. I just could not get the sounds right. I felt humiliated. I thought I should have learned this when I was five. This wave of anger came over my teenage self as I thought, “Why did my parents not address this when I was younger?” Not to mention my brain really hurt and I felt really tired. I did not think of this at the time, but when your brain is learning so much new information, like how to make the sound of a letter properly, it gets tired because it’s working so hard. I started balling and yelled at my mom, something along the lines of “I give up!” and ran up to my room.
After I calmed down, I began to think about things. “Do I want to be able to speak clearly?” I thought, “Yes, I do. I want to be able to make friends and call them up on the phone without worry.” Over the course of the summer, my mom and I struggled through the program but I was excited to start high school with my new speaking abilities.
That is all for today. I will post Part 3 tomorrow.
Please, if you are questioning therapy, give it a try. Who knows what possibilities it will bring? If you have any questions or need some support, please email me through the contact form.
I am here for you.
Sincerely,
Betsy
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