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Governor Responds to Lunenburg Family - October Recognized As Dyslexia Awareness Month 

Governor Tim Kaine recently signed a certificate of recognition declaring October 2007 as Dyslexia Awareness Month. This will allow parents, educators and supporters an avenue to spread the word about dyslexia.

Dyslexia currently affects 1 in 5 people and can range in severity from mild to severe. More than 10 million Americans currently suffer from this learning disability and many of them are unaware of it. There are many myths about dyslexia including that these children have low IQ’s, they could never learn to read on their own or they just see things backwards.

Fortunately all of these are false. Dyslexia is a language processing disorder that affects phonemic awareness; the code the brain uses to read. Not only are dyslexics very bright but they often excel in different areas. Just a few famous dyslexics include Walt Disney, Charles Schultz, Charles Schwab, Cher, Harry Belafonte, Edison, Einstein, Tom Cruise and the list goes on and on.

Some early warning signs may be delayed speech, constant confusion of left versus right, difficulty learning to tie shoes, can’t create words that rhyme, terrible spellers, slow, choppy inaccurate readers and poor written expression. These are just a few of the signs that you may notice in yourself, your child or a loved one.

If you have concerns that you or someone you love may be dyslexic or you would like to learn more about dyslexia, please contact the International Dyslexia Association at http://www.interdys.org or Bright Solutions for Dyslexia at http://www.brightsolutions.us. As a parent of a child who is dyslexic, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Governor Kaine for his support in this quest. Together we can educate ourselves, our communities and our school systems to preserve the future of our children.

Jackie S. Daniel