Growing up in the Seattle Metroplex with two older brothers was always an adventure! I greatly admired my brothers and wanted to do everything that they were doing. I joined the swim team, played with G.I. Joe dolls, water-skied, and just like them, I was eager to begin school.
Unfortunately, I was not like my brothers. I soon realized that school was challenging. It became apparent to me, at an early age, that when it came to academics, I was nothing like my brothers. Learning was not second nature; school was challenging.
I recall my teachers telling my parents that I was not applying myself. I was simply not trying hard enough. I began to dread going to school while in elementary school, the pressure and anxiety made me physically ill. I was cognizant that there was something wrong with me because, unlike my peers and brothers, reading was challenging.
"Claire just needs to practice more. She needs to put forth more effort." -Teachers would say. What teachers didn't seem to realize was that I was trying. I wanted to be a good student; I just didn't know-how. While my brothers were in gifted and talented programs, I was in reading recovery. I concluded that I was DUMB!
Fortunately, things turned around. In the fourth grade, a psychologist assessed me. He quickly dismissed my theories about how my intelligence was to blame for my weak reading and writing abilities and determined that I had a learning disability. Later on, I would discover that that learning disability was dyslexia.
Soon after undergoing testing, my parents brought me to see an educational therapist who taught me how I learned. She rebuilt my confidence and taught me how to use my strengths to overcome the challenges of having a learning disability.
While it was a boost in my confidence to have an explanation as to why I was struggling and tools to learn, school was still hard. I continued to resent my brothers; they never had to study for their exams. My classmates would brag about how little time they spent on assignments while receiving As. I, on the other hand, had to outline, draft, edit (and edit some more) before I would finish assignments and didn't always receive the A I thought I deserved.
It wasn't until I entered college that I realized what a blessing it was that I struggled so much early on in school. The same peers that had bragged about putting in no effort into assignments began to fail in classes. I, however, was at an advantage, I knew how to work hard on tasks, I had the stamina to work long hours on assignments and study for tests.
Today I am grateful that I have dyslexia. It has taught me to have a strong work ethic and how to approach and solve problems differently. Most importantly, having dyslexia has given me compassion for others with learning differences. I know firsthand what it is like to struggle in school. Today, there is no greater joy than working with individuals that are like me.
-Claire F. Cochran
Here is a picture of me in the 2nd grade.