Recognizing an invisible disability - Henry Winkler style

Getting back at it

Phew!! After a busy summer and a September of new beginnings for our staff and students, it seems like the perfect time to start blogging again.

It's hard to believe we'll be flipping the calendar page to October tomorrow. It's a month to stop and think about what living with a learning disability is like. October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month around the world, and we're planning to pay tribute to all who live with an LD right here in this blog. Share your story with me at rhonda.brown@bridgeway-academy.com and I'll post it. I want to know about your triumphs and your struggles. Together, we can raise awareness and extend compassion and maybe, just maybe, help a few more people understand that not everyone learns the same way.


Thank you Henry Winkler

I just finished the very first book in the Hank Zipzer series, "Niagara Falls, Or Does It?" If you have a young person with LDs in your life, I would encourage you to introduce them to these books. They're a funny, honest look at what young Hank Zipzer, Grade 4 student, deals with day-in and day-out at his school.

Henry Winkler co-authors the books with Lin Oliver, and they are loosely based on Henry's growing up years. You see, Henry Winkler has dyslexia, and school was often a struggle. Here's a little snippit from a Q&A on the website in which Henry on what it was like living with an LD:


What was it like growing up with Dyslexia?
When I was growing up in New York City, no one knew what dyslexia was. I was called stupid and lazy, and I was told that I was not living up to my potential. It was, without a doubt, painful. I spent most of my time covering up the fact that reading, writing, spelling, math, science—actually, every subject but lunch—was really, really difficult for me. If I went to the store and paid the bill with paper money and I was given coins back for change, I had no idea how to count up the change in my head. I just trusted that everyone was being honest.


Unfortunately, not enough has changed over the last several years, and kids are still struggling without the resources they need. Learn more about LDs, and do what you can this month to help us raise awareness!

Rhonda