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NARRATOR: Dyslexia
is a specific
learning disability

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that is
neurobiological
in origin

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and characterized by
difficulties with reading,
writing, spelling or math.

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However, people with
dyslexia are frequently
endowed with talent

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in fields such as art,
science, engineering
and athletics.

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Dyslexia appears in
all cultures and
languages in the world.

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JONATHAN MOONEY:
Uh, good afternoon.

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STUDENTS: Good afternoon.

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My name's Jonathan Mooney,
and it's a great honor
for me to be here.

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Every single time I speak
publicly, I'm very honest
about how for me

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and many kids
like me with
learning differences,

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school sucks
and sucks big time.

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Now...
STUDENTS: (CHEERING)

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I am dyslexic,
I have ADHD, and
ya'll know somethin'?

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I am proud
of it.

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I did not overcome
dyslexia. I am proud
to be dyslexic.

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I am proud to be
a member of
this community.

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I did not overcome
dyslexia. Y'all know
what I overcame?

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I overcame
"dys-teach-ia." Okay?
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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I overcame this
myth that there's
one way to learn,

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and if you don't fit
that one way, something's
wrong with you.

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Let me give
you an example
of how dyslexic I am.

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I studied English literature
at Brown University, right?
Ivy league university,

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studied English
literature, and I read
in the 12th percentile.

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Y'all know what
that means? That means
that I read today,

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I'm 30 years old,
I read like
a 7th grader.

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I've written two books
and I spell at
a 3rd grade level.

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Y'all lookin' at
someone who spells
like a 3rd grader.

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I didn't learn
to read until
I was 12 years old.

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I was labeled learning
disabled or dyslexic
in 4th grade.

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I was labeled ADHD, which
stands for attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder

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in 5th grade and
I dropped out of school
for a year in 6th grade.

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That year, 6th grade,
12 years old, I had
a plan for suicide.

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By the time
I was in
9th grade,

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I was told three
things about myself
on a daily basis.

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I was told
that I was
the stupid kid.

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I heard that
almost every day,
"John you are dumb."

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Number two,
I heard that I was
the crazy or bad kid.

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And number three,
I heard that I was

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lazy.

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Stupid, crazy and lazy.
I was told that
every single day.

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Anybody else in
the audience ever been
told that about themselves?

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Few of us right?

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This guy's going
to raise two hands
and a foot right?

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Yeah you
know it.
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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We're amongst
friends now
aren't we, you know?

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Stupid, crazy
and lazy because
I'm different,

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because y'all are different.
That's the message we get
from traditional schooling.

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We're told everyday
that there's one way
to be smart.

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Now that's a lie.
There are multiple
ways to be smart,

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but in school,
often there's
one way.

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Let's be
honest, right?
In first grade,

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if you spell poorly
and you got
bad handwriting,

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and you don't
read well, guess
what you're called?

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STUDENTS: (MURMURING)
You're called stupid.
Look, I know that we have

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euphemisms for it. I know that
I'm not literally called
stupid. I know I'm called,

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the "at risk learner."
Anyone ever
heard that one?

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Or my favorite. I'm the
special learner, right?
STUDENTS: (LAUGHS)

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Who gets to ride
the special bus

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to the special class
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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when there's not a damn thing
special about any of it right?
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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I've spent my
entire life chasing
this fiction

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that if I just
fixed my reading,
I'd be normal.

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If I fixed
my spelling,
I'd be normal.

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When the reality is,
normal people suck.
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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There is no normal.
There's only you.

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There's only
a singular
intelligence.

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There's only your strengths,
gifts and talents interwoven
with your struggles.

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Normal is
a dead end.

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LD and ADHD,
when channeled
correctly

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are not
abnormalities.

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They're differences.
They're strengths, they're
gifts, they're talents.

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Thank you all very much
for having me. I really
appreciate it. Thank you.

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STUDENTS:
(CHEERING AND CLAPPING)

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You know,
the challenge in

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understanding
this story

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is to understand

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what a monumental
negation of
who you are,

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as a human being,
it is to be told
you're stupid.

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I mean, you know,
I can sit around and
I can talk about it and

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I can tell you anecdotes
of growing up in
the stupid reading group

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and reading out loud,
and all of those things,
you know, scratch the surface

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of what it does to
a human being to point
at somebody and say,

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"Your mind
doesn't work,"

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or, "You're bad."

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The real
tragedy here is

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the...many of these kids are
not only not stupid, they're
the opposite of stupid.

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You know,
they are the

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the next generation
of artists or innovators
or creative thinkers.

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They're the
opposite of it.

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So, not only are
you demeaned as
a human being but,

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your authentic self,
you're really
disconnected from it.

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My last
school was

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uh, really big.

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A thousand, I think,
1,300 kids in the school
in 6th, 7th and 8th grade,

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and I got
beat up
all the time.

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The classes
were so big,
I would never get

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to have one on one time
with my teachers.

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They didn't understand me,
so all of my assignments
were marked down

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because I didn't
spell things correctly,
because of my dysgraphia.

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I didn't understand
the questions 'cause
of my dyslexia.

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I couldn't pay attention
'cause of my ADHD.

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And, I got in lots of fights
with the teachers because they
didn't understand what I was

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trying to say
or what I was
going through.

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You're always wrong.

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You're always
working so hard
to keep up.

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You know that
something's wrong.

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No one's
helping you.

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It was just something
you just stuffed and
stuffed and stuffed in,

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like it's just
such a painful
thing. And...

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...it's such a painful
thing to be confronted
with your...

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yourself.

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In 2nd grade, when
I was starting to be
diagnosed, uhm,

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my teacher
just like,

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she, uhm, sat me down
one day, as we were going
through all these things and

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and told me,
"Stop pretending."

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And that was, like,
that was a trip for me
'cause I was like,

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you know, I'm like eight
years old and stop pretending
about what? She goes,

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she said that I was
pretending to have
a learning disability

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so I could
get attention.

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It's just
a really
lonely feeling.

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You don't really
feel like anyone else
really gets you.

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Or really gets
where you're
coming from.

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I mean, it's hard,
it's hard to talk about

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not understanding
something when you don't
know why you're not.

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You know?

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'Cause like, I didn't
know. I just thought
I was dumb.

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I didn't realize that
there was anything preventing
me from understanding,

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and there were some things
I was good at, so I was
able to kind of hide it

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and compensate,
you know? For
awhile. (LAUGHS)

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The teacher would be like,
"Go up to the board
and spell out this word."

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You're in...it's like
deer in headlights
and it's like,

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"Uh, I don't know how
to spell it even when I'm not
being put on the spot."

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And just dreading
every day you
went to school,

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being picked on
because you're...

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like, considered one of
the foul marks of the school.
I just didn't like it.

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Like, don't pick
on me when it comes
down to reading.

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And like, if they did pick
on me to read, I'll find
a way just to get out of it.

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Like, I'll be
the smart one
in the class

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to make everybody laugh,
so they can kick me
out of class.

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You teachers
out there.

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Some of us don't know how
to approach someone and
say we have a problem.

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Some of us do.
Some of us don't.

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And sometimes,
if there is a kid
like that who's failing,

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who basically...why
don't you just go up and
ask if they have a problem?

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Stress takes a toll and
constantly being confronted
with your weakest

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parts, is
so frustrating.

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Uhm...but

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when you don't know any
better, when you don't
know how to deal with it.

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you just kind of take it.
You take it and
it's like a beating.

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You just keep taking it and
taking it and taking it,
because you're just like...

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I should just
work harder.

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In 6th grade
I was suicidal.

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And that was
pretty bad.

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Uh, I was admitted to
a hospital for a suicide
watch for a couple of weeks.

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I just gave up altogether
and I would stop
doing all my work

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because I was
so frustrated that
I couldn't express

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how I was thinking
onto paper or into
tests, anything.

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There will be times when I'll
pick up a book and it will be
exactly what I wanted to read.

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It's...I don't
know, the new
thing, the story,

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and I just really
want to read it
and I can't.

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And it kills me.

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Like, sometimes
I'll, like, cry.

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I'll pick up a book,
and I'll go to read it
and it hurts.

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I'm not going to
wake up one morning
and read.

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My brain is
just not
wired right.

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I'm gonna talk to you again,
a little bit more formally
about what dyslexia is.

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Right. As we
were talking
about it yesterday,

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it has to do with
reading, and writing
and spelling.

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Not with thinking.

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Right? It's not the
same as a difficulty
with learning.

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When a person
learns how
to read,

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there's a part of your
brain right in here,
called the angular gyrus,

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that does the translation work
of taking those symbols and
turning them into the sounds.

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Now, this is learned
behavior, but some
people learn it

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and that area of the brain
activates very quickly
in their lives.

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Age five or six they
get a little bit of
print instruction,

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little bit of an
idea of how to do it,
some practice,

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and that area of
the brain will
light right up.

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There are other people for
whom this area of the brain
is the one that lights up.

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It's up here
in the pre-frontal
cortex.

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That means you're
trying to think
your way through it.

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You're really
working hard.

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You're really
working hard to try
to decode it,

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but a different area
of the brain is lighting up
along with some of the

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things along this side
and back here in
the visual cortex.

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Different areas
of the brain
will light up

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and they're not
as efficient as

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that area which is the area
that processes that very
quickly and efficiently.

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It's trying to light up
as many areas as it can
to process that thing

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and it's actually,
literally, measurably

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uses five times
more energy to do
the same thing.

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So, if you get exhausted
while you're reading that
would be the reason.

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Keep that in mind.
You're working harder
for less gain, often,

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than the
other people
around you.

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But it's not because
you're not as smart
as they are.

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I have a question
about the ADD
and ADHD?

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ADD could be
attendant on this.

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People can have
both. Right?

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There are
some people who
are just dyslexic.

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There are
some people who
are just ADHD.

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And there are
some people
who have both.

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I think the numbers
are something like 25%
of dyslexics have ADHD,

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and something like
30% of ADHD people
have dyslexia.

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So there's
an overlap.

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Yeah.
Can dyslexia
affect like,

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how you write?
Like, with dysgraphia?

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Uhm, often times if
you're dysgraphic, it's
a sign that you're having

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trouble forming
the symbols.

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You know, I know
people who are
beautiful artists

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and can't
write letters.

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That's 'cause
the dyslexic.
It's hard,

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uhm, and sometimes,
I always say,
"I don't know.

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You know, I don't know
how some people get up
and come to school each day."

215
00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:18,767
Uhm, I don't know
how you do it.

216
00:14:18,834 --> 00:14:20,533
We don't either.
What?

217
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,333
We don't
know either.
I know! (LAUGHS)

218
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,767
Dyslexia is very
poorly understood

219
00:14:26,834 --> 00:14:30,433
by almost everybody
in society, including
our students

220
00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:34,633
who also don't know
what it is that's causing
their frustration,

221
00:14:34,700 --> 00:14:36,800
their difficulties.
They've just been

222
00:14:36,867 --> 00:14:41,800
dealing with them
for years, uhm, without
anybody really explaining

223
00:14:41,867 --> 00:14:45,000
the cognitive
or biological basis
of the condition.

224
00:14:45,066 --> 00:14:51,166
And so, uhm, the
biggest difficulty
is the emotional one.

225
00:14:51,233 --> 00:14:54,100
The first thing
we have to do
is, uhm,

226
00:14:54,166 --> 00:14:56,967
what I call,
academic rehabilitation.

227
00:14:57,033 --> 00:14:58,734
Just convincing them

228
00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,066
that the school system
is not going to
beat them up,

229
00:15:02,133 --> 00:15:06,400
and giving them
the idea that
they are smart.

230
00:15:06,467 --> 00:15:09,867
They can learn,
they can learn
to read.

231
00:15:09,934 --> 00:15:16,233
They can operate in
an academic environment,
uh, with success.

232
00:15:16,300 --> 00:15:22,166
And without someone
constantly telling them that
what they're doing is not

233
00:15:22,233 --> 00:15:26,300
right, when the fact is that
what their teachers have
been doing isn't right.

234
00:15:28,934 --> 00:15:33,867
When teachers and parents
are willing to step out of
their own box a little,

235
00:15:33,934 --> 00:15:37,633
and not say that, this is,
you know, "You need to
be in special ed.,"

236
00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:43,000
and there's so much confusion
about dyslexia. It can really
help the person that has it

237
00:15:43,066 --> 00:15:47,300
uhm, open the doors
for them, to feel good.

238
00:15:47,367 --> 00:15:51,633
Nothing feels good when
you're not comprehending
and you can't say it,

239
00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:54,533
and you're coming
home, like I did,
dejected again

240
00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:59,700
with another "D" stamped
on your test when
you struggled so hard.

241
00:15:59,767 --> 00:16:03,467
You know you know the
information but it doesn't
come out that way on paper.

242
00:16:03,533 --> 00:16:08,333
And I really didn't
want to be
stuck in a box.

243
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,934
Who does want
to be in a box
their whole life?

244
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,767
And so I wanted
to fight to get away
from that label

245
00:16:15,834 --> 00:16:20,166
or that judgment,
that just because
I learned different,

246
00:16:20,233 --> 00:16:22,700
I was different,
and therefore
if I was different,

247
00:16:22,767 --> 00:16:25,633
then now suddenly
society thought
I was inferior.

248
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:31,567
And I knew I wasn't.
Any dyslexic knows
that they're not inferior.

249
00:16:31,633 --> 00:16:35,533
They know that they
may be different, but
they've got to know

250
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,400
that they can rise
to that challenge
and overcome it.

251
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,533
Words to look out for,

252
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:47,934
struggled with,
afflicted by,
suffered from.

253
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,166
Those types
of words imply

254
00:16:51,233 --> 00:16:56,367
(MIMICS SADNESS)
"Oh it's so terrible.
Oh it's awful."

255
00:16:56,433 --> 00:17:01,667
I was not afflicted with
dyslexia. I was afflicted with
a poorly designed system

256
00:17:01,734 --> 00:17:04,400
that expected me
to be something I'm not.

257
00:17:04,467 --> 00:17:08,900
And those expectations
and my reality
did not go together.

258
00:17:08,967 --> 00:17:13,433
It is as though the sun
will explode if you say
out loud, "I read bad."

259
00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:18,900
Right? My name's
Ben Foss, and
I read terribly.

260
00:17:18,967 --> 00:17:22,734
There's still this element,
where you, thou must
be able to read.

261
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,967
And proficiently
and fast and spell
and write, and, uh,

262
00:17:27,033 --> 00:17:29,433
you know, I disagree.
You need to
read a little.

263
00:17:29,500 --> 00:17:31,934
I'll give you that.
You gotta be
able to function.

264
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,767
You gotta be able
to navigate the internet,
for instance.

265
00:17:34,834 --> 00:17:36,667
If you can get to
that point, good.

266
00:17:36,734 --> 00:17:39,467
And I'm not saying
the internet's going
to be your career,

267
00:17:39,533 --> 00:17:42,300
but that would be
my litmus test to say
you know enough.

268
00:17:42,367 --> 00:17:44,066
You could make up
for the rest.

269
00:17:44,133 --> 00:17:48,266
I think you have
a learning spectrum,

270
00:17:48,333 --> 00:17:50,800
uh, it's
not digitized,

271
00:17:50,867 --> 00:17:57,533
and education has picked
a very narrow window within
a long spectrum to teach.

272
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,867
And if you're lucky,
you fall in
that spectrum.

273
00:18:00,934 --> 00:18:04,400
If you're a little to the side
of the spectrum, you'll
probably do okay,

274
00:18:04,467 --> 00:18:06,066
you'll make it.

275
00:18:06,133 --> 00:18:08,233
And at some point,
when you get to
one end or the other,

276
00:18:08,300 --> 00:18:12,300
they'll label you with
somethin' and dyslexia's
a popular one, ADD is another.

277
00:18:12,367 --> 00:18:16,667
I don't subscribe in either
of those two, that anyone can
pinpoint, this is a disease.

278
00:18:16,734 --> 00:18:21,233
The way I look at
it is, you learn
outside of our today,

279
00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,033
here, United
States of America,
learning spectrum.

280
00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:27,100
Ah, I always like
to get to root cause
of a problem,

281
00:18:27,166 --> 00:18:29,400
and the root cause
of the problem
here is

282
00:18:29,467 --> 00:18:31,667
how we're teaching,
not how we're learning.

283
00:18:31,734 --> 00:18:33,633
And so you're labeling

284
00:18:33,700 --> 00:18:38,300
not a method of teaching, but
the method of learning when
the problem is the reverse.

285
00:18:38,367 --> 00:18:46,867
And so, we're trying
to fix the effect
and not the cause.

286
00:18:48,967 --> 00:18:51,967
NARRATOR: If a student
experiences a great
deal of frustration

287
00:18:52,033 --> 00:18:54,367
in a public
or private school,

288
00:18:54,433 --> 00:18:56,200
he may choose
to attend a school

289
00:18:56,266 --> 00:18:59,100
with a curriculum
designed for
dyslexic students.

290
00:18:59,166 --> 00:19:02,133
TEACHER: From the beginning.
I wouldn't
have helped

291
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,967
NARRATOR: The Kildonan School
in Amenia, New York

292
00:19:05,033 --> 00:19:08,667
uses a program that
addresses the strengths
of each student,

293
00:19:08,734 --> 00:19:13,166
while also providing
an individual daily
tutorial for reading.

294
00:19:13,233 --> 00:19:15,767
...uh, subject,
returning to me.
I couldn't...

295
00:19:15,834 --> 00:19:18,800
NARRATOR: Although
there are a number of
these private schools

296
00:19:18,867 --> 00:19:23,967
throughout the country,
they only serve 1% of the
students with dyslexia.

297
00:19:24,033 --> 00:19:26,033
...uhm,
his time.

298
00:19:28,934 --> 00:19:32,200
Export.

299
00:19:32,266 --> 00:19:36,033
(READS SLOWLY)
Emancipate. Emancipate.
Mm-hmm.

300
00:19:39,133 --> 00:19:40,600
Edifee.

301
00:19:41,734 --> 00:19:44,734
Edify.
TEACHER: Good.

302
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,867
(READS SLOWLY)
Uh, expedi...tation?

303
00:19:48,934 --> 00:19:54,500
(READS SLOWLY)
Expedition. Expedition.
Mm-hmm. Good.

304
00:19:56,734 --> 00:20:00,333
Effossi...sive.

305
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,000
This is long.

306
00:20:02,066 --> 00:20:04,834
Effuse...effusieve?

307
00:20:06,033 --> 00:20:07,900
Good. Effusive.

308
00:20:07,967 --> 00:20:10,066
What does
that mean?

309
00:20:10,133 --> 00:20:13,533
Well, first off
at Kildonan each
student receives

310
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,800
uhm, a tutorial,

311
00:20:15,867 --> 00:20:19,567
one hour or so,
Orton-Gillingham
tutoring period.

312
00:20:19,633 --> 00:20:23,633
Which is a
systematic, uhm,
very sort of

313
00:20:23,700 --> 00:20:28,266
methodical approach
to teaching, uhm, students
how to read and write.

314
00:20:28,333 --> 00:20:31,066
I've tutored, now,
dyslexics for
eight years,

315
00:20:31,133 --> 00:20:36,633
and I've never had
two kids that were
alike in their dyslexia.

316
00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:39,533
Uhm, there's
so many component
parts to it,

317
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:45,834
uhm, that although
there is a category
called dyslexia,

318
00:20:47,834 --> 00:20:51,867
I do not believe
that there is
any one dyslexic.

319
00:20:51,934 --> 00:20:55,033
I think that different
dyslexics have
auditory processing,

320
00:20:55,100 --> 00:20:58,734
verbal expression,
long term, short term
working memory.

321
00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:03,100
It's all different.
It's almost like a, maybe
when you edit the film,

322
00:21:03,166 --> 00:21:06,834
there'll be like, uhm,
a soundboard. I don't know
if you use a soundboard.

323
00:21:06,900 --> 00:21:09,633
They're all at
different levels.

324
00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:15,166
No immortal god escapes
from you, nor any man
who lives but for a day.

325
00:21:15,233 --> 00:21:18,433
And the one
whom you possess
goes mad.

326
00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:21,033
Even in good men
you twist
their minds,

327
00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:26,567
perverting them to their
own ruin. You provoke
these men to family strife,

328
00:21:26,633 --> 00:21:31,934
the bride's desire seems
glittering in her eyes that
conquers everything.

329
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,533
I have kind of
a tougher time
learning

330
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,266
than a "normal" person
would, you know? I can't
comprehend things.

331
00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:45,934
But I'm a fine reader.
Like, I can read
perfectly...

332
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,066
...basically. But I just
cannot comprehend what I'm
reading.

333
00:21:49,133 --> 00:21:51,600
So...yeah.

334
00:21:51,667 --> 00:21:55,200
I need one on one help.
I couldn't be in a classroom
with thirty people.

335
00:21:55,266 --> 00:21:57,700
Public school
is just way
too, uhm,

336
00:21:57,767 --> 00:22:00,266
way too many
people. I mean
it's fun, you know?

337
00:22:00,333 --> 00:22:02,734
It's fun being
with all your
friends and stuff.

338
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:04,233
But, uhm,

339
00:22:04,300 --> 00:22:07,800
it didn't
work out for me,
didn't cut it.

340
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,166
You know, dyslexia
is a serious thing
with me, at least,

341
00:22:13,233 --> 00:22:17,166
and I know tons of kids
that if you call them
mentally challenged

342
00:22:17,233 --> 00:22:20,166
or, like,
retarded,
I mean

343
00:22:20,233 --> 00:22:22,867
like, we're
not retarded.
Like, we're not.

344
00:22:22,934 --> 00:22:24,967
We are actually
really smart people.

345
00:22:27,467 --> 00:22:31,066
TEACHER: Okay,
so what does
this become?

346
00:22:31,133 --> 00:22:37,133
Uh, it becomes X
minus 3 squared.

347
00:22:38,967 --> 00:22:41,200
MARA: Then, plus Y

348
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,433
minus 2
quantity squared

349
00:22:45,367 --> 00:22:47,500
divided by one

350
00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:49,934
equals one.

351
00:22:52,934 --> 00:22:54,867
They didn't
really quite
understand me

352
00:22:54,934 --> 00:22:57,800
because I was
always good
at math.

353
00:22:57,867 --> 00:23:00,166
Math always
came easy
to me.

354
00:23:00,233 --> 00:23:04,767
It was a walk in
the park. I could do it
simply and easily.

355
00:23:04,834 --> 00:23:10,000
And reading,
everything just
fell apart.

356
00:23:10,066 --> 00:23:13,333
So they were kind of
like, "Oh, well she'll
grow out of it."

357
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,066
"She's so good at math.
She's so good at math
that she'll grow out of it."

358
00:23:17,133 --> 00:23:21,066
And then they said
this for a good
three or four years.

359
00:23:21,133 --> 00:23:24,000
And I'm staying
at the same level
where I am,

360
00:23:24,066 --> 00:23:29,500
and a year is going by and
everybody else is improving
but I'm staying behind.

361
00:23:29,567 --> 00:23:31,066
I would
never read
out loud.

362
00:23:31,133 --> 00:23:33,867
There would be no way,
because it would be
every other...

363
00:23:33,934 --> 00:23:37,233
not every other, like,
every word I'd be
stumbling through to get

364
00:23:37,300 --> 00:23:41,600
through, and it wouldn't
sound and usually they'd
just tell me to stop.

365
00:23:41,667 --> 00:23:43,600
I got through
a sentence and
I was like,

366
00:23:43,667 --> 00:23:47,433
all, everybody else got
through, like, three or
four paragraphs and I'm

367
00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:49,300
one sentence.

368
00:23:49,367 --> 00:23:53,266
I was three or four levels
behind and they asked me to
leave the school because

369
00:23:53,333 --> 00:23:55,333
they couldn't,
I mean,

370
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,800
I was so
far behind,
they didn't

371
00:23:58,867 --> 00:24:01,133
think I could
catch up
or anything,

372
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,500
which I really
needed at
that point

373
00:24:04,567 --> 00:24:08,834
some help, because
I wasn't reading
anything, really.

374
00:24:08,900 --> 00:24:14,767
Know that you're needing help
and, like, try to be specific
about what is going wrong.

375
00:24:14,834 --> 00:24:17,133
So, if you can
tell them,

376
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,433
"This is where
it's going wrong."

377
00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:23,934
Or like the reading part,
this is where it's going
wrong. And the writing part.

378
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,400
Like, try to be
specific as possible

379
00:24:27,467 --> 00:24:33,200
to, like, understand
your problem and
then ask for help.

380
00:24:33,266 --> 00:24:37,767
It, like, ask for help is
like, the simplest thing
you can do and yet

381
00:24:37,834 --> 00:24:40,300
yet not
many people
like doing that.

382
00:24:41,734 --> 00:24:44,967
So...and you
shouldn't
be ashamed.

383
00:24:46,133 --> 00:24:48,266
You should not
be ashamed, at all,

384
00:24:48,333 --> 00:24:51,800
for the fact
that you're having
this problem

385
00:24:51,867 --> 00:24:54,500
or to go
and ask
for the help.

386
00:24:56,834 --> 00:24:58,433
Unk.
Good.

387
00:24:58,500 --> 00:24:59,800
Ank.
Good.

388
00:24:59,867 --> 00:25:01,867
Oink. Onk.
Not oink.

389
00:25:01,934 --> 00:25:03,667
Is there an "I"
in there?

390
00:25:03,734 --> 00:25:06,300
Onk.
Onk and ong.

391
00:25:06,367 --> 00:25:08,133
Good.
What was
this word?

392
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:09,500
Oink.

393
00:25:09,567 --> 00:25:11,633
(LAUGHS) Do
you see any
pigs on here?

394
00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:15,767
No but there should be a pig.
Okay, but it
doesn't say oink.

395
00:25:15,834 --> 00:25:19,033
Okay? It's not a pig word.
Okay, so onk. Say it again.
Onk.

396
00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:20,333
Onk.

397
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,934
Okay, I get these...
I get "o" words
mixed up.

398
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,100
Okay. Good.
Ong.

399
00:25:26,166 --> 00:25:29,600
Okay, now be
very careful.
It's not a pig.

400
00:25:29,667 --> 00:25:32,900
Oink. Oing.
(LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS)

401
00:25:32,967 --> 00:25:36,767
Onk, onk.
Onk.

402
00:25:36,834 --> 00:25:40,600
The school wasn't
helping me the way
that it should have.

403
00:25:40,667 --> 00:25:45,467
It should have had
a program that would
help kids like me.

404
00:25:45,533 --> 00:25:49,467
But they didn't,
so we had
to look at,

405
00:25:49,533 --> 00:25:52,266
we had to
look at two
different schools.

406
00:25:52,333 --> 00:25:58,633
They said that this school
would be the best for me
because everybody fits in.

407
00:25:58,700 --> 00:26:01,333
It makes me feel
a little happy because

408
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:05,633
I know that all
these kids have
something that's,

409
00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:08,233
that's different
about them, and

410
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:10,967
it makes me
feel comfortable.

411
00:26:11,033 --> 00:26:16,600
Yeah, but for some
reason eating time
is a little, uhm,

412
00:26:16,667 --> 00:26:20,333
not on the good side
'cause I cry usually,

413
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,800
on Wednesdays

414
00:26:22,867 --> 00:26:26,333
and that's
kind of not
that happy.

415
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:31,033
But sometimes
it happens and
you can't stop that,

416
00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:34,133
but there are
ways that
you can.

417
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,700
INTERVIEWER:
Do you know why
you feel that way?

418
00:26:36,767 --> 00:26:39,200
Probably 'cause
at my old school

419
00:26:39,266 --> 00:26:42,300
kids never
wanted me to
sit next to them.

420
00:26:43,900 --> 00:26:45,767
They were
treating me, like,

421
00:26:45,834 --> 00:26:48,433
everybody else
in the school was

422
00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:51,900
like, a certain way
and I wasn't.

423
00:26:52,834 --> 00:26:55,433
So, they
thought that

424
00:26:55,500 --> 00:26:58,800
different was bad.
But different is good.

425
00:27:01,066 --> 00:27:04,467
INTERVIEWER:
And when did you
learn that?

426
00:27:04,533 --> 00:27:07,900
Well, it's
just, like,
an instinct to me.

427
00:27:12,867 --> 00:27:14,400
When I encountered
school,

428
00:27:14,467 --> 00:27:17,433
when my mother took me
to the school gates
to meet the teacher,

429
00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:22,166
through the school
gates and the teacher's
waiting for me,

430
00:27:22,233 --> 00:27:26,633
and I was greeted,
not greeted.

431
00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:31,467
I suppose I was
introduced to
an evil woman.

432
00:27:31,533 --> 00:27:34,300
It's just
like going into
Dracula's castle,

433
00:27:34,367 --> 00:27:38,500
being greeted
by somebody
who speaks like,

434
00:27:38,567 --> 00:27:42,500
with her head like this,
(MIMICS TEACHER)
"Are you the new boy?"

435
00:27:44,934 --> 00:27:46,767
Yes, yes.

436
00:27:46,834 --> 00:27:50,066
"You'll address me
as Mrs. Adams, and
don't you forget that."

437
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,467
And her eyes
would go...

438
00:27:54,533 --> 00:27:58,100
"Come along with me
and I shall introduce you
to the rest of the children."

439
00:27:59,033 --> 00:28:00,467
"Here's some chalk.

440
00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:03,333
Here's the blackboard.

441
00:28:04,266 --> 00:28:05,667
Write your name."

442
00:28:07,133 --> 00:28:13,133
So,I drew a picture
of a little man,
which was me. (LAUGHS)

443
00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,767
Some of the kids started
to chuckle. I could
hear them laughing.

444
00:28:16,834 --> 00:28:21,333
(MIMICS TEACHER)
"That's not your name.
Write your name!"

445
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:24,000
So I just got
the chalk
and made...

446
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,400
just a circle and
then another circle
and then...

447
00:28:29,467 --> 00:28:32,867
made a, drew a dog,
which was my dog

448
00:28:32,934 --> 00:28:37,033
and drew...whatever.

449
00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:40,066
Because I don't
have any experience
of writing so

450
00:28:40,133 --> 00:28:43,734
that was it.
And then she
said to me, uhm,

451
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:45,767
"Children,

452
00:28:45,834 --> 00:28:47,000
here we have

453
00:28:48,033 --> 00:28:50,734
an exhibition
of failure.

454
00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,867
He is
failure.

455
00:28:52,934 --> 00:28:55,266
This is what
not to become.

456
00:28:57,867 --> 00:29:00,000
The reason why

457
00:29:00,066 --> 00:29:03,133
the word failure
was written in
the dictionary

458
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:04,900
was because
of Willard.

459
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,633
Willard is failure."

460
00:29:09,867 --> 00:29:13,133
When she
told me that,
I, uhm,

461
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,400
I said to myself then,
even though I was
only a child,

462
00:29:17,467 --> 00:29:20,600
I realized what
she said so,

463
00:29:20,667 --> 00:29:22,834
because she
said I was that,

464
00:29:22,900 --> 00:29:26,633
uhm, she
destroyed me.

465
00:29:28,033 --> 00:29:30,100
So, I was destroyed.

466
00:29:30,166 --> 00:29:33,100
So, that was it.
Destroyed
academically.

467
00:29:33,166 --> 00:29:36,200
Obliterated.
That is it.

468
00:29:36,266 --> 00:29:40,633
I became a bit of
a recluse. I locked
myself away a lot.

469
00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:43,600
You know, disappear.
Like Howard Hughes.
(LAUGHS)

470
00:29:43,667 --> 00:29:46,200
And just stayed
there working.

471
00:29:46,266 --> 00:29:50,600
I did a carving of
Miss Havisham on
a toothpick on the point.

472
00:29:50,667 --> 00:29:53,934
And the first thing
my mother said
to me was,

473
00:29:54,000 --> 00:30:01,767
"That is beautiful.
That is very,
very nice.

474
00:30:01,834 --> 00:30:03,767
That is, incredible."

475
00:30:04,834 --> 00:30:07,367
My artwork
becomes a defense.

476
00:30:07,433 --> 00:30:10,834
So, I'm going,
"I am going to be
the greatest.

477
00:30:10,900 --> 00:30:14,834
I am going to be
the greatest," in
my head.

478
00:30:24,934 --> 00:30:28,567
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

479
00:30:47,367 --> 00:30:50,367
Thank you very much.
Yep. Pleasure.

480
00:30:50,433 --> 00:30:54,834
I saw a microscope
on the table and I put
my hand up to ask a question.

481
00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:57,100
And then
he said, uhm,

482
00:30:57,166 --> 00:31:02,734
"You don't need to, uh, know
because your brain doesn't
have the, doesn't have,"

483
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:04,834
Mr. Reilly said,
"You don't
need to know

484
00:31:04,900 --> 00:31:07,967
because your
brain does not
have the capacity

485
00:31:08,033 --> 00:31:12,767
so it's
pointless.
Next."

486
00:31:12,834 --> 00:31:16,533
So, when he said that to me,
I looked on the table
and saw a microscope

487
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,900
and that microscope
had my name
written on it.

488
00:31:18,967 --> 00:31:22,667
So I decided
to take the
microscope.

489
00:31:22,734 --> 00:31:24,900
And they went round,
you know, each boy,

490
00:31:24,967 --> 00:31:28,100
(MIMICS TEACHER)
"Bradford was it you
that stole the microscope?"

491
00:31:28,166 --> 00:31:30,266
Bradford would say,
"No, not me."

492
00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:34,233
"Whittaker was
it you?" No. "Cottle,
was it you?"

493
00:31:34,300 --> 00:31:37,834
"Lear was it you?
Thompson was it you?"

494
00:31:37,900 --> 00:31:41,066
"Fletcher was it you?"
"No sir, it wasn't me."

495
00:31:41,133 --> 00:31:42,967
And he came to me.

496
00:31:43,033 --> 00:31:46,400
"I know it's not you Wigan.
You wouldn't have a brain
for a microscope.

497
00:31:46,467 --> 00:31:48,767
"Turner, was
it you?" (LAUGHS)

498
00:31:49,967 --> 00:31:53,000
Yeah, that was good,
a good feeling.

499
00:31:53,066 --> 00:31:54,767
He said,

500
00:31:54,834 --> 00:31:58,533
"I know it's not you because
you wouldn't have the brain
for a microscope."

501
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,633
So that was good.
(LAUGHS)

502
00:32:00,700 --> 00:32:03,533
INTERVIEWER: And then
what did you do with
the microscope?

503
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,400
I became who
I am today.

504
00:32:06,300 --> 00:32:08,734
I continued

505
00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:13,767
to create smaller
and smaller
sculptures.

506
00:32:13,834 --> 00:32:17,266
Then I started
to experiment
with my fingers.

507
00:32:17,333 --> 00:32:20,700
As I was sculpting,
I was looking at the way
my pulse was moving.

508
00:32:20,767 --> 00:32:23,133
I started to train
my pulse beat

509
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,467
so I could work
between my
heartbeats.

510
00:32:26,433 --> 00:32:29,033
The frame
is the eye.

511
00:32:29,100 --> 00:32:32,734
If I wanted to
put Noah's Ark
inside there with

512
00:32:33,667 --> 00:32:35,800
15 animals

513
00:32:35,867 --> 00:32:39,400
or 20 animals,
I could.

514
00:32:39,467 --> 00:32:44,533
Me now, I could put 9 camels
in the eye of the needle,
which I already have.

515
00:32:46,166 --> 00:32:50,166
But my favorite was
Alice in Wonderland,
the Mad Hatter's tea party.

516
00:32:50,233 --> 00:32:53,900
That was my favorite one.
That's one I could
sit back and go,

517
00:32:53,967 --> 00:32:56,333
"Hmm. Yeah."

518
00:32:57,433 --> 00:32:59,333
Charlie Chaplin
was very hard.

519
00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,834
That's one of
the all time
favorites

520
00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:05,033
because he's
on the end
of an eyelash.

521
00:33:09,700 --> 00:33:12,967
And then,
before I knew it,

522
00:33:13,033 --> 00:33:16,133
I was invited
to Buckingham Palace
to receive

523
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:17,934
a medal.

524
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,400
It's one of the highest
honors you can get.
It's called the MBE.

525
00:33:22,467 --> 00:33:25,100
Prince Charles
was there.

526
00:33:25,166 --> 00:33:28,967
I bowed like that and
he shook my hands
and he said to me,

527
00:33:29,033 --> 00:33:34,600
(MIMICS PRINCE) "That is the
most phenomenal artwork I have
ever seen in my whole life.

528
00:33:34,667 --> 00:33:41,266
How does one create
such works of art? Such
wonders. It is beyond belief.

529
00:33:41,333 --> 00:33:44,400
You are
a true genius.

530
00:33:44,467 --> 00:33:48,433
Absolutely incredible."
And he was shaking
my hand for a long time.

531
00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:50,400
So my hand
was being shook.

532
00:33:50,467 --> 00:33:53,500
So, Rod Stewart
was waiting there
and a few more.

533
00:33:53,567 --> 00:33:57,333
And my hand was being
shook more than the others.
And he was saying to me,

534
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:01,033
"How do you keep
your hand so still
to do this work?

535
00:34:01,967 --> 00:34:04,200
It is pure genius."

536
00:34:04,266 --> 00:34:06,467
And then,
I'm just
thinking,

537
00:34:06,533 --> 00:34:10,900
"Thank you." Because every
time he's saying that to me,
I'm getting greater, and I'm,

538
00:34:10,967 --> 00:34:14,400
I'm looking back at
the past and I'm looking back
at the, back at...

539
00:34:14,467 --> 00:34:18,133
...my learning
difficulties and it
didn't matter anymore.

540
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,266
Dyslexic is
actually a gift.

541
00:34:23,033 --> 00:34:24,533
That's what
I believe.

542
00:34:27,433 --> 00:34:31,467
One of the things
that I laugh about
is when anyone says

543
00:34:31,533 --> 00:34:36,066
that reading is
a natural act.
Reading is un-natural.

544
00:34:36,133 --> 00:34:40,967
Reading is a cultural
invention. There is
nothing natural about it.

545
00:34:41,033 --> 00:34:42,934
Every reader

546
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,433
had to have

547
00:34:44,500 --> 00:34:48,900
a brain that
created a whole
new circuitry

548
00:34:48,967 --> 00:34:50,900
for that
reading process.

549
00:34:50,967 --> 00:34:53,500
Well, in the case
of dyslexia

550
00:34:53,567 --> 00:34:58,333
what we have
is a differently
acquired circuit

551
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,367
that's new to
the species.

552
00:35:00,433 --> 00:35:03,767
It's a blink of
the evolutionary eye.

553
00:35:03,834 --> 00:35:08,433
We've only been
reading for basically
5,000 years.

554
00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:10,533
It's nothing.

555
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:13,100
It is a wonderful
thing to remember

556
00:35:13,166 --> 00:35:17,800
that this is one of
the newest inventions
of the species.

557
00:35:17,867 --> 00:35:23,367
But, the children who are
among us with dyslexia
have always been there,

558
00:35:23,433 --> 00:35:25,600
and they've
always been there
for a reason.

559
00:35:25,667 --> 00:35:29,834
They have a very
important role
to play, that brain,

560
00:35:29,900 --> 00:35:35,066
in our design, in our art,
in our building, in our
thinking in novel ways.

561
00:35:35,133 --> 00:35:38,567
They've been
doing that pre
5,000 years.

562
00:35:38,633 --> 00:35:42,567
Only in the last,
even, 100 years

563
00:35:42,633 --> 00:35:44,233
have we called it

564
00:35:44,300 --> 00:35:49,600
uh, something that would
have a name that would
sound like a disease.

565
00:35:49,667 --> 00:35:55,200
The heart, for me,
the heart of some of
the emotional difficulties

566
00:35:55,266 --> 00:35:59,400
our kids have as
consequences of
learning disabilities

567
00:36:00,567 --> 00:36:03,567
begins with
the fact that
people equate

568
00:36:03,633 --> 00:36:07,000
being able
to read with
being smart,

569
00:36:07,066 --> 00:36:09,233
with intelligence.

570
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:11,967
Reading
involves

571
00:36:12,033 --> 00:36:15,800
many aspects and
it involves the use
of our intelligence,

572
00:36:15,867 --> 00:36:18,300
but if you
realize that
reading

573
00:36:18,367 --> 00:36:23,600
only exists as the
circuitry that connects
intelligence to itself,

574
00:36:23,667 --> 00:36:25,667
it's not about
intelligence.

575
00:36:25,734 --> 00:36:29,767
That intelligence already
exists independently.
It's being connected

576
00:36:29,834 --> 00:36:31,467
to the circuit.

577
00:36:31,533 --> 00:36:38,000
Reading, as you know,
is to me one of the great
miracles of cognition.

578
00:36:38,066 --> 00:36:42,066
But it's not
equatable with
intelligence.

579
00:36:42,133 --> 00:36:44,867
Some of
our children
with dyslexia

580
00:36:44,934 --> 00:36:49,400
are some of
our most intellectually
gifted humans.

581
00:36:49,467 --> 00:36:52,667
It's a form
of intelligence.
It's a form

582
00:36:52,734 --> 00:36:57,166
of brain organization
that they have that
leads them to be

583
00:36:57,233 --> 00:37:01,567
often times our artists,
our architects, our
pattern recognizers

584
00:37:01,633 --> 00:37:04,200
in radiology
and astronomy.

585
00:37:04,266 --> 00:37:06,333
But they
think often

586
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:10,533
outside the box of
our conventional left
hemisphere thinking.

587
00:37:11,567 --> 00:37:14,834
I love them.
Our species

588
00:37:14,900 --> 00:37:19,066
would never be what it is,
without that form
of brain organization.

589
00:37:21,734 --> 00:37:26,433
The actual discovery
was something we did
about 25 years ago

590
00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,533
where we were trying
to understand the
basic phenomenon

591
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,967
of how chromosomes
are maintained.

592
00:37:32,033 --> 00:37:35,200
So, the chromosomes
are in the cell and
they have to package

593
00:37:35,266 --> 00:37:38,633
all of the DNA
for the genetic
material in the cell.

594
00:37:38,700 --> 00:37:41,567
And there was
this puzzle
about how it is

595
00:37:41,633 --> 00:37:46,533
that they can be copied
completely to the end
every time a cell divides.

596
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,467
The Nobel Prize
was given for
Physiology or Medicine

597
00:37:49,533 --> 00:37:51,300
and the medical
implications

598
00:37:51,367 --> 00:37:53,333
of the fundamental
discovery

599
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:56,367
uh, weren't apparent
until we, and many
other people,

600
00:37:56,433 --> 00:38:00,800
had then followed up and
understood, that it turned
out this enzyme telomerase

601
00:38:00,867 --> 00:38:04,000
plays a major role
in human disease.

602
00:38:04,066 --> 00:38:07,734
INTERVIEWER: When do you
think you first understood
that you had dyslexia?

603
00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:10,567
I didn't understand
that it was dyslexia
until much later

604
00:38:10,633 --> 00:38:13,166
because at that
time they weren't
diagnosing dyslexia.

605
00:38:13,233 --> 00:38:17,300
Uhm, I was told that
I was a poor speller.
I was taken out of classes,

606
00:38:17,367 --> 00:38:21,533
uhm, given remedial
training and I always
thought that I was really

607
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:23,233
kind of stupid.
(LAUGHS)

608
00:38:23,300 --> 00:38:25,834
I mean I got Ds
and Fs in my
English class,

609
00:38:25,900 --> 00:38:29,767
which of course I didn't
really care because it wasn't
going to count for anything.

610
00:38:29,834 --> 00:38:33,834
But looking back
at those then years later
I thought, "You know,"

611
00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:36,467
"Maybe there was
really something
going on here."

612
00:38:36,533 --> 00:38:40,300
Uhm, and then when
it came to the
standardized tests, uhm,

613
00:38:40,367 --> 00:38:47,166
I just did very, very poorly
on standardized tests,
both the SATs and the GREs.

614
00:38:47,233 --> 00:38:53,867
The only thing that I can
figure out is this connection
between, uhm, you know, my

615
00:38:53,934 --> 00:38:57,734
complete inability to see
a new word and pronounce it.
I still can't do that.

616
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,600
Reading when my kids
were small. Reading
dinosaur books.

617
00:39:00,667 --> 00:39:02,333
I couldn't do it.
(LAUGHS)

618
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,633
All those dinosaur names
I would pronounce them
wrong every single time.

619
00:39:05,700 --> 00:39:09,033
Unless I would memorize
them. Like triceratops,
I can get that one now.

620
00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:12,000
Or ichthyosaurs, but
that's only because
I've memorized it.

621
00:39:12,066 --> 00:39:14,166
And then
when my son
was dyslexic,

622
00:39:14,233 --> 00:39:16,667
I had a little bit
more understanding
when he had,

623
00:39:16,734 --> 00:39:20,734
when he had trouble in school
and needed the tutoring and
all of that sort of stuff.

624
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:22,633
It was very
clear to me

625
00:39:22,700 --> 00:39:25,400
that it was going to be
helpful for him to get
tutoring really early.

626
00:39:25,467 --> 00:39:29,033
And then I read all
the books on dyslexia,
uhm, and, uhm,

627
00:39:29,100 --> 00:39:30,934
decided that,
you know,

628
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:33,867
to help him along.
And he's done
very well now,

629
00:39:33,934 --> 00:39:36,600
and he's
in regular
school, so...

630
00:39:36,667 --> 00:39:39,433
But now, you know,
having thought more
about the dyslexia

631
00:39:39,500 --> 00:39:42,133
and all that sort of
stuff and read
more about it, uhm,

632
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:44,000
I go back and
I question,
you know,

633
00:39:44,066 --> 00:39:46,567
"Maybe I really
wasn't as stupid
as I thought I was?"

634
00:39:46,633 --> 00:39:49,333
And, you know,
I learned that
I had to work hard,

635
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:52,867
but maybe I was
putting myself in
a different category

636
00:39:52,934 --> 00:39:55,166
uh, because there
wasn't anyone
around to say,

637
00:39:55,233 --> 00:39:58,600
"It's not because you're
stupid, it's because you
have this other, uhm,

638
00:39:58,667 --> 00:40:01,033
this other issue,"
which I can now
say to my son.

639
00:40:01,100 --> 00:40:04,000
I can say, you know,
"Look, I'm a professor
at Johns Hopkins.

640
00:40:04,066 --> 00:40:08,633
Just because you're dyslexic
doesn't mean you can't do
anything you want to do."

641
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,000
So, we acquire
two types of images,

642
00:40:19,066 --> 00:40:22,834
those that contain functional
information about where
there's brain activity

643
00:40:22,900 --> 00:40:25,667
and another that
gives us information
about brain anatomy.

644
00:40:25,734 --> 00:40:30,066
And this scan here,
which is our participant's
brain at this point.

645
00:40:30,133 --> 00:40:33,633
And we're just scrolling
from the left side to
the right side of the brain

646
00:40:33,700 --> 00:40:37,700
and we can begin to see
the brain structures
that we're interested in.

647
00:40:37,767 --> 00:40:39,567
The goal of using
brain imaging

648
00:40:39,633 --> 00:40:42,667
is to help us understand
how the brain is
specialized for different

649
00:40:42,734 --> 00:40:46,133
functions, and the
function that we're
interested in is reading.

650
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:49,000
People who doubt
whether there's such
a thing as dyslexia,

651
00:40:49,066 --> 00:40:53,333
I think there should be no
doubt in their mind because
the research is so clear.

652
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,133
The technology
that we use,
brain imaging,

653
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,867
is one of the areas where
I think it's really helped
people to understand

654
00:40:59,934 --> 00:41:02,633
that even though
this is an invisible
condition,

655
00:41:02,700 --> 00:41:06,834
it's now become
visible because we can
see it in the brain.

656
00:41:06,900 --> 00:41:10,467
It's been known,
for almost
30 years now,

657
00:41:10,533 --> 00:41:13,066
that when you
look at the brain
anatomy of a person

658
00:41:13,133 --> 00:41:16,600
with and without dyslexia,
that there are some
differences that

659
00:41:16,667 --> 00:41:19,166
you can see
almost with
the naked eye.

660
00:41:19,233 --> 00:41:24,467
And what people have
found is that when
you at readers who

661
00:41:24,533 --> 00:41:28,667
are skilled readers,
we see a network
in the left hemisphere

662
00:41:28,734 --> 00:41:33,166
involving regions
in the temporal lobe

663
00:41:33,233 --> 00:41:38,333
and then up in
parietal areas and
then in frontal regions.

664
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:42,000
Three areas that are
the sort of the typical
network involved in reading.

665
00:41:42,066 --> 00:41:45,133
And what we find
in people who are
dyslexic readers,

666
00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:49,200
areas in the back of the brain
don't tend to be engaged
during the reading process

667
00:41:49,266 --> 00:41:52,867
like they are
in non-dyslexic
readers.

668
00:41:52,934 --> 00:41:56,433
And what this is showing
you is that areas
in the left hemisphere

669
00:41:56,500 --> 00:42:00,000
tend to be under
activated in people
with dyslexia.

670
00:42:00,066 --> 00:42:01,800
That they're
under activating

671
00:42:01,867 --> 00:42:06,000
areas back here
in the brain in parietal
and temporal cortices.

672
00:42:06,066 --> 00:42:07,967
But what's
striking here

673
00:42:08,033 --> 00:42:10,400
are the changes that
we've observed in
the right hemisphere.

674
00:42:10,467 --> 00:42:12,400
We don't think of
the right hemisphere

675
00:42:12,467 --> 00:42:14,734
as being that
involved in the
reading process.

676
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:18,767
And the change seems to have
been brought about in part
by the right hemisphere

677
00:42:18,834 --> 00:42:24,100
chiming in to what is
normally considered
a left hemisphere function.

678
00:42:24,166 --> 00:42:27,867
So developmental
dyslexia is, is a
learning disability

679
00:42:27,934 --> 00:42:32,033
in, in the field of learning
disabilities, it's the most
prominent learning disability.

680
00:42:32,100 --> 00:42:34,767
It accounts for about
80% of all learning
disabilities.

681
00:42:34,834 --> 00:42:37,100
Why do children
have dyslexia? Well,

682
00:42:37,166 --> 00:42:38,633
for a number
of reasons.

683
00:42:38,700 --> 00:42:41,567
Again, it's thought
to be inheritable
so you will see

684
00:42:41,633 --> 00:42:45,266
uhm, in some individuals
who have dyslexia that
they have it in their family.

685
00:42:45,333 --> 00:42:47,367
If you have
a parent
with dyslexia,

686
00:42:47,433 --> 00:42:52,734
the chances that their
child will have dyslexia
are between 35 and 40%.

687
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,233
So it runs
in families.
We know that.

688
00:42:55,300 --> 00:42:57,000
I think
it's important
to recognize

689
00:42:57,066 --> 00:42:59,633
that when you
work with a student
who has dyslexia

690
00:42:59,700 --> 00:43:03,166
that this is a lifelong
issue. It just doesn't
go away. So,

691
00:43:03,233 --> 00:43:06,300
it helps in terms of
having them develop
the right attitude

692
00:43:06,367 --> 00:43:09,133
to recognize that they
will always have
to deal with this.

693
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:12,066
But the majority
of the population
with dyslexia is adult.

694
00:43:12,133 --> 00:43:14,266
And people
shouldn't give up
on the adults.

695
00:43:14,333 --> 00:43:17,667
The problem is that the
adults are no longer
in an educational setting

696
00:43:17,734 --> 00:43:19,800
where they
receive
interventions.

697
00:43:19,867 --> 00:43:23,367
And so they don't often have
access to continue to
improve their reading skills.

698
00:43:23,433 --> 00:43:26,133
But what we and
others have shown
is that, that

699
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:30,633
when you teach an adult with
dyslexia to learn to read
they can still make gains.

700
00:43:30,700 --> 00:43:34,066
And the brain is
really quite plastic.
It shows a really

701
00:43:34,133 --> 00:43:37,100
significant way
in which it's
organized for reading.

702
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,467
There are those
who believe there
is something to do

703
00:43:42,533 --> 00:43:45,100
with a literal
configuration
of the brain,

704
00:43:45,166 --> 00:43:48,867
the ability
to process
certain ways

705
00:43:48,934 --> 00:43:50,767
and uhm,

706
00:43:50,834 --> 00:43:54,834
that it is
a disorder, a deficit,
a dysfunction

707
00:43:54,900 --> 00:43:58,533
within the brain.
That is a
medicalized view.

708
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:03,700
Uhm, the other view
that I prefer and
tend towards is

709
00:44:05,467 --> 00:44:07,066
this is just
human variation

710
00:44:07,133 --> 00:44:10,066
and people are born
all different kinds
of ways.

711
00:44:10,133 --> 00:44:13,433
Whereas if you think
the human race is divided
into two peoples,

712
00:44:13,500 --> 00:44:16,166
the learning disabled
and the non
learning disabled,

713
00:44:16,233 --> 00:44:19,900
it gets super
questionable
because people

714
00:44:19,967 --> 00:44:24,367
think, uhm,
that's what defines
that person.

715
00:44:24,433 --> 00:44:28,667
But, in essence,
a label has been
given to them, uhm,

716
00:44:28,734 --> 00:44:32,400
and it's meant
to be beneficial
in theory.

717
00:44:32,467 --> 00:44:36,066
But in many cases
and in sometimes
the majority of cases

718
00:44:36,133 --> 00:44:39,400
it could be detrimental
to the kid depending upon

719
00:44:39,467 --> 00:44:42,633
where their school
is located,
the quality of their

720
00:44:42,700 --> 00:44:45,700
teachers teaching them.
All that kind of stuff.

721
00:44:45,767 --> 00:44:47,934
They become sort of
2nd class citizens.

722
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:50,066
The system did not
recognize that.

723
00:44:50,133 --> 00:44:53,400
Special Education,
as a field, does not
really recognize that,

724
00:44:53,467 --> 00:44:55,767
which is
very troubling
indeed.

725
00:44:55,834 --> 00:44:59,934
Uhm, people who have been
labeled, that label kind of
sticks with them for life.

726
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,133
It's like it
becomes inscribed
upon them

727
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:08,934
and they internalize it and
they kind of come to think
of themselves as not as good,

728
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:15,700
uhm, inferior to,
not normal, ah,
etcetera etcetera.

729
00:45:15,767 --> 00:45:21,700
And I think psychologically
that's very cruel
to do to kids.

730
00:45:21,767 --> 00:45:24,700
I mean Special
Education really,

731
00:45:24,767 --> 00:45:29,767
I hate to put it this way.
It's dressed up and
it's called "special,"

732
00:45:29,834 --> 00:45:34,100
but it really is education
of students who have
been labeled disabled.

733
00:45:36,633 --> 00:45:39,934
It probably started

734
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,300
when I was
in elementary school

735
00:45:42,367 --> 00:45:49,667
uhm, when I was, uhm, pulled
out of a regular 6th grade
edu...uhm, regular class

736
00:45:49,734 --> 00:45:51,734
into a Special
Education class.

737
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:56,400
They never labeled
me as special
or as different.

738
00:45:56,467 --> 00:46:01,767
They just said I was
really slow in comprehending
and, uhm, doing my work,

739
00:46:01,834 --> 00:46:05,066
especially with
math and reading
and writing.

740
00:46:05,133 --> 00:46:08,200
INTERVIEWER: Did they ever
say you were dyslexic?
No.

741
00:46:08,266 --> 00:46:10,834
They just said
I was slow.

742
00:46:10,900 --> 00:46:14,867
Sometimes when you're
an inner city kid
locked into a box

743
00:46:14,934 --> 00:46:19,934
with limited socio
economic skills
and things like that,

744
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:26,300
you can't really see yourself
as being beyond a learning
disability child or student.

745
00:46:26,367 --> 00:46:31,367
Uhm, I think that label
sometimes really places
students in a box

746
00:46:31,433 --> 00:46:34,233
where they
limit their
abilities.

747
00:46:34,300 --> 00:46:38,266
And they really,
it's hard for them to see
what they're good at

748
00:46:38,333 --> 00:46:39,700
once they're
labeled.

749
00:46:39,767 --> 00:46:45,066
So I sat,
did my work, and
just moved on,

750
00:46:45,133 --> 00:46:48,967
uhm, never
really receiving
much help but

751
00:46:49,033 --> 00:46:53,900
I guess because I was
in a smaller class I was
supposed to, but not really.

752
00:46:53,967 --> 00:46:56,767
INTERVIEWER: How long
did you stay
in Special Ed?

753
00:46:56,834 --> 00:46:59,300
Until I graduated
high school.

754
00:46:59,367 --> 00:47:01,133
Once the kid
is placed,

755
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:03,500
the kids used to
call it the Roach Motel.

756
00:47:03,567 --> 00:47:06,800
Remember the advertisement,
"Once You Check In,
You Never Check Out?"

757
00:47:06,867 --> 00:47:10,367
And something like
2% of kids go back
into general ed.

758
00:47:10,433 --> 00:47:13,500
or become de-certified
and don't have their I.E.P.,

759
00:47:13,567 --> 00:47:17,533
some minuscule
amount, like 1 in 50
or something.

760
00:47:17,600 --> 00:47:20,533
The kids who
possibly are
labeled dyslexic...

761
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:23,734
I have to go
on record, as there
are very few, uhm,

762
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:29,266
really good programs
for kids who have been labeled
dyslexic in public schools.

763
00:47:29,333 --> 00:47:33,800
I would say that,
uhm, at least, at least
50% of kids, uh,

764
00:47:33,867 --> 00:47:36,033
with learning
disabilities
drop out,

765
00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:39,133
especially in
the, uh, self
contained classroom.

766
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:43,033
So, it's always been a big
issue for me that kids who
are labeled disabled,

767
00:47:43,100 --> 00:47:46,600
whether it's learning
disabled or anything else,
really should have access

768
00:47:46,667 --> 00:47:50,300
to all of the other kids
and every learning
opportunity, too.

769
00:47:50,367 --> 00:47:54,867
Because it's, uhm, more
of a question of civil
rights in a democracy.

770
00:47:54,934 --> 00:47:58,200
Like, who's to say
you shouldn't really be
in a classroom

771
00:47:58,266 --> 00:48:03,200
with the 95% of your
non-disabled peers.

772
00:48:03,266 --> 00:48:07,767
Who benefits from labeling
kids with disabilities?
Who benefits from it?

773
00:48:07,834 --> 00:48:10,467
Often times, they're
not the ones who
benefit from it.

774
00:48:10,533 --> 00:48:12,767
Schools can
run smoother,
more efficiently.

775
00:48:12,834 --> 00:48:17,100
Teachers can be trained
in clipped programs. "You
learn this. You learn this."

776
00:48:17,166 --> 00:48:20,667
But does it really
benefit the kids who
are labeled disabled?

777
00:48:20,734 --> 00:48:25,900
Not the majority
of them in my,
uh, experience.

778
00:48:25,967 --> 00:48:29,834
So after
high school,
I, uhm,

779
00:48:29,900 --> 00:48:33,633
I tried to apply
to Community College
of Philadelphia.

780
00:48:33,700 --> 00:48:39,367
And, uhm, I took a test,
the entry-level test,
and I failed.

781
00:48:39,433 --> 00:48:44,200
And uhm, I went
to a counselor
and she said,

782
00:48:44,266 --> 00:48:46,934
"Who told you
you can be here?"
You know,

783
00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:49,767
"How did
you even get
this far?"

784
00:48:49,834 --> 00:48:52,633
I mean,
she yelled and
screamed and

785
00:48:52,700 --> 00:48:55,367
that was the
worst experience
I ever had.

786
00:48:55,433 --> 00:48:57,700
Uhm, I gave up
for a while.

787
00:48:57,767 --> 00:49:02,367
I gave up for a while
and I thought that
this was my life.

788
00:49:02,433 --> 00:49:06,667
I started, uhm, cleaning.
Really. I thought that,
"Okay, this is it."

789
00:49:06,734 --> 00:49:10,200
I actually ended up
cleaning for the School
District of Philadelphia.

790
00:49:10,266 --> 00:49:16,467
Uhm, and I was in there,
I was actually cleaning for
quite some time, uhm,

791
00:49:16,533 --> 00:49:20,300
because I thought
that this is
my ability.

792
00:49:20,367 --> 00:49:22,633
This is all
that I can do.

793
00:49:22,700 --> 00:49:26,567
I still had that
drive somewhere
deep inside of me

794
00:49:26,633 --> 00:49:30,600
that I knew I could
do better, but I really
didn't know how.

795
00:49:33,133 --> 00:49:38,100
Uhm, my faith
kept me going
honestly, my faith.

796
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:42,133
My faith and

797
00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:45,533
just knowing that
there had to be something
better than this.

798
00:49:49,633 --> 00:49:53,200
I couldn't be
limited to just,

799
00:49:55,233 --> 00:49:59,734
just being told
that I was dumb
and stupid

800
00:49:59,800 --> 00:50:01,967
and just
embracing it.

801
00:50:05,133 --> 00:50:08,033
I knew it
was something
better for me.

802
00:50:08,100 --> 00:50:10,467
I just didn't
know how
to get it.

803
00:50:10,533 --> 00:50:15,066
Dyslexia is a special way of
seeing things. I like to call
it a different kind of mind.

804
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:22,200
What kind of mind?
In Theo's case, first rate.

805
00:50:22,266 --> 00:50:26,166
He has the brainpower.
He just has a glitch in the
way he takes in information.

806
00:50:26,233 --> 00:50:27,567
A glitch?

807
00:50:27,633 --> 00:50:30,367
Yes, he just has a
problem in the way that
he processes language.

808
00:50:30,433 --> 00:50:33,200
Does that mean that there's
nothing we can do?
Not at all.

809
00:50:33,266 --> 00:50:37,000
There are specialists who can
help dyslexics overcome
their learning problems.

810
00:50:37,066 --> 00:50:40,767
All he has to do is work with
the program they set up.
You mean if my son

811
00:50:40,834 --> 00:50:43,567
does what they want him
to he can be helped?
Yes!

812
00:50:43,633 --> 00:50:47,600
From an episode of
The Cosby Show, that's
actually I thought,

813
00:50:47,667 --> 00:50:52,100
"Wow, I struggle with
reading and writing." They
were talking about how

814
00:50:52,166 --> 00:50:59,066
Theo's challenges were with
dyslexia. And I never knew
what dyslexia was at the time.

815
00:50:59,133 --> 00:51:01,967
I really, a light
went on and
it was a relief

816
00:51:02,033 --> 00:51:04,667
because all these
years I never
knew what I had.

817
00:51:04,734 --> 00:51:10,066
I just struggled. I went
on to college or I went
back to college (LAUGHS)

818
00:51:10,133 --> 00:51:17,367
with the help of a tutor,
Judith Mazur, who's still a
tremendous support to me.

819
00:51:17,433 --> 00:51:24,400
Uhm, I worked with her
for three years prior
to going back to college.

820
00:51:24,467 --> 00:51:29,233
And I applied to,
uhm, Harcum College
and I got in.

821
00:51:29,300 --> 00:51:34,500
I got accepted
and I completed
Harcum within

822
00:51:34,567 --> 00:51:37,700
two to three years
with a 4.0

823
00:51:39,700 --> 00:51:43,200
I believe dyslexia
is a part of
who you are.

824
00:51:44,133 --> 00:51:45,633
But it's not,

825
00:51:47,100 --> 00:51:50,667
it's not who you are
as a person. It's just
what you have.

826
00:51:52,834 --> 00:51:57,767
NARRATOR: More students with
dyslexia are attending four
year liberal arts colleges

827
00:51:57,834 --> 00:52:01,300
like Evergreen
State College
in Olympia, Washington.

828
00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:05,100
If a student discloses
her disability,

829
00:52:05,166 --> 00:52:09,033
she is protected by
the Americans With
Disabilities Act

830
00:52:09,100 --> 00:52:12,200
that insures
she receives the
accommodations needed

831
00:52:12,266 --> 00:52:14,633
to succeed with
college level work.

832
00:52:16,834 --> 00:52:21,433
I have been still dealing
with this anxiety about
going into a classroom

833
00:52:21,500 --> 00:52:24,867
and it takes, it does
take a lot, it takes
a lot of energy

834
00:52:24,934 --> 00:52:29,700
and people don't realize
how that wears down
on you after awhile.

835
00:52:29,767 --> 00:52:33,667
And kind of how easy
it is to just give up and
fall through the cracks.

836
00:52:33,734 --> 00:52:35,934
It's actually
taken a while for

837
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,533
me to be able to
talk to my housemates

838
00:52:38,600 --> 00:52:42,166
and have them
not go, "Why are
you here?" Like,

839
00:52:42,233 --> 00:52:44,333
but to really
talk to them about

840
00:52:44,400 --> 00:52:47,800
the struggles
that I'm facing.
Because for,

841
00:52:47,867 --> 00:52:53,533
I think for them
in their minds, uhm,

842
00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:59,767
you have this limitation.
(MIMICS HOUSEMATES)
"Why, why are you here?"

843
00:53:02,767 --> 00:53:07,000
What I really want to do
is definitely give you
this accommodation letter

844
00:53:07,066 --> 00:53:11,033
and make sure you understand
everything that's on it.
Okay.

845
00:53:11,100 --> 00:53:13,567
Alright. Good. That's
a good place
to start. Okay.

846
00:53:13,633 --> 00:53:17,266
This is kind of
always a balancing
act for me, uhm,

847
00:53:17,333 --> 00:53:21,567
whether or not,
how much I want
to disclose.

848
00:53:21,633 --> 00:53:26,767
One of the reasons why we
try at least teach in two or
three different modalities

849
00:53:26,834 --> 00:53:30,333
because we have lots of
people with different
learning styles in the class.

850
00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:35,700
We have a young man
who's slightly autistic
and has asperg.

851
00:53:35,767 --> 00:53:37,533
(STUTTERING)
Asperger's?

852
00:53:37,600 --> 00:53:39,467
Say it again.
Asperger's
Asperger's.

853
00:53:39,533 --> 00:53:43,533
And then we have,
uhm, two people
with dyslexia

854
00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:49,367
(STUTTERING) and uh,
one person with anxiety,
extreme anxiety.

855
00:53:49,433 --> 00:53:52,900
So, I've got to watch got
to watch her rhythm and
how much she can take.

856
00:53:52,967 --> 00:53:56,133
And so that's
why we try to
focus the learning

857
00:53:56,200 --> 00:53:58,567
so not only
the instruction

858
00:53:58,633 --> 00:54:02,633
deals with different
learning styles and
different patterns

859
00:54:02,700 --> 00:54:04,300
but also
the presentation.

860
00:54:04,367 --> 00:54:08,133
I taught, uh, mime
one time to a woman
who was blind.

861
00:54:08,200 --> 00:54:13,333
And that was such a great
experience for me because
it really taught me about

862
00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:18,834
how many of my, uh, references
were visual and how much
I used the blackboard.

863
00:54:18,900 --> 00:54:22,033
So, I had to switch
everything around to
make sure that she,

864
00:54:22,100 --> 00:54:23,667
you know,
could, uhm,

865
00:54:23,734 --> 00:54:26,166
that she could
understand the
concepts and stuff.

866
00:54:26,233 --> 00:54:29,800
And do a lot of, you
know, tactile stuff using
your hands and things.

867
00:54:29,867 --> 00:54:35,633
So yeah, the major
thing is for you
to achieve success.

868
00:54:35,700 --> 00:54:40,000
So, however, you know,
we just say where
the shore is

869
00:54:40,066 --> 00:54:43,233
and then you can
choose whether you
want to breast stroke

870
00:54:43,300 --> 00:54:46,633
or whether you want to
crawl or whether you want
to do it under water.

871
00:54:46,700 --> 00:54:49,633
Okay, so uhm,
for me visual
processing is

872
00:54:49,700 --> 00:54:52,033
probably
the best, uhm,
Mm-hmm. Mm-Hmm.

873
00:54:52,100 --> 00:54:57,100
it's helpful
for me to look
back at notes.

874
00:54:57,166 --> 00:55:00,734
But I don't take notes
as fast as I would like to.
Okay.

875
00:55:00,800 --> 00:55:04,300
I think that, what
might be interesting
to try with you,

876
00:55:04,367 --> 00:55:08,900
which hasn't worked with other
professors, but I think it
might work is just, uhm,

877
00:55:08,967 --> 00:55:14,100
maybe after class coming up
and expanding on some of the
things I've jotted down.

878
00:55:14,166 --> 00:55:15,734
Perfect.

879
00:55:15,800 --> 00:55:17,834
'Cause usually
something
resonates with me

880
00:55:17,900 --> 00:55:21,300
and I want to keep
talking about it.
Okay.

881
00:55:21,367 --> 00:55:23,934
I don't really
understand how
other people

882
00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:25,567
get through.

883
00:55:25,633 --> 00:55:28,934
I think some
people kind of
hide it or, uhm,

884
00:55:30,467 --> 00:55:32,333
I have no idea
'cause this is how

885
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:34,834
I've learned that

886
00:55:35,867 --> 00:55:39,000
I get what
I need to
get through.

887
00:55:39,066 --> 00:55:41,900
Uhm, by having
these types
of meetings

888
00:55:41,967 --> 00:55:46,233
and we are supposed
to have these
types of meetings

889
00:55:46,300 --> 00:55:51,233
in order to legally
have the school provide
these services.

890
00:55:51,300 --> 00:55:55,600
But I've been told
by some professors who
have been here for years

891
00:55:55,667 --> 00:56:00,000
that sometimes I'm the
first student who's ever
done that with them.

892
00:56:00,066 --> 00:56:03,133
Uhm, and
I'm not sure
why that is.

893
00:56:03,200 --> 00:56:05,333
That scares me
a little bit.

894
00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:08,734
Uhm, but
also that

895
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:13,333
dyslexia is
associated with
all the other

896
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:17,300
disabilities and
all of a sudden
once you say "dyslexia,"

897
00:56:17,367 --> 00:56:19,400
all of a sudden
what pops into
their head

898
00:56:19,467 --> 00:56:23,567
is all the other
students who are having
issues in the class.

899
00:56:23,633 --> 00:56:26,200
And so there isn't
an understanding

900
00:56:26,266 --> 00:56:29,066
by professors
on what that
actually means.

901
00:56:39,567 --> 00:56:43,834
The U.S. government
continues to give huge tax
breaks and pay outs

902
00:56:43,900 --> 00:56:46,667
to the oil, gas,
and coal industries.

903
00:56:46,734 --> 00:56:51,867
Meanwhile, the fledgling
solar and wind industries
are left to beg and plead

904
00:56:51,934 --> 00:56:56,367
just to get
extensions of their
modest tax credits.

905
00:56:56,433 --> 00:57:00,367
One of the things
that I've just kind of
realized is that

906
00:57:00,433 --> 00:57:01,567
I...

907
00:57:03,767 --> 00:57:07,734
like, not
not being able
to read as

908
00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:11,266
at a young age
made it so
that, uhm,

909
00:57:12,266 --> 00:57:14,266
I don't have
a lot of the

910
00:57:14,333 --> 00:57:19,100
strategies that other
people do. Uhm,
and I don't have,

911
00:57:19,166 --> 00:57:21,667
even with
assistive
technology,

912
00:57:21,734 --> 00:57:23,200
I don't,

913
00:57:23,266 --> 00:57:25,133
I haven't
really developed

914
00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:28,133
the skills
of comprehension,

915
00:57:28,200 --> 00:57:31,166
comprehensive
reading, uhm,

916
00:57:33,066 --> 00:57:36,467
and so I feel like
I'm constantly kinda
playing catch up with that.

917
00:57:36,533 --> 00:57:39,800
I can feel
that, uhm,

918
00:57:39,867 --> 00:57:44,467
your brain has to think
in a completely different way
when you're reading text.

919
00:57:44,533 --> 00:57:46,000
And...

920
00:57:46,066 --> 00:57:48,967
my brain hasn't
completely adapted
to it yet.

921
00:57:49,033 --> 00:57:52,233
From a battery
powered radio,
they heard

922
00:57:52,300 --> 00:57:55,500
that the media
were talking about
the encampments.

923
00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:01,233
If this is the
first friend you
make at college,

924
00:58:04,533 --> 00:58:09,200
(LAUGHINGLY) let's just say
it's not a very welcoming
sort of environment.

925
00:58:09,266 --> 00:58:10,734
...encampments.

926
00:58:10,800 --> 00:58:13,200
Officials were
being asked what
they were going to do

927
00:58:13,266 --> 00:58:16,467
with all the families
living along
the freeway.

928
00:58:16,533 --> 00:58:19,033
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

929
00:58:19,100 --> 00:58:21,633
PHRED: There are
so many times where

930
00:58:21,700 --> 00:58:24,567
I never thought
I'd make it.

931
00:58:24,633 --> 00:58:27,300
If I could
project myself
back in time

932
00:58:27,367 --> 00:58:29,767
and tell my
kindergarten self

933
00:58:29,834 --> 00:58:31,900
you're gonna
be here.

934
00:58:31,967 --> 00:58:34,433
There's no way
I would have
believed it.

935
00:58:36,467 --> 00:58:41,433
For a long time I'm thinking,
like, "This is a privilege
have to work for."

936
00:58:41,500 --> 00:58:44,533
That this is
a privilege I will
never have innately

937
00:58:44,600 --> 00:58:46,934
but I kind of
have to fake it
to make it.

938
00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:49,633
But really,
I feel like

939
00:58:49,700 --> 00:58:51,967
at this point
I need to
believe that

940
00:58:52,033 --> 00:58:54,233
I have just
as much right

941
00:58:54,300 --> 00:58:56,834
to be here
as anyone else.

942
00:59:01,300 --> 00:59:04,066
When I've tried
to express to
people that books

943
00:59:04,133 --> 00:59:07,433
cornered me
in the form that
they were in,

944
00:59:07,500 --> 00:59:09,233
they didn't
want to hear it.

945
00:59:09,300 --> 00:59:12,700
They didn't want
to hear I had
a hard time reading.

946
00:59:12,767 --> 00:59:17,667
"Well, not my son," or,
"Well, well, you
struggle a little bit."

947
00:59:17,734 --> 00:59:20,133
"But really,
if you focus,

948
00:59:20,200 --> 00:59:22,867
if you really
bear down, you can
probably do it."

949
00:59:22,934 --> 00:59:25,367
Well, someone
in a wheelchair

950
00:59:25,433 --> 00:59:29,767
can get up stairs.
I've seen them
do it at protests.

951
00:59:29,834 --> 00:59:32,000
My friend
David Carmel,
he could do it.

952
00:59:32,066 --> 00:59:34,867
Throw himself
on the stairs,
and with his elbows

953
00:59:34,934 --> 00:59:39,533
pull himself up
one by one. Right?

954
00:59:39,600 --> 00:59:43,700
But that's not,
in our colloquial sense,
"getting up stairs."

955
00:59:43,767 --> 00:59:46,533
Right? He's
proving that they
need a ramp.

956
00:59:46,600 --> 00:59:49,667
Overcoming dyslexia is
a catch phrase that

957
00:59:49,734 --> 00:59:55,166
belies an interest
in fixing people.

958
00:59:56,567 --> 00:59:58,767
I don't need
to be fixed

959
00:59:58,834 --> 01:00:00,667
you know?
And by the

960
01:00:00,734 --> 01:00:04,667
external measures, I've
done it, I've succeeded.
I have a JD/MBA from Stanford.

961
01:00:04,734 --> 01:00:08,600
I have a job in Silicon
Valley. I have a happy life.
I have a wonderful wife.

962
01:00:08,667 --> 01:00:12,567
I have a home. I have
everything everyone's supposed
to get in the American Dream.

963
01:00:12,633 --> 01:00:14,900
Do I need
to overcome?

964
01:00:14,967 --> 01:00:15,934
No.

965
01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:18,433
I read
terribly.

966
01:00:18,500 --> 01:00:21,033
I spell
abysmally.

967
01:00:21,100 --> 01:00:24,066
I am in
the bottom 1%

968
01:00:24,133 --> 01:00:27,300
in my ability to
identify a letter when
you show it to me.

969
01:00:27,367 --> 01:00:30,266
Off the charts.
I have MRI's
that show

970
01:00:30,333 --> 01:00:32,900
zero activity
in my temporal
parietal lobe.

971
01:00:32,967 --> 01:00:35,066
Not zero, but
very, very,
very, very little

972
01:00:35,133 --> 01:00:39,400
which is where most
people have, like,
a Christmas tree of activity.

973
01:00:39,467 --> 01:00:41,633
The act
of reading
the word

974
01:00:41,700 --> 01:00:43,834
is like taking me
back in front
of the stairs

975
01:00:43,900 --> 01:00:47,100
and having me go up
them on my elbows
every time. At some point,

976
01:00:47,166 --> 01:00:48,767
you need to
let go of that,

977
01:00:48,834 --> 01:00:52,900
and move forward
because the interesting
part about dyslexia

978
01:00:53,834 --> 01:00:55,133
is the future.

979
01:00:55,200 --> 01:00:58,100
It's not what
happened. It's
what's gonna happen.

980
01:00:58,166 --> 01:00:59,500
Moving forward,

981
01:00:59,567 --> 01:01:02,500
I've gotten
accommodations. Now,

982
01:01:02,567 --> 01:01:06,867
I can take a device and take
a photograph of something
and have it read to me.

983
01:01:06,934 --> 01:01:11,200
I can, uh,
scan it with
a flatbed scanner

984
01:01:11,266 --> 01:01:14,867
and turn it into
speech so that
I can hear it.

985
01:01:14,934 --> 01:01:16,600
I used to

986
01:01:16,667 --> 01:01:20,567
fax my term papers home to
my mother and have her read
them to me over the phone.

987
01:01:20,633 --> 01:01:23,567
Right? Now I have
a computer do it.

988
01:01:23,633 --> 01:01:26,066
The computers
are doubling

989
01:01:26,133 --> 01:01:29,934
in their capability
every two years,
every 18 months.

990
01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:33,667
So I knew that soon
I'd be able to put it
all together in one box.

991
01:01:33,734 --> 01:01:36,667
And I started
thinking about
how to design that.

992
01:01:36,734 --> 01:01:38,900
Uh, and what
I came up
with was

993
01:01:40,266 --> 01:01:42,066
take a picture...

994
01:01:43,433 --> 01:01:45,500
...and hear it.

995
01:01:45,567 --> 01:01:47,533
Point. Shoot. Listen.

996
01:01:50,667 --> 01:01:53,200
Uh, now I turn on
the camera

997
01:01:54,300 --> 01:01:56,567
and I take
a picture,
like so.

998
01:02:00,467 --> 01:02:02,100
Long before that

999
01:02:02,166 --> 01:02:04,800
as many
efforts
always have,

1000
01:02:04,867 --> 01:02:08,500
they go stand inside
among the row
of narrow chairs,

1001
01:02:08,567 --> 01:02:12,500
each one turned to face
the street. She looks for
their waiter but can't...

1002
01:02:14,100 --> 01:02:16,266
That's it
reading, and so

1003
01:02:16,333 --> 01:02:17,600
That waiter.

1004
01:02:17,667 --> 01:02:19,333
Waiter.

1005
01:02:19,400 --> 01:02:21,800
I probably
couldn't spell
that word.

1006
01:02:21,867 --> 01:02:26,800
"w-a-i-t-e-r."

1007
01:02:26,867 --> 01:02:29,800
We just took that text
off the page and
are able to read it.

1008
01:02:29,867 --> 01:02:32,700
And that gives me
access to the text.
It's that simple.

1009
01:02:32,767 --> 01:02:35,400
I have access.
Now,

1010
01:02:35,467 --> 01:02:37,500
I believe that
this technology

1011
01:02:37,567 --> 01:02:40,233
is a ramp
into a book.

1012
01:02:40,300 --> 01:02:43,066
And this is one
embodiment of it.

1013
01:02:43,133 --> 01:02:46,200
There are many others
that will be out
there in the future.

1014
01:02:46,266 --> 01:02:47,767
And I'm
committed

1015
01:02:47,834 --> 01:02:50,200
to making it
available to more
and more people

1016
01:02:50,266 --> 01:02:52,734
because if you
have this access,

1017
01:02:52,800 --> 01:02:54,633
then you
have access
to that text,

1018
01:02:54,700 --> 01:02:57,533
and ultimately
you have access
to hope

1019
01:02:57,600 --> 01:02:59,000
and self-respect.

1020
01:03:33,100 --> 01:03:37,033
You know we're a foundation
that focuses on the formation
of new businesses.

1021
01:03:37,100 --> 01:03:40,066
The last thing on earth
a foundation that deals
with businesses

1022
01:03:40,133 --> 01:03:44,333
would ever focus on
is the question
of dyslexics?

1023
01:03:44,400 --> 01:03:46,900
And the connection
of these

1024
01:03:46,967 --> 01:03:50,000
traits in
individual
human beings

1025
01:03:50,066 --> 01:03:52,266
with business
formation.

1026
01:03:52,333 --> 01:03:54,633
Success.
Dyslexia.

1027
01:03:54,700 --> 01:03:58,400
Here are four or five people
who created huge, critically
important companies

1028
01:03:58,467 --> 01:04:01,633
to the United States
and to the world.

1029
01:04:01,700 --> 01:04:04,367
Dyslexic?
How can
this be?

1030
01:04:06,100 --> 01:04:07,533
The real
issue is

1031
01:04:07,600 --> 01:04:09,300
who has
the talents

1032
01:04:09,367 --> 01:04:12,000
to put together
huge, new companies

1033
01:04:12,066 --> 01:04:14,300
and create
the new?

1034
01:04:14,367 --> 01:04:16,333
So one of
the questions was,

1035
01:04:16,400 --> 01:04:18,734
"Are these
people more
visionary?"

1036
01:04:18,800 --> 01:04:20,767
"Can they
see things
differently?"

1037
01:04:22,166 --> 01:04:24,567
They come to
a realization that

1038
01:04:24,633 --> 01:04:27,266
that society keeps
pronouncing the
number of skill sets

1039
01:04:27,333 --> 01:04:30,667
that are necessary
for success, they
don't seem to have.

1040
01:04:30,734 --> 01:04:32,633
And they go out
and build

1041
01:04:32,700 --> 01:04:35,100
the environment
in which they
will succeed.

1042
01:04:35,166 --> 01:04:38,867
That's, sort of,
my working hypothesis
to explain

1043
01:04:38,934 --> 01:04:43,567
why all these entrepreneurs
exist who have
traits of dyslexia.

1044
01:04:45,033 --> 01:04:47,233
And lots of those
people didn't
go to college.

1045
01:04:47,300 --> 01:04:51,400
I am amazed again
and again even in
technical businesses

1046
01:04:51,467 --> 01:04:53,100
where people see

1047
01:04:53,166 --> 01:04:55,433
a business
they can start.
And you know,

1048
01:04:55,500 --> 01:04:58,867
that may be startling
but if you think
about it,

1049
01:04:58,934 --> 01:05:02,133
you don't have to have
a degree to become
an entrepreneur.

1050
01:05:02,200 --> 01:05:05,400
And it's these people
who are the resistors,
the outsiders.

1051
01:05:06,734 --> 01:05:09,600
Who make
inordinate
contributions

1052
01:05:09,667 --> 01:05:11,367
that benefit
humankind.

1053
01:05:11,433 --> 01:05:13,233
They expand
human welfare.

1054
01:05:13,300 --> 01:05:15,800
Entrepreneurs
expand human
welfare.

1055
01:05:15,867 --> 01:05:18,567
And to the extent
we have more dyslexics
doing this,

1056
01:05:18,633 --> 01:05:22,600
you might say that
dyslexics have
a particular license

1057
01:05:22,667 --> 01:05:26,100
on the capacity
to expand
human welfare.

1058
01:05:26,166 --> 01:05:27,800
I think when
you start,

1059
01:05:27,867 --> 01:05:32,066
you start,
by taking, uh,
really big risks.

1060
01:05:32,133 --> 01:05:35,300
And you've got
nothing to lose,
oftentimes.

1061
01:05:35,367 --> 01:05:38,867
In my case I had nothing
to lose. I had no money
so you just went for it.

1062
01:05:38,934 --> 01:05:40,800
Whatever
you could
possibly do,

1063
01:05:40,867 --> 01:05:44,700
and if you made a dollar
and lost it the next day,
no one's worrying about it.

1064
01:05:44,767 --> 01:05:46,867
I still think
I take risks

1065
01:05:46,934 --> 01:05:50,233
but they have to be
far more calculated. There's
far more responsibility.

1066
01:05:50,300 --> 01:05:53,934
Say I'll put a million
dollars aside to
work on a project

1067
01:05:54,000 --> 01:05:56,000
and if we lose it,
we lose it.

1068
01:05:56,066 --> 01:06:00,166
And believe me
I've done it.
(STUTTERING) I've

1069
01:06:00,233 --> 01:06:02,867
fortunately made
more than
I've lost

1070
01:06:02,934 --> 01:06:06,533
and therefore
managed to stay
above water here.

1071
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:11,600
Uh, but, uh, I've lost
millions, and millions
and millions of dollars.

1072
01:06:11,667 --> 01:06:15,800
So I was 24 years old,
23 years old, when
I first saw a pellet stove

1073
01:06:15,867 --> 01:06:19,333
and I went to this stove
shop and said, "Geez this
is an amazing thing.

1074
01:06:19,400 --> 01:06:23,500
I've never seen anything
like this. And they have these
pellets in there and I, uhm...

1075
01:06:23,567 --> 01:06:26,066
He said, "So, are
you interested in
buying a stove?"

1076
01:06:26,133 --> 01:06:30,233
And I said, "Yeah, I kinda am.
It's kind of new. Where do all
these pellets come from?"

1077
01:06:30,300 --> 01:06:34,266
And he says, "Well, Montana."
And I said, "Well that seems
a little crazy. Montana."

1078
01:06:34,333 --> 01:06:37,000
I don't buy my
firewood from Montana,
my split firewood,

1079
01:06:37,066 --> 01:06:40,033
and everybody around me
would never buy
firewood from Montana.

1080
01:06:40,100 --> 01:06:41,767
"Why would this
come from there?"

1081
01:06:41,834 --> 01:06:44,100
He said, "It's
the only place
that makes them."

1082
01:06:44,166 --> 01:06:47,033
And I said, (STUTTERING)
"Why doesn't anybody
make it here?

1083
01:06:47,100 --> 01:06:49,767
And he goes, "I don't
know. Why don't you
make it here?"

1084
01:06:49,834 --> 01:06:52,867
STEVE: It's
a pretty good
sized facility.

1085
01:06:52,934 --> 01:06:56,000
This is one of
the larger ones
in the country.

1086
01:06:57,734 --> 01:07:01,667
There's about
five weeks of wood
behind us here,

1087
01:07:01,734 --> 01:07:05,233
and this pile, by the way,
extends much longer
than it is wide.

1088
01:07:05,300 --> 01:07:09,934
And it comprised
about 25, 20

1089
01:07:10,000 --> 01:07:13,066
20, about 20
tractor-trailer
loads a day of wood.

1090
01:07:13,133 --> 01:07:15,767
And here's one
coming in right now.

1091
01:07:20,200 --> 01:07:23,000
STEVE: Each of these
plants is off setting
approximately,

1092
01:07:23,066 --> 01:07:26,367
producing something
around a thousand, twelve
hundred gallons of oil

1093
01:07:26,433 --> 01:07:29,567
equivalent of
energy per hour.

1094
01:07:29,633 --> 01:07:33,800
Somewhere in the eight,
nine, ten, eleven million
gallons a year of oil

1095
01:07:33,867 --> 01:07:38,100
that we're
displacing with
these facilities.

1096
01:07:38,166 --> 01:07:42,867
My ultimate goal is to have
dozens and dozens and
dozens of these facilities.

1097
01:07:45,667 --> 01:07:51,400
I think technically it was
in the 2nd grade that I was
labeled with dyslexia.

1098
01:07:51,467 --> 01:07:55,100
I knew at an
incredibly young age
that I had, uhm,

1099
01:07:55,166 --> 01:07:59,133
difficulties achieving
things in school that
everybody else was achieving

1100
01:07:59,200 --> 01:08:01,500
and I was expected
to achieve.

1101
01:08:01,567 --> 01:08:04,533
And, of course,
the curriculum
I was given,

1102
01:08:04,600 --> 01:08:07,166
reading, was one of
my challenges.
Still is.

1103
01:08:07,233 --> 01:08:10,734
And probably a
combination of not being
very good at it and also

1104
01:08:10,800 --> 01:08:17,166
having so many awful
memories of (STAMMERING)
those days in school,

1105
01:08:17,233 --> 01:08:20,367
uhm, you know,
I really don't
read at all.

1106
01:08:20,433 --> 01:08:23,900
I've read
two books
in my life.

1107
01:08:23,967 --> 01:08:29,367
So, reading was brutal and
I spent years and years
and years having people,

1108
01:08:29,433 --> 01:08:33,000
tutors, trying to get
me to read. And it was
right around,

1109
01:08:33,066 --> 01:08:36,667
it's probably around 8th
grade is where I first
actually learned how to read.

1110
01:08:36,734 --> 01:08:39,867
I faked it. I got through
school really not
being able to read.

1111
01:08:39,934 --> 01:08:43,500
Oh! And the high school
machine shop, that was the
one thing in high school

1112
01:08:43,567 --> 01:08:45,400
I could go in and
just eat alive.

1113
01:08:45,467 --> 01:08:48,066
Uhm, and the teacher
just loved it.
I mean that was

1114
01:08:48,133 --> 01:08:51,200
the only pat on
the back that I got that
I knew wasn't sympathy.

1115
01:08:51,266 --> 01:08:56,934
And, uhm, Pasanka,
was his name.
And he...

1116
01:08:57,000 --> 01:09:00,400
...he would stay
after school and
just let me play.

1117
01:09:00,467 --> 01:09:04,367
And, uhm,
that's where
I learned.

1118
01:09:06,000 --> 01:09:10,367
And all the other
classes you could
take away.

1119
01:09:10,433 --> 01:09:12,500
(WHISPERING)
Just not
that one.

1120
01:09:12,567 --> 01:09:13,734
Sorry.

1121
01:09:16,867 --> 01:09:19,900
(CRYING)

1122
01:09:21,367 --> 01:09:23,867
In school,

1123
01:09:24,900 --> 01:09:26,900
it was amazing
to sit in...

1124
01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:33,166
You know,
I really suffered
through school.

1125
01:09:33,233 --> 01:09:37,867
And I finally got
to high school and
they had these shops,

1126
01:09:37,934 --> 01:09:41,700
you know,
really amazing
places.

1127
01:09:41,767 --> 01:09:43,767
And these teachers
really liked
what I did.

1128
01:09:43,834 --> 01:09:46,800
INTERVIEWER: What
were you making?
Oh, anything, everything.

1129
01:09:46,867 --> 01:09:49,967
I mean, there were
parts and pieces
of machines,

1130
01:09:50,033 --> 01:09:52,533
and I liked bicycles
so I was creating
new parts.

1131
01:09:52,600 --> 01:09:56,266
I couldn't afford the really
fancy bicycle parts,
so I would copy them

1132
01:09:56,333 --> 01:09:58,934
and create
them in the
machine shop.

1133
01:09:59,000 --> 01:10:00,834
And then
the wood shop
next door,

1134
01:10:00,900 --> 01:10:03,467
and I'd build molds
and come up with
ideas and models

1135
01:10:03,533 --> 01:10:06,233
and I'd go over
to the metal shop

1136
01:10:06,300 --> 01:10:08,567
and they had
this auto shop.

1137
01:10:08,633 --> 01:10:12,300
I would work hours
and hours in that
shop at night.

1138
01:10:12,367 --> 01:10:16,734
Wasn't allowed to be in there.
I mean, they even tape
the damn thing off and uhm,

1139
01:10:16,800 --> 01:10:19,333
uh, he would turn on
the power and
let me go.

1140
01:10:21,500 --> 01:10:23,066
So.

1141
01:10:23,133 --> 01:10:24,934
But systematically

1142
01:10:25,000 --> 01:10:27,400
the school
shut down
all the shops.

1143
01:10:28,567 --> 01:10:31,066
(VOICE CRACKING)
And it was
the last blow.

1144
01:10:31,133 --> 01:10:33,400
(SNIFFS)

1145
01:10:33,467 --> 01:10:37,700
INTERVIEWER: So, it was during
your time, your time
in high school they closed it?

1146
01:10:37,767 --> 01:10:39,367
(WHISPERING)
Yeah.

1147
01:10:40,500 --> 01:10:42,467
(SNIFFS)

1148
01:10:42,533 --> 01:10:44,767
(VOICE CRACKING)
It was deplorable.

1149
01:10:46,233 --> 01:10:48,166
And, uh,
ultimately,

1150
01:10:48,233 --> 01:10:53,100
obviously I got out
of high school, made
that attempt at college.

1151
01:10:53,166 --> 01:10:58,100
Uh, that failed and then
I heard that this machine
shop was up for sale.

1152
01:10:58,166 --> 01:11:01,500
So, they were
gonna auction
everything off

1153
01:11:01,567 --> 01:11:05,233
and, uh, I was the first one
in line and that same
Joe Pasanka was there to

1154
01:11:05,300 --> 01:11:09,500
help them figure out what was
worth what and sell it and he
was in charge of selling it.

1155
01:11:09,567 --> 01:11:12,066
I very carefully
took the two
thousand dollars

1156
01:11:12,133 --> 01:11:15,266
and adjusted what I felt
the values were on
everything to make sure

1157
01:11:15,333 --> 01:11:18,567
it spread over evenly,
and I said, "Jesus, this
isn't enough money.

1158
01:11:18,633 --> 01:11:22,100
There's nowhere near
enough money and this
isn't a fair price."

1159
01:11:22,166 --> 01:11:23,333
And

1160
01:11:23,400 --> 01:11:26,767
then he
told me
that, uh,

1161
01:11:26,834 --> 01:11:30,133
he said the value
of something is what
someone's willing to pay,

1162
01:11:30,200 --> 01:11:34,266
and you're the only one here.
So you're paying exactly
what it's worth.

1163
01:11:34,333 --> 01:11:37,066
And, uhm,
I'll never forget
that term.

1164
01:11:37,133 --> 01:11:39,200
So, I uh,
I bought it

1165
01:11:39,266 --> 01:11:42,633
and loaded up
all the machinery
and took it home.

1166
01:11:42,700 --> 01:11:48,266
And uhm, I loaded it
in my basement and
reconfigured this whole thing.

1167
01:11:48,333 --> 01:11:50,767
I didn't even have
enough electricity
in my house,

1168
01:11:50,834 --> 01:11:53,000
so I had to
re-jigger the
electricity outside

1169
01:11:53,066 --> 01:11:57,200
and set up all these electric
transformers and things in
order to power all this stuff.

1170
01:11:57,266 --> 01:12:00,300
I needed three phase
power and managed to
get it all going.

1171
01:12:00,367 --> 01:12:05,967
And, uhm, and in that
basement, I started
creating this company.

1172
01:12:06,033 --> 01:12:08,100
And, uh, so out
of my house,

1173
01:12:08,166 --> 01:12:11,567
with that high school
machine shop, built
this entire factory.

1174
01:12:11,633 --> 01:12:13,500
I mean,
literally stuff
from the dump.

1175
01:12:13,567 --> 01:12:16,066
I went to
rubbish heaps
and piles, and

1176
01:12:16,133 --> 01:12:18,934
and, 'cause I just
didn't want to spend
money on anything.

1177
01:12:19,000 --> 01:12:20,967
And we
were making
pellets there.

1178
01:12:21,033 --> 01:12:22,600
It did work.

1179
01:12:33,767 --> 01:12:36,033
You asked,
you know,
is it a gift?

1180
01:12:36,100 --> 01:12:40,033
Absolutely. I can
assure you. You
couldn't offer me

1181
01:12:40,100 --> 01:12:43,467
a hundred million
dollars right now
to take away my dyslexia,

1182
01:12:43,533 --> 01:12:47,133
if that's what you
want to call it, and put
me into normal learning.

1183
01:12:47,200 --> 01:12:49,834
There's no amount
of money you could
give me right now,

1184
01:12:49,900 --> 01:12:52,934
and I would
have paid you
anything in school

1185
01:12:53,000 --> 01:12:55,300
to make it
go away.

1186
01:12:55,367 --> 01:12:58,800
So, it went
from a huge
burden

1187
01:12:58,867 --> 01:13:00,333
and this
terrible
disease

1188
01:13:00,400 --> 01:13:04,567
to a gift, that,
that I am very
confident is why

1189
01:13:04,633 --> 01:13:09,467
I'm as successful as
I am and hope to be far,
far, far more successful.

1190
01:13:12,834 --> 01:13:16,834
And so for me,
the learning disability,
I felt locked in there.

1191
01:13:16,900 --> 01:13:20,333
And I had to
get out. And
I found a way.

1192
01:13:20,400 --> 01:13:25,166
And anybody else with
a learning disability can do
exactly the same thing.

1193
01:13:25,233 --> 01:13:31,033
The mind is huge. The mind is
incredible and there's not
just one way that it works.

1194
01:13:31,100 --> 01:13:33,900
So what works
for you, and
you know it.

1195
01:13:33,967 --> 01:13:36,800
You can feel it
in your gut.

1196
01:13:37,734 --> 01:13:40,233
When I read,

1197
01:13:40,300 --> 01:13:42,600
I'm not reading
necessarily
to comprehend.

1198
01:13:42,667 --> 01:13:47,200
But I'm photographing
and memorizing
everything that I see.

1199
01:13:47,266 --> 01:13:49,900
And I can
go back and
I can tell you

1200
01:13:49,967 --> 01:13:51,667
where that is,
what number it is.

1201
01:13:51,734 --> 01:13:57,100
Just like I can still
remember Roberta Walker's
number in Hinkley 760...

1202
01:13:57,166 --> 01:13:59,734
and I can place
that number on
the keypad

1203
01:13:59,800 --> 01:14:01,533
and put it
into my brain.

1204
01:14:01,600 --> 01:14:04,467
And I remember things
that way and it
actually became

1205
01:14:04,533 --> 01:14:09,867
my gift, in my way,
to be successful
in my career.

1206
01:14:09,934 --> 01:14:15,367
Even being a paralegal,
secretary, assistant, anything
that I was doing work wise,

1207
01:14:15,433 --> 01:14:18,233
if someone said,
"Well, you wouldn't
know how to do that."

1208
01:14:18,300 --> 01:14:21,233
Because maybe you'll pick up
on my dyslexia

1209
01:14:21,300 --> 01:14:24,633
or you'll ask me to read
and I'm not comprehending
it right. Therefore,

1210
01:14:24,700 --> 01:14:28,300
they'll see something and
think she doesn't know what
she's doing. Yes, I do.

1211
01:14:28,367 --> 01:14:31,033
The minute I've been
given that challenge,
you will see.

1212
01:14:31,100 --> 01:14:34,233
And I think that
it's something that,
I'm very driven still,

1213
01:14:34,300 --> 01:14:39,100
uhm, when public health
and safety is put in
such harm's way

1214
01:14:39,166 --> 01:14:43,200
with so little disregard
in making it right.
I can't help myself

1215
01:14:43,266 --> 01:14:49,133
but to come forward and
have to really be a voice
for those people.

1216
01:14:49,200 --> 01:14:55,033
So, uhm, no again,
I am not afraid
of dyslexia at all,

1217
01:14:55,100 --> 01:14:56,934
nor should
anybody else be.

1218
01:14:57,000 --> 01:14:59,734
I said in
the beginning and
I'll tell you again,

1219
01:14:59,800 --> 01:15:01,133
in hindsight,

1220
01:15:01,200 --> 01:15:03,300
it was
my gift.

1221
01:15:05,734 --> 01:15:09,600
I wouldn't be
who I am if I didn't
have dyslexia.

1222
01:15:09,667 --> 01:15:12,934
And it opened
a whole lotta
doors for me.

1223
01:15:13,000 --> 01:15:16,500
It challenged me.
It got me outside
of that box.

1224
01:15:16,567 --> 01:15:20,066
I didn't want to
be labeled. It taught
me to stand up

1225
01:15:20,133 --> 01:15:24,767
and use my voice
and be proud of
who I am, and I do.

1226
01:15:24,834 --> 01:15:28,734
If you look at history,
if you look at the people
you've interviewed

1227
01:15:28,800 --> 01:15:31,867
and the studies
they've done, um,

1228
01:15:31,934 --> 01:15:33,767
I think it's
a great gift.

1229
01:15:33,834 --> 01:15:38,133
I think it's a wonderful
form of intelligence.
I really, really do.