NORFOLK, Va. – Dyslexia is a learning disorder involving difficulty reading, writing and spelling.
A local woman has written a book based on her daughter’s struggles, and they’ve formed an advocacy group called “Lex Talk Dyslexia.”
“She was 7 years old and I started to notice when she was reading, doing her homework at home, she was having trouble with the speech and the letters relating to each other,” explained Aarian Daniels.
Daniels wrote “Carey Overcomes Dyslexia.” It’s illustrated by Makayla Perry, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. The book is about a young girl learning to accept and overcome her disability.
"Carey Overcomes Dyslexia" was published in January and is available on Amazon in both paperback and digital formats.
On Monday, Daniels teamed up with the Norfolk Public Library to host a virtual presentation for families wanting to learn more about dyslexia.
Daniels said though the schools have reading specialists, her family still had trouble finding the right type of help.
“There are reading specialists, but every school reading specialist is not equipped to handle students with dyslexia,” Daniels stated. “My long-term goal is to get legislation passed so that students can have a resource, have a place to go to in school that can help them with dyslexia.”
She wants others to know it can be a challenge to manage the disorder, but it's certainly not impossible.
“Because you have it, it does not stop you from being successful in life,” exclaimed Daniels. “My brother, who just got his doctorate from Cornell, has dyslexia. That says a lot.”
For more on the support group Lex Talk Dyslexia, click here.
