Move over Sundance Film Festival because an acclaimed, independent documentary about dyslexia will be screened at Kingsbury Country Day School (5000 Hosner Rd.) in Addison Township at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 10.
It’s called ‘The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia? and it will be shown in the Justin A. Schwartz Center, located at the southwest corner of Hosner and Oakwood roads.
A brief discussion will follow and information/resources regarding dyslexia will be available. The public is invited to attend and admission is free.
Directed by James Redford, the 51-minute documentary centers around a dyslexic high school senior’s pursuit of admission to a leading college. His story is mixed with additional accounts of the dyslexic experience from children, experts and well-known leaders at the top of their fields.
‘It’s about hope. People with dyslexia really can be successful,? said Kingsbury parent Lori Phillips, who’s helping to coordinate the event. ‘I’ve seen it four times. It’s very inspiring. It’s very informative. I cry every time I see it ? cry in a good way.?
Phillips has made it her mission to help raise public awareness about the often-misunderstood learning disorder because her son, Joshua, a fifth-grader at Kingsbury, has it.
Dyslexia is characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It’s a lifelong condition caused by inherited traits that impact how the brain functions. Students with dyslexia can succeed academically with extra effort and attention.
‘People with dyslexia are not stupid,? Phillips said. ‘A lot of people just don’t understand what dyslexia is. Some people think that dyslexia is just seeing letters in reverse (order). That’s not it. It’s more common to actually see the letters as they are, but you skip words when you’re reading or you might add words that aren’t there.?
According to the International Dyslexia Association, it’s estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the overall population exhibits some symptoms of dyslexia including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing or mixing up similar words.
Joshua was formally diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 6 or 7 years old by a neuropsychologist from the Michigan Dyslexia Institute in Berkley. But this was no surprise to his parents.
‘We’ve known he’s had dyslexia since he was 2,? she said.
That’s when he started exhibiting potential symptoms.
He was slow to develop language skills (a late talker) and when he did speak, he’d often say the opposite of what he meant, according to Phillips.
It also took Joshua ‘a long time? to learn how to tie his shoes and he had trouble distinguishing left from right.
‘He would get them mixed up a lot,? Phillips said.
Based on these symptoms and her own suspicions, Phillips did all she could to educate herself about dyslexia and how to help her son deal with it. For example, she took a class on how to teach reading using the Orton-Gillingham method. Used since the 1930s, the phonics-based system teaches the basics of word formation before whole meanings.
‘That really made a difference,? Phillips said.
As a result of Phillips? early intervention, Joshua is thriving at Kingsbury.
‘He’s doing very well. He has mostly A’s and B’s. Sometimes he gets C’s. But mostly he does very well,? she said.
Children with dyslexia don’t need to be placed in separate special education classes, according to Phillips.
‘They just need to be taught differently in a way that they can wrap their minds around,? she said.
Phillips is the first to admit that Joshua’s success in the classroom doesn’t come easy.
‘It is a struggle,? she said. ‘He does have to work harder than everybody else. It takes him longer to do things. Fortunately, Kingsbury has been very helpful and very supportive.?
For example, the school allows Joshua to use special aids such as the Livescribe system, which utilizes a ballpoint smartpen that contains a computer and digital recorder.
When used with a special digital paper, the pen records what it writes and the information can be transferred to a computer.
The Livescribe pen also synchronizes written notes with audio recordings. This allows users to replay specific portions of a recording by simply tapping it on their notes.
For a dyslexic student like Joshua, it allows him to focus on the actual lesson as opposed to constantly worrying about writing everything down quickly and spelling it correctly, according to Phillips.
‘It’s a really phenomenal tool,? she said.
Last year, Phillips and her husband, Don, gave a presentation on dyslexia to the Kingsbury staff. In it, they listed some signs teachers can look for that may indicate a student has dyslexia.
They include avoiding reading; having difficulty with written and/or verbal communication; exhibiting behavioral problems; being slow to complete assignments or submitting incomplete work; poor spelling and grammar; poor handwriting; and trouble remembering things.
‘Like everyone else, people with dyslexia are unique and have certain strengths,? Phillips said. ‘But most often, their strengths ? such as seeing the big picture, thinking out of the box and being exceptionally perceptive ? are not the kind that are typically measured in school. The things that are usually valued in school are things (at which) they don’t often do well.
‘And if you have to go someplace almost every day and get the message, whether externally or internally, that you are inferior, it can really squash your self-esteem. But when kids get the support they need, and are given the opportunity to receive and deliver knowledge in a way that works for them, they will go on to do amazing things.?
Phillips advises parents to take immediate action if they believe their child may has dyslexia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, some signs and symptoms to look for before a child starts school include late talking, learning new words slowly, difficulty learning nursery rhymes and difficulty playing rhyming games.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities includes other signs such as trouble with the following ? recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, blending sounds into speech, pronouncing words, and learning sequences such as the alphabet, numbers and days of the week.
‘If you even suspect (a child has dyslexia), get help early,? Phillips said. ‘Early intervention is key. Don’t wait. You have to be proactive. You have to be your child’s advocate.?
Had she waited, Phillips believes Joshua ‘would not be doing nearly as well? in school as he is today.
Tom Mecsey, head of Kingsbury since 2008, views showing this documentary on dyslexia as part of the continuing professional development for his school’s teachers.
Not only will it enhance their ability to help dyslexic students, according to Mecsey, it will make them more effective when it comes to teaching others.
‘Research shows anything you do in order to assist kids with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, actually benefits other students as well if you use the same techniques,? he said.

Dyslexia facts*
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.
What causes dyslexia?
The exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions. Moreover, most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties. Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexics can learn successfully.
What are the effects of dyslexia?
The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation. The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading fluency, spelling, and writing. Some dyslexics manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material, and writing essays.
People with dyslexia can also have problems with spoken language, even after they have been exposed to good language models in their homes and good language instruction in school. They may find it difficult to express themselves clearly, or to fully comprehend what others mean when they speak. Such language problems are often difficult to recognize, but they can lead to major problems in school, in the workplace, and in relating to other people. The effects of dyslexia reach well beyond the classroom.
Dyslexia can also affect a person’s self-image. Students with dyslexia often end up feeling ‘dumb? and less capable than they actually are. After experiencing a great deal of stress due to academic problems, a student may become discouraged about continuing in school.
* Source: The International Dyslexia Association