All language subtitles for Journey Into Dyslexia (2011)

NARRATOR: Dyslexia
is a specific
learning disability

that is
neurobiological
in origin

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

However, people with
dyslexia are frequently
endowed with talent

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

Dyslexia appears in
all cultures and
languages in the world.

JONATHAN MOONEY:
Uh, good afternoon.

STUDENTS: Good afternoon.

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

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

and many kids
like me with
learning differences,

school sucks
and sucks big time.

Now...
STUDENTS: (CHEERING)

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

I am proud
of it.

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

I am proud to be
a member of
this community.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By the time
I was in
9th grade,

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

I was told
that I was
the stupid kid.

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

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

And number three,
I heard that I was

lazy.

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

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

Few of us right?

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

Yeah you
know it.
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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

Stupid, crazy
and lazy because
I'm different,

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

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

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

but in school,
often there's
one way.

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

if you spell poorly
and you got
bad handwriting,

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

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

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

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

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

Who gets to ride
the special bus

to the special class
STUDENTS: (LAUGHING)

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

I've spent my
entire life chasing
this fiction

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

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

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

There is no normal.
There's only you.

There's only
a singular
intelligence.

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

Normal is
a dead end.

LD and ADHD,
when channeled
correctly

are not
abnormalities.

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

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

STUDENTS:
(CHEERING AND CLAPPING)

You know,
the challenge in

understanding
this story

is to understand

what a monumental
negation of
who you are,

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

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

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

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

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

"Your mind
doesn't work,"

or, "You're bad."

The real
tragedy here is

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

You know,
they are the

the next generation
of artists or innovators
or creative thinkers.

They're the
opposite of it.

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

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

My last
school was

uh, really big.

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

and I got
beat up
all the time.

The classes
were so big,
I would never get

to have one on one time
with my teachers.

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

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

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

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

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

trying to say
or what I was
going through.

You're always wrong.

You're always
working so hard
to keep up.

You know that
something's wrong.

No one's
helping you.

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

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

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

yourself.

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

my teacher
just like,

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

and told me,
"Stop pretending."

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

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

she said that I was
pretending to have
a learning disability

so I could
get attention.

It's just
a really
lonely feeling.

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

Or really gets
where you're
coming from.

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

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

You know?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And just dreading
every day you
went to school,

being picked on
because you're...

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

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

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

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

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

You teachers
out there.

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

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

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

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

Stress takes a toll and
constantly being confronted
with your weakest

parts, is
so frustrating.

Uhm...but

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

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

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

I should just
work harder.

In 6th grade
I was suicidal.

And that was
pretty bad.

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

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

because I was
so frustrated that
I couldn't express

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

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

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

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

And it kills me.

Like, sometimes
I'll, like, cry.

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

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

My brain is
just not
wired right.

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

Right. As we
were talking
about it yesterday,

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

Not with thinking.

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

When a person
learns how
to read,

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

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

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

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

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

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

and that area of
the brain will
light right up.

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

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

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

You're really
working hard.

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

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

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

Different areas
of the brain
will light up

and they're not
as efficient as

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

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

and it's actually,
literally, measurably

uses five times
more energy to do
the same thing.

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

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

than the
other people
around you.

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

I have a question
about the ADD
and ADHD?

ADD could be
attendant on this.

People can have
both. Right?

There are
some people who
are just dyslexic.

There are
some people who
are just ADHD.

And there are
some people
who have both.

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

and something like
30% of ADHD people
have dyslexia.

So there's
an overlap.

Yeah.
Can dyslexia
affect like,

how you write?
Like, with dysgraphia?

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

trouble forming
the symbols.

You know, I know
people who are
beautiful artists

and can't
write letters.

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

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

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

Uhm, I don't know
how you do it.

We don't either.
What?

We don't
know either.
I know! (LAUGHS)

Dyslexia is very
poorly understood

by almost everybody
in society, including
our students

who also don't know
what it is that's causing
their frustration,

their difficulties.
They've just been

dealing with them
for years, uhm, without
anybody really explaining

the cognitive
or biological basis
of the condition.

And so, uhm, the
biggest difficulty
is the emotional one.

The first thing
we have to do
is, uhm,

what I call,
academic rehabilitation.

Just convincing them

that the school system
is not going to
beat them up,

and giving them
the idea that
they are smart.

They can learn,
they can learn
to read.

They can operate in
an academic environment,
uh, with success.

And without someone
constantly telling them that
what they're doing is not

right, when the fact is that
what their teachers have
been doing isn't right.

When teachers and parents
are willing to step out of
their own box a little,

and not say that, this is,
you know, "You need to
be in special ed.,"

and there's so much confusion
about dyslexia. It can really
help the person that has it

uhm, open the doors
for them, to feel good.

Nothing feels good when
you're not comprehending
and you can't say it,

and you're coming
home, like I did,
dejected again

with another "D" stamped
on your test when
you struggled so hard.

You know you know the
information but it doesn't
come out that way on paper.

And I really didn't
want to be
stuck in a box.

Who does want
to be in a box
their whole life?

And so I wanted
to fight to get away
from that label

or that judgment,
that just because
I learned different,

I was different,
and therefore
if I was different,

then now suddenly
society thought
I was inferior.

And I knew I wasn't.
Any dyslexic knows
that they're not inferior.

They know that they
may be different, but
they've got to know

that they can rise
to that challenge
and overcome it.

Words to look out for,

struggled with,
afflicted by,
suffered from.

Those types
of words imply

(MIMICS SADNESS)
"Oh it's so terrible.
Oh it's awful."

I was not afflicted with
dyslexia. I was afflicted with
a poorly designed system

that expected me
to be something I'm not.

And those expectations
and my reality
did not go together.

It is as though the sun
will explode if you say
out loud, "I read bad."

Right? My name's
Ben Foss, and
I read terribly.

There's still this element,
where you, thou must
be able to read.

And proficiently
and fast and spell
and write, and, uh,

you know, I disagree.
You need to
read a little.

I'll give you that.
You gotta be
able to function.

You gotta be able
to navigate the internet,
for instance.

If you can get to
that point, good.

And I'm not saying
the internet's going
to be your career,

but that would be
my litmus test to say
you know enough.

You could make up
for the rest.

I think you have
a learning spectrum,

uh, it's
not digitized,

and education has picked
a very narrow window within
a long spectrum to teach.

And if you're lucky,
you fall in
that spectrum.

If you're a little to the side
of the spectrum, you'll
probably do okay,

you'll make it.

And at some point,
when you get to
one end or the other,

they'll label you with
somethin' and dyslexia's
a popular one, ADD is another.

I don't subscribe in either
of those two, that anyone can
pinpoint, this is a disease.

The way I look at
it is, you learn
outside of our today,

here, United
States of America,
learning spectrum.

Ah, I always like
to get to root cause
of a problem,

and the root cause
of the problem
here is

how we're teaching,
not how we're learning.

And so you're labeling

not a method of teaching, but
the method of learning when
the problem is the reverse.

And so, we're trying
to fix the effect
and not the cause.

NARRATOR: If a student
experiences a great
deal of frustration

in a public
or private school,

he may choose
to attend a school

with a curriculum
designed for
dyslexic students.

TEACHER: From the beginning.
I wouldn't
have helped

NARRATOR: The Kildonan School
in Amenia, New York

uses a program that
addresses the strengths
of each student,

while also providing
an individual daily
tutorial for reading.

...uh, subject,
returning to me.
I couldn't...

NARRATOR: Although
there are a number of
these private schools

throughout the country,
they only serve 1% of the
students with dyslexia.

...uhm,
his time.

Export.

(READS SLOWLY)
Emancipate. Emancipate.
Mm-hmm.

Edifee.

Edify.
TEACHER: Good.

(READS SLOWLY)
Uh, expedi...tation?

(READS SLOWLY)
Expedition. Expedition.
Mm-hmm. Good.

Effossi...sive.

This is long.

Effuse...effusieve?

Good. Effusive.

What does
that mean?

Well, first off
at Kildonan each
student receives

uhm, a tutorial,

one hour or so,
Orton-Gillingham
tutoring period.

Which is a
systematic, uhm,
very sort of

methodical approach
to teaching, uhm, students
how to read and write.

I've tutored, now,
dyslexics for
eight years,

and I've never had
two kids that were
alike in their dyslexia.

Uhm, there's
so many component
parts to it,

uhm, that although
there is a category
called dyslexia,

I do not believe
that there is
any one dyslexic.

I think that different
dyslexics have
auditory processing,

verbal expression,
long term, short term
working memory.

It's all different.
It's almost like a, maybe
when you edit the film,

there'll be like, uhm,
a soundboard. I don't know
if you use a soundboard.

They're all at
different levels.

No immortal god escapes
from you, nor any man
who lives but for a day.

And the one
whom you possess
goes mad.

Even in good men
you twist
their minds,

perverting them to their
own ruin. You provoke
these men to family strife,

the bride's desire seems
glittering in her eyes that
conquers everything.

I have kind of
a tougher time
learning

than a "normal" person
would, you know? I can't
comprehend things.

But I'm a fine reader.
Like, I can read
perfectly...

...basically. But I just
cannot comprehend what I'm
reading.

So...yeah.

I need one on one help.
I couldn't be in a classroom
with thirty people.

Public school
is just way
too, uhm,

way too many
people. I mean
it's fun, you know?

It's fun being
with all your
friends and stuff.

But, uhm,

it didn't
work out for me,
didn't cut it.

You know, dyslexia
is a serious thing
with me, at least,

and I know tons of kids
that if you call them
mentally challenged

or, like,
retarded,
I mean

like, we're
not retarded.
Like, we're not.

We are actually
really smart people.

TEACHER: Okay,
so what does
this become?

Uh, it becomes X
minus 3 squared.

MARA: Then, plus Y

minus 2
quantity squared

divided by one

equals one.

They didn't
really quite
understand me

because I was
always good
at math.

Math always
came easy
to me.

It was a walk in
the park. I could do it
simply and easily.

And reading,
everything just
fell apart.

So they were kind of
like, "Oh, well she'll
grow out of it."

"She's so good at math.
She's so good at math
that she'll grow out of it."

And then they said
this for a good
three or four years.

And I'm staying
at the same level
where I am,

and a year is going by and
everybody else is improving
but I'm staying behind.

I would
never read
out loud.

There would be no way,
because it would be
every other...

not every other, like,
every word I'd be
stumbling through to get

through, and it wouldn't
sound and usually they'd
just tell me to stop.

I got through
a sentence and
I was like,

all, everybody else got
through, like, three or
four paragraphs and I'm

one sentence.

I was three or four levels
behind and they asked me to
leave the school because

they couldn't,
I mean,

I was so
far behind,
they didn't

think I could
catch up
or anything,

which I really
needed at
that point

some help, because
I wasn't reading
anything, really.

Know that you're needing help
and, like, try to be specific
about what is going wrong.

So, if you can
tell them,

"This is where
it's going wrong."

Or like the reading part,
this is where it's going
wrong. And the writing part.

Like, try to be
specific as possible

to, like, understand
your problem and
then ask for help.

It, like, ask for help is
like, the simplest thing
you can do and yet

yet not
many people
like doing that.

So...and you
shouldn't
be ashamed.

You should not
be ashamed, at all,

for the fact
that you're having
this problem

or to go
and ask
for the help.

Unk.
Good.

Ank.
Good.

Oink. Onk.
Not oink.

Is there an "I"
in there?

Onk.
Onk and ong.

Good.
What was
this word?

Oink.

(LAUGHS) Do
you see any
pigs on here?

No but there should be a pig.
Okay, but it
doesn't say oink.

Okay? It's not a pig word.
Okay, so onk. Say it again.
Onk.

Onk.

Okay, I get these...
I get "o" words
mixed up.

Okay. Good.
Ong.

Okay, now be
very careful.
It's not a pig.

Oink. Oing.
(LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS)

Onk, onk.
Onk.

The school wasn't
helping me the way
that it should have.

It should have had
a program that would
help kids like me.

But they didn't,
so we had
to look at,

we had to
look at two
different schools.

They said that this school
would be the best for me
because everybody fits in.

It makes me feel
a little happy because

I know that all
these kids have
something that's,

that's different
about them, and

it makes me
feel comfortable.

Yeah, but for some
reason eating time
is a little, uhm,

not on the good side
'cause I cry usually,

on Wednesdays

and that's
kind of not
that happy.

But sometimes
it happens and
you can't stop that,

but there are
ways that
you can.

INTERVIEWER:
Do you know why
you feel that way?

Probably 'cause
at my old school

kids never
wanted me to
sit next to them.

They were
treating me, like,

everybody else
in the school was

like, a certain way
and I wasn't.

So, they
thought that

different was bad.
But different is good.

INTERVIEWER:
And when did you
learn that?

Well, it's
just, like,
an instinct to me.

When I encountered
school,

when my mother took me
to the school gates
to meet the teacher,

through the school
gates and the teacher's
waiting for me,

and I was greeted,
not greeted.

I suppose I was
introduced to
an evil woman.

It's just
like going into
Dracula's castle,

being greeted
by somebody
who speaks like,

with her head like this,
(MIMICS TEACHER)
"Are you the new boy?"

Yes, yes.

"You'll address me
as Mrs. Adams, and
don't you forget that."

And her eyes
would go...

"Come along with me
and I shall introduce you
to the rest of the children."

"Here's some chalk.

Here's the blackboard.

Write your name."

So,I drew a picture
of a little man,
which was me. (LAUGHS)

Some of the kids started
to chuckle. I could
hear them laughing.

(MIMICS TEACHER)
"That's not your name.
Write your name!"

So I just got
the chalk
and made...

just a circle and
then another circle
and then...

made a, drew a dog,
which was my dog

and drew...whatever.

Because I don't
have any experience
of writing so

that was it.
And then she
said to me, uhm,

"Children,

here we have

an exhibition
of failure.

He is
failure.

This is what
not to become.

The reason why

the word failure
was written in
the dictionary

was because
of Willard.

Willard is failure."

When she
told me that,
I, uhm,

I said to myself then,
even though I was
only a child,

I realized what
she said so,

because she
said I was that,

uhm, she
destroyed me.

So, I was destroyed.

So, that was it.
Destroyed
academically.

Obliterated.
That is it.

I became a bit of
a recluse. I locked
myself away a lot.

You know, disappear.
Like Howard Hughes.
(LAUGHS)

And just stayed
there working.

I did a carving of
Miss Havisham on
a toothpick on the point.

And the first thing
my mother said
to me was,

"That is beautiful.
That is very,
very nice.

That is, incredible."

My artwork
becomes a defense.

So, I'm going,
"I am going to be
the greatest.

I am going to be
the greatest," in
my head.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Thank you very much.
Yep. Pleasure.

I saw a microscope
on the table and I put
my hand up to ask a question.

And then
he said, uhm,

"You don't need to, uh, know
because your brain doesn't
have the, doesn't have,"

Mr. Reilly said,
"You don't
need to know

because your
brain does not
have the capacity

so it's
pointless.
Next."

So, when he said that to me,
I looked on the table
and saw a microscope

and that microscope
had my name
written on it.

So I decided
to take the
microscope.

And they went round,
you know, each boy,

(MIMICS TEACHER)
"Bradford was it you
that stole the microscope?"

Bradford would say,
"No, not me."

"Whittaker was
it you?" No. "Cottle,
was it you?"

"Lear was it you?
Thompson was it you?"

"Fletcher was it you?"
"No sir, it wasn't me."

And he came to me.

"I know it's not you Wigan.
You wouldn't have a brain
for a microscope.

"Turner, was
it you?" (LAUGHS)

Yeah, that was good,
a good feeling.

He said,

"I know it's not you because
you wouldn't have the brain
for a microscope."

So that was good.
(LAUGHS)

INTERVIEWER: And then
what did you do with
the microscope?

I became who
I am today.

I continued

to create smaller
and smaller
sculptures.

Then I started
to experiment
with my fingers.

As I was sculpting,
I was looking at the way
my pulse was moving.

I started to train
my pulse beat

so I could work
between my
heartbeats.

The frame
is the eye.

If I wanted to
put Noah's Ark
inside there with

15 animals

or 20 animals,
I could.

Me now, I could put 9 camels
in the eye of the needle,
which I already have.

But my favorite was
Alice in Wonderland,
the Mad Hatter's tea party.

That was my favorite one.
That's one I could
sit back and go,

"Hmm. Yeah."

Charlie Chaplin
was very hard.

That's one of
the all time
favorites

because he's
on the end
of an eyelash.

And then,
before I knew it,

I was invited
to Buckingham Palace
to receive

a medal.

It's one of the highest
honors you can get.
It's called the MBE.

Prince Charles
was there.

I bowed like that and
he shook my hands
and he said to me,

(MIMICS PRINCE) "That is the
most phenomenal artwork I have
ever seen in my whole life.

How does one create
such works of art? Such
wonders. It is beyond belief.

You are
a true genius.

Absolutely incredible."
And he was shaking
my hand for a long time.

So my hand
was being shook.

So, Rod Stewart
was waiting there
and a few more.

And my hand was being
shook more than the others.
And he was saying to me,

"How do you keep
your hand so still
to do this work?

It is pure genius."

And then,
I'm just
thinking,

"Thank you." Because every
time he's saying that to me,
I'm getting greater, and I'm,

I'm looking back at
the past and I'm looking back
at the, back at...

...my learning
difficulties and it
didn't matter anymore.

Dyslexic is
actually a gift.

That's what
I believe.

One of the things
that I laugh about
is when anyone says

that reading is
a natural act.
Reading is un-natural.

Reading is a cultural
invention. There is
nothing natural about it.

Every reader

had to have

a brain that
created a whole
new circuitry

for that
reading process.

Well, in the case
of dyslexia

what we have
is a differently
acquired circuit

that's new to
the species.

It's a blink of
the evolutionary eye.

We've only been
reading for basically
5,000 years.

It's nothing.

It is a wonderful
thing to remember

that this is one of
the newest inventions
of the species.

But, the children who are
among us with dyslexia
have always been there,

and they've
always been there
for a reason.

They have a very
important role
to play, that brain,

in our design, in our art,
in our building, in our
thinking in novel ways.

They've been
doing that pre
5,000 years.

Only in the last,
even, 100 years

have we called it

uh, something that would
have a name that would
sound like a disease.

The heart, for me,
the heart of some of
the emotional difficulties

our kids have as
consequences of
learning disabilities

begins with
the fact that
people equate

being able
to read with
being smart,

with intelligence.

Reading
involves

many aspects and
it involves the use
of our intelligence,

but if you
realize that
reading

only exists as the
circuitry that connects
intelligence to itself,

it's not about
intelligence.

That intelligence already
exists independently.
It's being connected

to the circuit.

Reading, as you know,
is to me one of the great
miracles of cognition.

But it's not
equatable with
intelligence.

Some of
our children
with dyslexia

are some of
our most intellectually
gifted humans.

It's a form
of intelligence.
It's a form

of brain organization
that they have that
leads them to be

often times our artists,
our architects, our
pattern recognizers

in radiology
and astronomy.

But they
think often

outside the box of
our conventional left
hemisphere thinking.

I love them.
Our species

would never be what it is,
without that form
of brain organization.

The actual discovery
was something we did
about 25 years ago

where we were trying
to understand the
basic phenomenon

of how chromosomes
are maintained.

So, the chromosomes
are in the cell and
they have to package

all of the DNA
for the genetic
material in the cell.

And there was
this puzzle
about how it is

that they can be copied
completely to the end
every time a cell divides.

The Nobel Prize
was given for
Physiology or Medicine

and the medical
implications

of the fundamental
discovery

uh, weren't apparent
until we, and many
other people,

had then followed up and
understood, that it turned
out this enzyme telomerase

plays a major role
in human disease.

INTERVIEWER: When do you
think you first understood
that you had dyslexia?

I didn't understand
that it was dyslexia
until much later

because at that
time they weren't
diagnosing dyslexia.

Uhm, I was told that
I was a poor speller.
I was taken out of classes,

uhm, given remedial
training and I always
thought that I was really

kind of stupid.
(LAUGHS)

I mean I got Ds
and Fs in my
English class,

which of course I didn't
really care because it wasn't
going to count for anything.

But looking back
at those then years later
I thought, "You know,"

"Maybe there was
really something
going on here."

Uhm, and then when
it came to the
standardized tests, uhm,

I just did very, very poorly
on standardized tests,
both the SATs and the GREs.

The only thing that I can
figure out is this connection
between, uhm, you know, my

complete inability to see
a new word and pronounce it.
I still can't do that.

Reading when my kids
were small. Reading
dinosaur books.

I couldn't do it.
(LAUGHS)

All those dinosaur names
I would pronounce them
wrong every single time.

Unless I would memorize
them. Like triceratops,
I can get that one now.

Or ichthyosaurs, but
that's only because
I've memorized it.

And then
when my son
was dyslexic,

I had a little bit
more understanding
when he had,

when he had trouble in school
and needed the tutoring and
all of that sort of stuff.

It was very
clear to me

that it was going to be
helpful for him to get
tutoring really early.

And then I read all
the books on dyslexia,
uhm, and, uhm,

decided that,
you know,

to help him along.
And he's done
very well now,

and he's
in regular
school, so...

But now, you know,
having thought more
about the dyslexia

and all that sort of
stuff and read
more about it, uhm,

I go back and
I question,
you know,

"Maybe I really
wasn't as stupid
as I thought I was?"

And, you know,
I learned that
I had to work hard,

but maybe I was
putting myself in
a different category

uh, because there
wasn't anyone
around to say,

"It's not because you're
stupid, it's because you
have this other, uhm,

this other issue,"
which I can now
say to my son.

I can say, you know,
"Look, I'm a professor
at Johns Hopkins.

Just because you're dyslexic
doesn't mean you can't do
anything you want to do."

So, we acquire
two types of images,

those that contain functional
information about where
there's brain activity

and another that
gives us information
about brain anatomy.

And this scan here,
which is our participant's
brain at this point.

And we're just scrolling
from the left side to
the right side of the brain

and we can begin to see
the brain structures
that we're interested in.

The goal of using
brain imaging

is to help us understand
how the brain is
specialized for different

functions, and the
function that we're
interested in is reading.

People who doubt
whether there's such
a thing as dyslexia,

I think there should be no
doubt in their mind because
the research is so clear.

The technology
that we use,
brain imaging,

is one of the areas where
I think it's really helped
people to understand

that even though
this is an invisible
condition,

it's now become
visible because we can
see it in the brain.

It's been known,
for almost
30 years now,

that when you
look at the brain
anatomy of a person

with and without dyslexia,
that there are some
differences that

you can see
almost with
the naked eye.

And what people have
found is that when
you at readers who

are skilled readers,
we see a network
in the left hemisphere

involving regions
in the temporal lobe

and then up in
parietal areas and
then in frontal regions.

Three areas that are
the sort of the typical
network involved in reading.

And what we find
in people who are
dyslexic readers,

areas in the back of the brain
don't tend to be engaged
during the reading process

like they are
in non-dyslexic
readers.

And what this is showing
you is that areas
in the left hemisphere

tend to be under
activated in people
with dyslexia.

That they're
under activating

areas back here
in the brain in parietal
and temporal cortices.

But what's
striking here

are the changes that
we've observed in
the right hemisphere.

We don't think of
the right hemisphere

as being that
involved in the
reading process.

And the change seems to have
been brought about in part
by the right hemisphere

chiming in to what is
normally considered
a left hemisphere function.

So developmental
dyslexia is, is a
learning disability

in, in the field of learning
disabilities, it's the most
prominent learning disability.

It accounts for about
80% of all learning
disabilities.

Why do children
have dyslexia? Well,

for a number
of reasons.

Again, it's thought
to be inheritable
so you will see

uhm, in some individuals
who have dyslexia that
they have it in their family.

If you have
a parent
with dyslexia,

the chances that their
child will have dyslexia
are between 35 and 40%.

So it runs
in families.
We know that.

I think
it's important
to recognize

that when you
work with a student
who has dyslexia

that this is a lifelong
issue. It just doesn't
go away. So,

it helps in terms of
having them develop
the right attitude

to recognize that they
will always have
to deal with this.

But the majority
of the population
with dyslexia is adult.

And people
shouldn't give up
on the adults.

The problem is that the
adults are no longer
in an educational setting

where they
receive
interventions.

And so they don't often have
access to continue to
improve their reading skills.

But what we and
others have shown
is that, that

when you teach an adult with
dyslexia to learn to read
they can still make gains.

And the brain is
really quite plastic.
It shows a really

significant way
in which it's
organized for reading.

There are those
who believe there
is something to do

with a literal
configuration
of the brain,

the ability
to process
certain ways

and uhm,

that it is
a disorder, a deficit,
a dysfunction

within the brain.
That is a
medicalized view.

Uhm, the other view
that I prefer and
tend towards is

this is just
human variation

and people are born
all different kinds
of ways.

Whereas if you think
the human race is divided
into two peoples,

the learning disabled
and the non
learning disabled,

it gets super
questionable
because people

think, uhm,
that's what defines
that person.

But, in essence,
a label has been
given to them, uhm,

and it's meant
to be beneficial
in theory.

But in many cases
and in sometimes
the majority of cases

it could be detrimental
to the kid depending upon

where their school
is located,
the quality of their

teachers teaching them.
All that kind of stuff.

They become sort of
2nd class citizens.

The system did not
recognize that.

Special Education,
as a field, does not
really recognize that,

which is
very troubling
indeed.

Uhm, people who have been
labeled, that label kind of
sticks with them for life.

It's like it
becomes inscribed
upon them

and they internalize it and
they kind of come to think
of themselves as not as good,

uhm, inferior to,
not normal, ah,
etcetera etcetera.

And I think psychologically
that's very cruel
to do to kids.

I mean Special
Education really,

I hate to put it this way.
It's dressed up and
it's called "special,"

but it really is education
of students who have
been labeled disabled.

It probably started

when I was
in elementary school

uhm, when I was, uhm, pulled
out of a regular 6th grade
edu...uhm, regular class

into a Special
Education class.

They never labeled
me as special
or as different.

They just said I was
really slow in comprehending
and, uhm, doing my work,

especially with
math and reading
and writing.

INTERVIEWER: Did they ever
say you were dyslexic?
No.

They just said
I was slow.

Sometimes when you're
an inner city kid
locked into a box

with limited socio
economic skills
and things like that,

you can't really see yourself
as being beyond a learning
disability child or student.

Uhm, I think that label
sometimes really places
students in a box

where they
limit their
abilities.

And they really,
it's hard for them to see
what they're good at

once they're
labeled.

So I sat,
did my work, and
just moved on,

uhm, never
really receiving
much help but

I guess because I was
in a smaller class I was
supposed to, but not really.

INTERVIEWER: How long
did you stay
in Special Ed?

Until I graduated
high school.

Once the kid
is placed,

the kids used to
call it the Roach Motel.

Remember the advertisement,
"Once You Check In,
You Never Check Out?"

And something like
2% of kids go back
into general ed.

or become de-certified
and don't have their I.E.P.,

some minuscule
amount, like 1 in 50
or something.

The kids who
possibly are
labeled dyslexic...

I have to go
on record, as there
are very few, uhm,

really good programs
for kids who have been labeled
dyslexic in public schools.

I would say that,
uhm, at least, at least
50% of kids, uh,

with learning
disabilities
drop out,

especially in
the, uh, self
contained classroom.

So, it's always been a big
issue for me that kids who
are labeled disabled,

whether it's learning
disabled or anything else,
really should have access

to all of the other kids
and every learning
opportunity, too.

Because it's, uhm, more
of a question of civil
rights in a democracy.

Like, who's to say
you shouldn't really be
in a classroom

with the 95% of your
non-disabled peers.

Who benefits from labeling
kids with disabilities?
Who benefits from it?

Often times, they're
not the ones who
benefit from it.

Schools can
run smoother,
more efficiently.

Teachers can be trained
in clipped programs. "You
learn this. You learn this."

But does it really
benefit the kids who
are labeled disabled?

Not the majority
of them in my,
uh, experience.

So after
high school,
I, uhm,

I tried to apply
to Community College
of Philadelphia.

And, uhm, I took a test,
the entry-level test,
and I failed.

And uhm, I went
to a counselor
and she said,

"Who told you
you can be here?"
You know,

"How did
you even get
this far?"

I mean,
she yelled and
screamed and

that was the
worst experience
I ever had.

Uhm, I gave up
for a while.

I gave up for a while
and I thought that
this was my life.

I started, uhm, cleaning.
Really. I thought that,
"Okay, this is it."

I actually ended up
cleaning for the School
District of Philadelphia.

Uhm, and I was in there,
I was actually cleaning for
quite some time, uhm,

because I thought
that this is
my ability.

This is all
that I can do.

I still had that
drive somewhere
deep inside of me

that I knew I could
do better, but I really
didn't know how.

Uhm, my faith
kept me going
honestly, my faith.

My faith and

just knowing that
there had to be something
better than this.

I couldn't be
limited to just,

just being told
that I was dumb
and stupid

and just
embracing it.

I knew it
was something
better for me.

I just didn't
know how
to get it.

Dyslexia is a special way of
seeing things. I like to call
it a different kind of mind.

What kind of mind?
In Theo's case, first rate.

He has the brainpower.
He just has a glitch in the
way he takes in information.

A glitch?

Yes, he just has a
problem in the way that
he processes language.

Does that mean that there's
nothing we can do?
Not at all.

There are specialists who can
help dyslexics overcome
their learning problems.

All he has to do is work with
the program they set up.
You mean if my son

does what they want him
to he can be helped?
Yes!

From an episode of
The Cosby Show, that's
actually I thought,

"Wow, I struggle with
reading and writing." They
were talking about how

Theo's challenges were with
dyslexia. And I never knew
what dyslexia was at the time.

I really, a light
went on and
it was a relief

because all these
years I never
knew what I had.

I just struggled. I went
on to college or I went
back to college (LAUGHS)

with the help of a tutor,
Judith Mazur, who's still a
tremendous support to me.

Uhm, I worked with her
for three years prior
to going back to college.

And I applied to,
uhm, Harcum College
and I got in.

I got accepted
and I completed
Harcum within

two to three years
with a 4.0

I believe dyslexia
is a part of
who you are.

But it's not,

it's not who you are
as a person. It's just
what you have.

NARRATOR: More students with
dyslexia are attending four
year liberal arts colleges

like Evergreen
State College
in Olympia, Washington.

If a student discloses
her disability,

she is protected by
the Americans With
Disabilities Act

that insures
she receives the
accommodations needed

to succeed with
college level work.

I have been still dealing
with this anxiety about
going into a classroom

and it takes, it does
take a lot, it takes
a lot of energy

and people don't realize
how that wears down
on you after awhile.

And kind of how easy
it is to just give up and
fall through the cracks.

It's actually
taken a while for

me to be able to
talk to my housemates

and have them
not go, "Why are
you here?" Like,

but to really
talk to them about

the struggles
that I'm facing.
Because for,

I think for them
in their minds, uhm,

you have this limitation.
(MIMICS HOUSEMATES)
"Why, why are you here?"

What I really want to do
is definitely give you
this accommodation letter

and make sure you understand
everything that's on it.
Okay.

Alright. Good. That's
a good place
to start. Okay.

This is kind of
always a balancing
act for me, uhm,

whether or not,
how much I want
to disclose.

One of the reasons why we
try at least teach in two or
three different modalities

because we have lots of
people with different
learning styles in the class.

We have a young man
who's slightly autistic
and has asperg.

(STUTTERING)
Asperger's?

Say it again.
Asperger's
Asperger's.

And then we have,
uhm, two people
with dyslexia

(STUTTERING) and uh,
one person with anxiety,
extreme anxiety.

So, I've got to watch got
to watch her rhythm and
how much she can take.

And so that's
why we try to
focus the learning

so not only
the instruction

deals with different
learning styles and
different patterns

but also
the presentation.

I taught, uh, mime
one time to a woman
who was blind.

And that was such a great
experience for me because
it really taught me about

how many of my, uh, references
were visual and how much
I used the blackboard.

So, I had to switch
everything around to
make sure that she,

you know,
could, uhm,

that she could
understand the
concepts and stuff.

And do a lot of, you
know, tactile stuff using
your hands and things.

So yeah, the major
thing is for you
to achieve success.

So, however, you know,
we just say where
the shore is

and then you can
choose whether you
want to breast stroke

or whether you want to
crawl or whether you want
to do it under water.

Okay, so uhm,
for me visual
processing is

probably
the best, uhm,
Mm-hmm. Mm-Hmm.

it's helpful
for me to look
back at notes.

But I don't take notes
as fast as I would like to.
Okay.

I think that, what
might be interesting
to try with you,

which hasn't worked with other
professors, but I think it
might work is just, uhm,

maybe after class coming up
and expanding on some of the
things I've jotted down.

Perfect.

'Cause usually
something
resonates with me

and I want to keep
talking about it.
Okay.

I don't really
understand how
other people

get through.

I think some
people kind of
hide it or, uhm,

I have no idea
'cause this is how

I've learned that

I get what
I need to
get through.

Uhm, by having
these types
of meetings

and we are supposed
to have these
types of meetings

in order to legally
have the school provide
these services.

But I've been told
by some professors who
have been here for years

that sometimes I'm the
first student who's ever
done that with them.

Uhm, and
I'm not sure
why that is.

That scares me
a little bit.

Uhm, but
also that

dyslexia is
associated with
all the other

disabilities and
all of a sudden
once you say "dyslexia,"

all of a sudden
what pops into
their head

is all the other
students who are having
issues in the class.

And so there isn't
an understanding

by professors
on what that
actually means.

The U.S. government
continues to give huge tax
breaks and pay outs

to the oil, gas,
and coal industries.

Meanwhile, the fledgling
solar and wind industries
are left to beg and plead

just to get
extensions of their
modest tax credits.

One of the things
that I've just kind of
realized is that

I...

like, not
not being able
to read as

at a young age
made it so
that, uhm,

I don't have
a lot of the

strategies that other
people do. Uhm,
and I don't have,

even with
assistive
technology,

I don't,

I haven't
really developed

the skills
of comprehension,

comprehensive
reading, uhm,

and so I feel like
I'm constantly kinda
playing catch up with that.

I can feel
that, uhm,

your brain has to think
in a completely different way
when you're reading text.

And...

my brain hasn't
completely adapted
to it yet.

From a battery
powered radio,
they heard

that the media
were talking about
the encampments.

If this is the
first friend you
make at college,

(LAUGHINGLY) let's just say
it's not a very welcoming
sort of environment.

...encampments.

Officials were
being asked what
they were going to do

with all the families
living along
the freeway.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

PHRED: There are
so many times where

I never thought
I'd make it.

If I could
project myself
back in time

and tell my
kindergarten self

you're gonna
be here.

There's no way
I would have
believed it.

For a long time I'm thinking,
like, "This is a privilege
have to work for."

That this is
a privilege I will
never have innately

but I kind of
have to fake it
to make it.

But really,
I feel like

at this point
I need to
believe that

I have just
as much right

to be here
as anyone else.

When I've tried
to express to
people that books

cornered me
in the form that
they were in,

they didn't
want to hear it.

They didn't want
to hear I had
a hard time reading.

"Well, not my son," or,
"Well, well, you
struggle a little bit."

"But really,
if you focus,

if you really
bear down, you can
probably do it."

Well, someone
in a wheelchair

can get up stairs.
I've seen them
do it at protests.

My friend
David Carmel,
he could do it.

Throw himself
on the stairs,
and with his elbows

pull himself up
one by one. Right?

But that's not,
in our colloquial sense,
"getting up stairs."

Right? He's
proving that they
need a ramp.

Overcoming dyslexia is
a catch phrase that

belies an interest
in fixing people.

I don't need
to be fixed

you know?
And by the

external measures, I've
done it, I've succeeded.
I have a JD/MBA from Stanford.

I have a job in Silicon
Valley. I have a happy life.
I have a wonderful wife.

I have a home. I have
everything everyone's supposed
to get in the American Dream.

Do I need
to overcome?

No.

I read
terribly.

I spell
abysmally.

I am in
the bottom 1%

in my ability to
identify a letter when
you show it to me.

Off the charts.
I have MRI's
that show

zero activity
in my temporal
parietal lobe.

Not zero, but
very, very,
very, very little

which is where most
people have, like,
a Christmas tree of activity.

The act
of reading
the word

is like taking me
back in front
of the stairs

and having me go up
them on my elbows
every time. At some point,

you need to
let go of that,

and move forward
because the interesting
part about dyslexia

is the future.

It's not what
happened. It's
what's gonna happen.

Moving forward,

I've gotten
accommodations. Now,

I can take a device and take
a photograph of something
and have it read to me.

I can, uh,
scan it with
a flatbed scanner

and turn it into
speech so that
I can hear it.

I used to

fax my term papers home to
my mother and have her read
them to me over the phone.

Right? Now I have
a computer do it.

The computers
are doubling

in their capability
every two years,
every 18 months.

So I knew that soon
I'd be able to put it
all together in one box.

And I started
thinking about
how to design that.

Uh, and what
I came up
with was

take a picture...

...and hear it.

Point. Shoot. Listen.

Uh, now I turn on
the camera

and I take
a picture,
like so.

Long before that

as many
efforts
always have,

they go stand inside
among the row
of narrow chairs,

each one turned to face
the street. She looks for
their waiter but can't...

That's it
reading, and so

That waiter.

Waiter.

I probably
couldn't spell
that word.

"w-a-i-t-e-r."

We just took that text
off the page and
are able to read it.

And that gives me
access to the text.
It's that simple.

I have access.
Now,

I believe that
this technology

is a ramp
into a book.

And this is one
embodiment of it.

There are many others
that will be out
there in the future.

And I'm
committed

to making it
available to more
and more people

because if you
have this access,

then you
have access
to that text,

and ultimately
you have access
to hope

and self-respect.

You know we're a foundation
that focuses on the formation
of new businesses.

The last thing on earth
a foundation that deals
with businesses

would ever focus on
is the question
of dyslexics?

And the connection
of these

traits in
individual
human beings

with business
formation.

Success.
Dyslexia.

Here are four or five people
who created huge, critically
important companies

to the United States
and to the world.

Dyslexic?
How can
this be?

The real
issue is

who has
the talents

to put together
huge, new companies

and create
the new?

So one of
the questions was,

"Are these
people more
visionary?"

"Can they
see things
differently?"

They come to
a realization that

that society keeps
pronouncing the
number of skill sets

that are necessary
for success, they
don't seem to have.

And they go out
and build

the environment
in which they
will succeed.

That's, sort of,
my working hypothesis
to explain

why all these entrepreneurs
exist who have
traits of dyslexia.

And lots of those
people didn't
go to college.

I am amazed again
and again even in
technical businesses

where people see

a business
they can start.
And you know,

that may be startling
but if you think
about it,

you don't have to have
a degree to become
an entrepreneur.

And it's these people
who are the resistors,
the outsiders.

Who make
inordinate
contributions

that benefit
humankind.

They expand
human welfare.

Entrepreneurs
expand human
welfare.

And to the extent
we have more dyslexics
doing this,

you might say that
dyslexics have
a particular license

on the capacity
to expand
human welfare.

I think when
you start,

you start,
by taking, uh,
really big risks.

And you've got
nothing to lose,
oftentimes.

In my case I had nothing
to lose. I had no money
so you just went for it.

Whatever
you could
possibly do,

and if you made a dollar
and lost it the next day,
no one's worrying about it.

I still think
I take risks

but they have to be
far more calculated. There's
far more responsibility.

Say I'll put a million
dollars aside to
work on a project

and if we lose it,
we lose it.

And believe me
I've done it.
(STUTTERING) I've

fortunately made
more than
I've lost

and therefore
managed to stay
above water here.

Uh, but, uh, I've lost
millions, and millions
and millions of dollars.

So I was 24 years old,
23 years old, when
I first saw a pellet stove

and I went to this stove
shop and said, "Geez this
is an amazing thing.

I've never seen anything
like this. And they have these
pellets in there and I, uhm...

He said, "So, are
you interested in
buying a stove?"

And I said, "Yeah, I kinda am.
It's kind of new. Where do all
these pellets come from?"

And he says, "Well, Montana."
And I said, "Well that seems
a little crazy. Montana."

I don't buy my
firewood from Montana,
my split firewood,

and everybody around me
would never buy
firewood from Montana.

"Why would this
come from there?"

He said, "It's
the only place
that makes them."

And I said, (STUTTERING)
"Why doesn't anybody
make it here?

And he goes, "I don't
know. Why don't you
make it here?"

STEVE: It's
a pretty good
sized facility.

This is one of
the larger ones
in the country.

There's about
five weeks of wood
behind us here,

and this pile, by the way,
extends much longer
than it is wide.

And it comprised
about 25, 20

20, about 20
tractor-trailer
loads a day of wood.

And here's one
coming in right now.

STEVE: Each of these
plants is off setting
approximately,

producing something
around a thousand, twelve
hundred gallons of oil

equivalent of
energy per hour.

Somewhere in the eight,
nine, ten, eleven million
gallons a year of oil

that we're
displacing with
these facilities.

My ultimate goal is to have
dozens and dozens and
dozens of these facilities.

I think technically it was
in the 2nd grade that I was
labeled with dyslexia.

I knew at an
incredibly young age
that I had, uhm,

difficulties achieving
things in school that
everybody else was achieving

and I was expected
to achieve.

And, of course,
the curriculum
I was given,

reading, was one of
my challenges.
Still is.

And probably a
combination of not being
very good at it and also

having so many awful
memories of (STAMMERING)
those days in school,

uhm, you know,
I really don't
read at all.

I've read
two books
in my life.

So, reading was brutal and
I spent years and years
and years having people,

tutors, trying to get
me to read. And it was
right around,

it's probably around 8th
grade is where I first
actually learned how to read.

I faked it. I got through
school really not
being able to read.

Oh! And the high school
machine shop, that was the
one thing in high school

I could go in and
just eat alive.

Uhm, and the teacher
just loved it.
I mean that was

the only pat on
the back that I got that
I knew wasn't sympathy.

And, uhm, Pasanka,
was his name.
And he...

...he would stay
after school and
just let me play.

And, uhm,
that's where
I learned.

And all the other
classes you could
take away.

(WHISPERING)
Just not
that one.

Sorry.

(CRYING)

In school,

it was amazing
to sit in...

You know,
I really suffered
through school.

And I finally got
to high school and
they had these shops,

you know,
really amazing
places.

And these teachers
really liked
what I did.

INTERVIEWER: What
were you making?
Oh, anything, everything.

I mean, there were
parts and pieces
of machines,

and I liked bicycles
so I was creating
new parts.

I couldn't afford the really
fancy bicycle parts,
so I would copy them

and create
them in the
machine shop.

And then
the wood shop
next door,

and I'd build molds
and come up with
ideas and models

and I'd go over
to the metal shop

and they had
this auto shop.

I would work hours
and hours in that
shop at night.

Wasn't allowed to be in there.
I mean, they even tape
the damn thing off and uhm,

uh, he would turn on
the power and
let me go.

So.

But systematically

the school
shut down
all the shops.

(VOICE CRACKING)
And it was
the last blow.

(SNIFFS)

INTERVIEWER: So, it was during
your time, your time
in high school they closed it?

(WHISPERING)
Yeah.

(SNIFFS)

(VOICE CRACKING)
It was deplorable.

And, uh,
ultimately,

obviously I got out
of high school, made
that attempt at college.

Uh, that failed and then
I heard that this machine
shop was up for sale.

So, they were
gonna auction
everything off

and, uh, I was the first one
in line and that same
Joe Pasanka was there to

help them figure out what was
worth what and sell it and he
was in charge of selling it.

I very carefully
took the two
thousand dollars

and adjusted what I felt
the values were on
everything to make sure

it spread over evenly,
and I said, "Jesus, this
isn't enough money.

There's nowhere near
enough money and this
isn't a fair price."

And

then he
told me
that, uh,

he said the value
of something is what
someone's willing to pay,

and you're the only one here.
So you're paying exactly
what it's worth.

And, uhm,
I'll never forget
that term.

So, I uh,
I bought it

and loaded up
all the machinery
and took it home.

And uhm, I loaded it
in my basement and
reconfigured this whole thing.

I didn't even have
enough electricity
in my house,

so I had to
re-jigger the
electricity outside

and set up all these electric
transformers and things in
order to power all this stuff.

I needed three phase
power and managed to
get it all going.

And, uhm, and in that
basement, I started
creating this company.

And, uh, so out
of my house,

with that high school
machine shop, built
this entire factory.

I mean,
literally stuff
from the dump.

I went to
rubbish heaps
and piles, and

and, 'cause I just
didn't want to spend
money on anything.

And we
were making
pellets there.

It did work.

You asked,
you know,
is it a gift?

Absolutely. I can
assure you. You
couldn't offer me

a hundred million
dollars right now
to take away my dyslexia,

if that's what you
want to call it, and put
me into normal learning.

There's no amount
of money you could
give me right now,

and I would
have paid you
anything in school

to make it
go away.

So, it went
from a huge
burden

and this
terrible
disease

to a gift, that,
that I am very
confident is why

I'm as successful as
I am and hope to be far,
far, far more successful.

And so for me,
the learning disability,
I felt locked in there.

And I had to
get out. And
I found a way.

And anybody else with
a learning disability can do
exactly the same thing.

The mind is huge. The mind is
incredible and there's not
just one way that it works.

So what works
for you, and
you know it.

You can feel it
in your gut.

When I read,

I'm not reading
necessarily
to comprehend.

But I'm photographing
and memorizing
everything that I see.

And I can
go back and
I can tell you

where that is,
what number it is.

Just like I can still
remember Roberta Walker's
number in Hinkley 760...

and I can place
that number on
the keypad

and put it
into my brain.

And I remember things
that way and it
actually became

my gift, in my way,
to be successful
in my career.

Even being a paralegal,
secretary, assistant, anything
that I was doing work wise,

if someone said,
"Well, you wouldn't
know how to do that."

Because maybe you'll pick up
on my dyslexia

or you'll ask me to read
and I'm not comprehending
it right. Therefore,

they'll see something and
think she doesn't know what
she's doing. Yes, I do.

The minute I've been
given that challenge,
you will see.

And I think that
it's something that,
I'm very driven still,

uhm, when public health
and safety is put in
such harm's way

with so little disregard
in making it right.
I can't help myself

but to come forward and
have to really be a voice
for those people.

So, uhm, no again,
I am not afraid
of dyslexia at all,

nor should
anybody else be.

I said in
the beginning and
I'll tell you again,

in hindsight,

it was
my gift.

I wouldn't be
who I am if I didn't
have dyslexia.

And it opened
a whole lotta
doors for me.

It challenged me.
It got me outside
of that box.

I didn't want to
be labeled. It taught
me to stand up

and use my voice
and be proud of
who I am, and I do.

If you look at history,
if you look at the people
you've interviewed

and the studies
they've done, um,

I think it's
a great gift.

I think it's a wonderful
form of intelligence.
I really, really do.