They called them accommodations, I called them basic tools!

I was blessed that almost every teacher I had went out of their way to make my college experience less stressful and more geared towards my strengths. I had a blanket memo about accommodations to give to every teacher at the beginning of the semester from the Disability Department. It said in short, this person is dyslexic, they do not learn or test how most people learn and test, please allow extended test time and a testing environment that is quiet and away from distraction, as well as anything else this student may need that you find acceptable. To some people talking out loud, to themselves, is a sign that you are losing it! To me, talking out loud to myself is the only way I can think through a hard problem because I have to hear it to understand it. However, the average college student doesn't want their test taking neighbor theorizing out loud :-) The Disability Office called these "accommodations", but I just called them basic tools! Two teachers stick out in my mind as going above and beyond in this "anything else" category.

My Marine Biology teacher said spelling counted on EVERY lab test of hers...I thought I was sunk! Then come test day she handed me a sheet of paper that had 4 columns, 20 words per column. These words were all scientific, all relating to this course, some even sounded alike, and yet the 10 words I needed were on that blessed piece of paper mixed in with all the other words! I knew the sound of the word I wanted to use, I knew most of the time what letter it started with, I just couldn't remember how to spell it, so that sheet was invaluable! That teacher showed me that even though I have accommodations she could not simply discount my spelling because it would put me at an advantage over the other students, so she gave me a tool, her very own "anything else" accommodation.

Organic Chemistry was the hardest for me because it was 3-D conceptual, and my brain just doesn't work that way. I remember leaving the lecture hall in tears the day we went over R and S molecules, here I am at 19 and I am STILL leaving class in tears, I thought I had gotten over that but the enormity of the situation just defeated me, there is no other word for it, I saw my entire college career being sunk by this one course. I spent 45 minutes staring at the board, listening to the teacher, TRYING to grasp the concept and failing at every turn because unless there are numbers on a clock, at minimum 12, 6, 3 and 9 I can NOT tell time on a standard clock because I cannot grasp the clockwise/counter clockwise concept and that is how you tell the difference between an R and S molecule. When I explained the problem to the teacher the next day, in tears once again and so frustrated that my brain JUST WON'T WORK RIGHT she told me to calm down, stop focusing on the problem, and let's find the solution. I couldn't understand that I didn't have to teach my brain to tell what was clockwise/ counter clock wise, I just needed a tool. Her "accommodation" was to simply draw a clock, with all the numbers, and place red arrows going around the outside of the clock which she labeled as Clockwise, and blue arrows going the other way labeled counter clockwise....the solution was so simple, but I was so upset I couldn't see it.

The advice to stop focusing on the problem and to find the solution has helped me throughout my career. I am currently a chemist and I am asked to solve problems, and recreate formulas, every day. I have used the tools that were taught to me in how my brain works and I have realized that it works just fine! Better than fine, my ability to stop looking at the problem and focus on the solution has been invaluable to me. Now when I am faced with a problem I find my brain clicking and being able to see past the problem to find the solution that has sometimes eluded hundreds of other people. Sometimes people ask me HOW did you come up with that, and I just laugh and tell them "What can I say; my brain just doesn't work right!"

Tags: accommodations, chemist, chemistry, clock, college, dyslexia, dyslexic, reversals, rotation, science, More…university

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Comment by Brittony T. on October 4, 2011 at 7:00am: If I could teach everyone in the world one lesson on Dyslexia it would be "Don't try to fix us, we aren't broken!!!". Our society has just gotten SO straight and narrow on rules and how people think they SHOULD be it's hard when someone comes along that doesn't fit into that narrow scope. Inevitably kind hearted people try and "fix" us, and all that does is cause frustration for them and frustration for us. I wish educators had a magic glass that they could look through and say, okay this kid is just being lazy we need to send a note home to his parents, and this kid just isn't bright so we need to work harder on the fundamentals, oh this kid they are dyslexic take him and teach him a different way until you hit on something that makes sense to him." Gosh, wouldn't THAT be nice!

Comment by Cassia Montgomery on October 4, 2011 at 6:47am: Thats to true Brittony!!! I find myself feeling guilty as his mom, when we didnt use the right strategy/support in reading. He doesnt have many melt downs. In fact he is such a go getter. He knows he is different from the majority in his class. So he has this drive!!! He is also a twin. His twin brother is a left brain maniac and everything I mean everything from sports to academics fit. In his world, the left brain world. Chase says he is a creative and when he has a meltdown, he says I have these mom, to let you know!!! That there is a different way... AND HE IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!! You are right Brittony. I am a 38 year old Music major and see the world thru being creative, but I am also as left brain, classical as you get in thinking too! I celebrate you and my son!!!! You are our davincis and angelos!!! We have to let you guys back in this very left brained world!!!!

Comment by Brittony T. on October 4, 2011 at 6:35am: I have to be honest I didn't think it was a gift, I thought my brain didn't work right. Now that I am 34 I see how my dyslexia has helped me excel where others could not....but when you are leaving a lecture hall at age 20 in tears because you can't grasp what just happened in Organic Chemistry...it can be earth shattering to feel so smart and so dumb at the same time. My whole world seemed to be collapsing because I couldn't tell clockwise from counter clockwise; I thought my college career was over because of this ONE thing, it was like hitting a brick wall. If there is one thing you can do for your child it is let them have their moment/day of panic, because I personally NEEDED that time to convince myself that I wasn't stupid, it was just a glitch and then I got help finding a solution...an adaptation. Sometimes I just needed to melt down when I hit one of those walls because the truth is I WAS/AM different. There is no way to hide it, no way to “fix it” so that I will magically be like other people, and I personally needed to acknowledge that in my head…and then I picked myself back up and it actually became fun to find the way around the problem, and I always DID find a way around the glitch.

Comment by Cassia Montgomery on October 4, 2011 at 6:21am: I really love how this all depicts my 4th grader today.... He sees just like you!! I think its a gift!!!!

Comment by Brittony T. on October 3, 2011 at 8:06am: Dyslexia just doesn't make sense to most people. It is like telling someone "I'm sorry I can't write in pen, only pencil." They just stare at you with this HUH? look on their face. It's the same look I get when I say “Sure I can write a detailed article on how different chemicals are used to clean different materials and substrates, complete with chemical formulations....but I only spell at grade level 3.9 so you better proof read that okay!

Unless you have dyslexia you have a really hard time understanding it. It isn't just brain pictures and neurons firing, it is not one plus one equals dyslexic. Dyslexia is a whole different way of looking at the world, and 99% of the time I don’t even realize the rest of the world doesn’t see it the way I do.

Comment by Cassia Montgomery on September 30, 2011 at 6:19am: Thank you for a part of your story by the way. Its nice to hear the same thing we are going thru with our son, it makes you think, ahhhh, we are onto the right way to teach this right brained child of ours:)

Comment by Cassia Montgomery on September 30, 2011 at 6:17am: Exactly, My son is a 4th grader with dyslexia. For years we fought with the school on Accomodations and Modifications. But is was almost like they had no clue what those words meant for my little guy. Finally I found the right words to use..... SUPPORTS...MEMORY SUPPORTS, TEMPLATES... Finally everyone gets it, this is year is going so much better than the last 3....Sometimes we have to translate what fancy words the school wants to call them, but isnt it ironic, that they themselves couldnt translate them. Yay to this year:))))

Comment by Brittony T. on September 22, 2011 at 11:56am: Keeping formulas straight is not hard for me, because each one tells a story. Some formulas have 10 or more raw materials but each one serves a purpose, this raw material removes oil, but that one kills mold and mildew, and this one makes the formula bubble a lot when you agitate it...and 10 raw materials later I have built a great story about a product that degreases, bubbles a lot, works in hard water, removes mold and mildew...etc and poof it is a House Wash, but not just any house wash because I have melded together all eco-friendly raw materials so it is now the first truly eco-friendly, approved by the EPA for direct release into the environment, House Wash! I know what the end goal is; I just have to make up a suitable story of raw materials and chemicals to reach that end goal, and I do it in a way that is telling about who I am as a chemist and a person.

Comment by Drs. Fernette and Brock Eide on September 20, 2011 at 8:43am: Great tips and great post, Brittony! Incredible that you persevered in chemistry and became a professional chemist. I would've thought it would be so difficult to recreate the formulas and keep them straight. We're really looking forward to hearing more about how your brain works and appreciate your sharing. You must have incorporated a ton of different strategies and ways of processing in order to be able to do what you do.

The incredible thing about this whole area is that what professionals like us know about dyslexia is so small. The world has a lot to learn!