My Truth About Dyslexia―What I Wish for Other Kids With Dyslexia and Their Parents

Douglas Rawan II, a sixth-grader with dyslexia

Douglas Rawan II, a sixth-grader with dyslexia

Note: October is Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Month


My name is Douglas Rawan II. I am 11-years-old, live in Massachusetts, and I have a story about dyslexia.

It starts back in fourth grade when I began to feel different than my friends in school. Making jokes was the way I would cover up having no confidence in school. No one knew that inside I felt stupid. I remember one day when my mom asked me to do some reading and writing, and I threw pencils on the floor and my book. I remember my mom looked really sad. Inside I knew it would be too hard, but I didn’t know why. Since Kindergarten, my mom hired tutors to help with reading, but nothing changed at school. I also had a hard time focusing at school until one day I came home and told my mom that I asked the assistant principal for a standing desk. My parents didn’t even know what that was.

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High Achievement Requires High Expectations: My Family’s Story

Candice Crissinger and children

Candice Crissinger and children

Note: October is Learning Disabilities/Dyslexia/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Awareness Month


“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”

Charles Kettering, American inventor, engineer and businessman.


As parents, we all want to see our children reach their full potential. Our visions of their successes and accomplishments may vary, but we all yearn to guide our children to greatness. How do we set them up to fulfill their potential? What foundations are we building for them? What roadmaps can we provide to help them navigate on their journey?

I am the proud mother of three terrific children (Biased? Yes!). While each of them is unique and inspiring in their own abilities and qualities, my sons have some very distinct similarities.

In the early school years, both began showing similar behaviors: high impulsivity, defiance, acting out, disruption, the inability to follow direction and under-developed social skills.

Both were bright and strong willed and insisted on doing things their own way in their own time.

Both were identified by educators as “challenging and difficult” and by peers as a “bad kid.”

They were both evaluated at five years old, 10 years apart. That’s where the similarities ended.

Let’s start with my older son’s journey.

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Candice Crissinger
Posted by
Understood Parent Fellow with the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Medical Assistant in Pediatric Specialties, University of Iowa.

NDEAM 2018 | “Always Aim High!”

Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Christopher Pauley does the Marshmallow Challenge.

Christopher Pauley does the Marshmallow Challenge / CBS

Christopher graduated with a degree in computer science from California Polytechnic State University and set his sights on becoming a Software Engineer. Over the course of two years, Christopher applied for nearly 600 positions without much success.

As a result of his disability, and like other individuals who have autism spectrum disorders, Christopher had some limitations with social and communication skills that made interviewing for jobs a challenge. His strengths, however, included an acute attention to detail and a strong ability to recognize patterns. He was also a video game guru.

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Kathleen West Evans, Director of Business Relations, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
Posted by
Kathy West-Evans Director of Business Relations Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
Chris Pope
Posted by
Christopher Pope Rehabilitation Services Administration Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education

NDEAM 2018 | “America’s Workforce: Empowering All”

Note: October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

NDEAM 2018 Poster: Man in a wheelchair conversing with co-workers over laptop computers.

National Disability Employment Month 2018 | “America’s Workforce: Empowering All”

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), observed each October, celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and promotes the value of a workforce inclusive of their skills and talents. Reflecting a commitment to a robust and competitive American labor force, this year’s NDEAM theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All.”

To recognize NDEAM, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will publish a series of blogs, in partnership with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, throughout the month. The series will celebrate the career successes of individuals with disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and highlight some of the partnerships state VR agencies have established with businesses across the country.

For more information about NDEAM, visit our partners at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.


Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.

Chris Pope
Posted by
Christopher Pope Rehabilitation Services Administration Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education