More to Life than More by Alan Pesky

Author:Alan Pesky
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510766594
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

I KNEW THAT we’d have to get rock-solid advice from people who were at the forefront of research and clinical expertise on learning disabilities. That’s when I thought of Dr. Sally Shaywitz. Wendy and I had met Sally thirteen years earlier. She had helped Lee when the Educational Testing Service challenged his SAT results based on the illegibility of his signature. Sally had examined and tested Lee, then prepared a comprehensive report on his learning disabilities, which included dysgraphia. With her testimony, and the help of a handwriting expert and a good attorney, we were able to convince the SAT officials that Lee’s scores should be accepted.

I had no idea if Sally would remember me or how I would even get in contact with her again. Through a trail of phone calls, I finally located her office at Yale Medical School and left a vague message with her assistant, asking if Sally could please call me back. When I got her on the phone a few days later, her voice was friendly and upbeat. “I’m so happy to hear from you, Alan! How’s Lee doing? He’s such a lovely young man. I hope everything is going well for him.”

It had only been about six months since Lee had died. Conversations like these were not unusual. But the first few words always caught in my throat. I told Sally that Lee had passed away. The reason I was calling, I explained, was that Wendy and I would be starting a learning center named for Lee in Boise, Idaho.

“I’ve hired a wonderful woman who’ll be running it,” I said, before my voice could crack again. “Her name is Blossom Turk, and she’s from New York. I think you’d like her. She’s had a long, illustrious career in education, but she’s not a special ed teacher. So, we need help.” I asked Sally if it would it be possible for Blossom, Wendy, and me to visit with her and learn about her work at Yale and anything she could share with us about the latest developments in the field of learning disabilities.

Sally, along with her husband, Bennett, had for many years been one of the leading specialists in the field of learning disabilities, particularly dyslexia. She and Bennett are cofounders and codirectors of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. In 1983, Sally launched the groundbreaking and still ongoing Connecticut Longitudinal Study, which tracks a large random sample of students from kindergarten into adulthood—including typical readers and those with dyslexia.10 Over the years, the study has provided valuable data about the prevalence and persistence of dyslexia.11 Also interesting to me was that they were tracking the long-term impact of dyslexia on adults, including economic and other life consequences.

Sally agreed to meet with us and mentioned a date the following month when she would have a couple of hours available in her schedule. It was a long way for us to travel for a two-hour meeting, but I knew how busy Sally was and was grateful for any time she could spare.

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