Nathan Rodrigues was in 5th grade when he was diagnosed with dyslexia.
“I couldn’t read, I was reading at a second grade level. And everybody was making fun of me, so I decided to be a troublemaker because of it," says Rodrigues.
After two years of tutoring at Reading Escapades and Math Explorers in Palmerton, the 14-year-old is doing a lot better.
President and Founder Christine Allen says the first step is letting a student know that their brain works differently.
“Every student is different, of course. But the first thing I tell every student when there is a problem is that it’s not their fault. They just haven’t been taught the correct way, but I’m gonna teach them the correct way, or one of my staff, and they don’t believe me because nothing has ever worked. But within a few sessions it clicks for them and they get it. As soon as they get the first concept then they are willing to put more effort into it," says Allen.
Larry Daubert's story is a little different. He is 78 years old.
“Spelling was a lot worse than reading for me, because with reading I could recognize the words. I would see the word coke, and know what it is. I see stop on a stop sign, I know that. But if I look away and try to spell it, I couldn’t do it," says Daubert.
Daubert started taking classes two years ago, and for the first time, he was able to write his daughters a Christmas card.
“To live that long, without being able to do these things, to do them is unbelievable. What I’ve done, in my mind, I accomplished the impossible. Because I was led to believe it was impossible. But I did it, and it feels great, and I have these teachers to thank for that.”