Jennie Sjursen 0:01
Have you heard October is dyslexia Awareness Month? I knew I wanted to spend this month celebrating the successful Dyslexics in my life and those around us. There is one particularly very successful dyslexic that has played a major role in my life. He's been a huge supporter. And one of the main reasons that there even is illiteracy untangled when I asked if I could share his story without pause, he said yes. And then he went on to talk about his experiences. And I knew I wasn't going to do his story justice, you all needed to hear directly from him. Without further ado, I'd like to welcome our first guest, and my dad, Arnie Shearson.
Jennie Sjursen 0:46
I'm Jenny Shearson. X special educator turned dyslexia interventionist. It wasn't so long ago, that I too, was overwhelmed by balanced literacy versus structured literacy, education speak, and everything in between. Fast forward after many, many hours of self driven education. And you'll see I've built a thriving dyslexia practice helping students from ages six to 18. My specialties, working with a quote unquote difficult almost always to the student, and breaking down the complexities of dyslexia into everyday language strategies and action steps.
Jennie Sjursen 1:27
So, would you like to introduce yourself?
Arne Sjursen 1:30
My name is Otto Shearson. A week ago, I turned 80. I found out that I was dyslexic, probably when I was 40 to 43 years old.
Jennie Sjursen 1:43
And how did you find out?
Arne Sjursen 1:44
My number three daughter was in third grade. And they pointed out the characteristics that she had as far as reading and spelling and all of that. And they told me at that time, she was a dyslexic. I had the same problems that she is exhibiting. And it was enlightening. After that, I had taken a course in phonics by Susan Santoro, who worked with Orton Gillingham at a Yale that gave me the tools to sit down and break words apart that I was unable to do that. Because I went to the New York City School District in the 40s and 50s. And we were learning to read by sight that does not help Dyslexics at all.
Jennie Sjursen 2:41
No, it does not. How did you feel when you found out what this was?
Arne Sjursen 2:48
Well, after I left a classroom, went out to the car, I was crying. Because I had all that frustration for all those years. And the insecurity about having to stand up and read in front of people was enormous.
Jennie Sjursen 3:12
You still feel that? Don't
Arne Sjursen 3:12
I still do.
Jennie Sjursen 3:14
So you had mentioned to me at one point, that one of the hardest things too was in your household. You were not to stand out. And you said that the dyslexia made you stand out and it made me very uncomfortable.
Arne Sjursen 3:29
Well, what really was going on was once you were in third or fourth grade new head, stand up and read. You tried to blend into the woodwork and not having to expose your inability to read, because everybody else seemed to be a lot brighter. And at that time when I was in school, there was no compassion. You know, if you if you couldn't read, you virtually were not too bright.
Jennie Sjursen 4:05
That's what they told you that you wouldn't ever have
Arne Sjursen 4:09
to they, they would the implication was there. When they also said that home in my report cards did not work up to potential.
Jennie Sjursen 4:21
And you mentioned and I know you joke about it, but I know you mentioned what happened when you went to the University of Tampa?
Arne Sjursen 4:26
Well, I went to the University Tapper. 1960. And even at that time, there was no information about dyslexia. And one of the things I found out with my daughter subsequent 20 years later, is that with Dyslexics they give you the ability to take tests on timed if going back to the University of Tampa, if I was able to take on In Time tests, I would not have been thrown out of the school
Jennie Sjursen 5:05
you like to say you're uninvited. But yeah, basically you were thrown out. Well,
Arne Sjursen 5:09
what happened was is that I had 60 credit hours that I had taken, but I only had 57 quality points, you in order to become a junior, you had to have 60 and 60, that would have been a C average. And if I had untimed tests, particularly in the math and science courses, I would have had much better than a C average.
Jennie Sjursen 5:37
You've mentioned that you've said that if they had graded you even on the work that you had done, you probably would have had B's and A's. Yeah,
Arne Sjursen 5:43
even in high school. And in the algebras and science classes, I was only able to finish about two thirds of the test. And what I did in in the 230s was pretty good. But it still was in the sea,
Jennie Sjursen 6:00
purely because you weren't able to finish. That's that's the point. That's the point. So once you found out and you mentioned this a little bit, the most helpful thing for you is what? Oh,
Arne Sjursen 6:13
the most helpful thing was the phonics, two things, phonics were very helpful, because it gave me the tools to sit and break a word apart. And knowing that I had dyslexia was enormously helpful.
Jennie Sjursen 6:29
So you were able to be successful, even though you had dyslexia. And I know a lot of parents feel that they're afraid that once they find out that their child has dyslexia, that their life is limited, and they won't be successful. So how are you able to find success?
Arne Sjursen 6:46
Well, once I did graduate college, I had one b over c. And then when I had gotten into the workforce, I realized that I was intelligent, and I wasn't dumb, because I understood what we were trying to accomplish. And by putting my uncomfortableness about dyslexia, on the side, I was able to progress very well in my business career. And I ended up owning a business. And we've owned the business for 30 years. The good news is, I never had to stand up and read in front of anybody. I can make presentations. But I do that from a three by five card. And I do that by having a topic. And I break down the topic by ABC, and I ad lib, I cannot read out loud, word for word in front of people.
Jennie Sjursen 7:53
And I know I think this is a strength of yours. And of my sisters, you are a great people person. Correct. You can read the room really, really well. And I think that that is attributed some to you're dyslexic because you couldn't read. So you had to figure out other ways to take in information. Would you agree?
Arne Sjursen 8:10
That's true. And I think what happens is, is that reading, or being able to read a room and understand what's going on, could be part of dyslexia. And it allows you to progress in life. The other thing that I find is very helpful, is that I have a very good memory, and the way things that I think that's part of dyslexia, I was talking to the my number three daughter who has dyslexia after she and I discovered that she had dyslexia. I said, Well, if we could change that, would you be willing to change it? And she said, No, because it gave us the ability to be the people that we are. And if we didn't have dyslexia, we probably would be other type of people. And so we are now at this age, a lot more comfortable with myself. Except when I think about being in third, fourth grade, I find the memories of that extremely stressful.
Jennie Sjursen 9:23
Yeah, you were telling me about that the other day that you can still be taken right back to that sometimes if you think
Arne Sjursen 9:29
well, yeah, yeah. For the longest time after I graduated college, I was always dreaming that I never could finish a test on time.
Jennie Sjursen 9:39
You had the dreams? Yes. Oh, that's like the bad school dreams all over but intensified because you actually lived through it. Yeah. What do you think people get wrong or misunderstand about dyslexia?
Arne Sjursen 9:53
Well, back when I was a kid, nobody knew about it. And so With your inability to read you a looked at as not too bright. I think 60 years later, current stuff. People have a much better understanding that most Dyslexics have trouble dissecting words. And they're pretty bright people, they understand concepts really well. And they may not be able to spell great. And then the spelling may change from day to day. But I think people are a lot more understanding, and not so judgmental, as it was back in the 40s and 50s.
Jennie Sjursen 10:45
Well, I know one of the things that other people have said is because they couldn't read people perceive them as slow or stupid, because they thought there was a cognitive issue.
Arne Sjursen 10:57
Well, they really weren't in my family. It was, I was sort of a goofball. According to my parents, I didn't try hard enough. And it was always seeming to be in a fair amount of trouble, because, and that perception, I should have done better. And it wasn't that I wasn't trying, it was that decoding a word takes me a third longer than everybody else. And with the help of phonics, I'm now able to see the word, particularly the bigger the printing, if it's small printing in the word is multi syllable. It takes me a longer time to dissect it.
Jennie Sjursen 11:52
Yeah. I mean, you and I were talking about this, because we're talking about a particular student of mine, how he needs to have the print bigger and the spacing between the words a little bit bigger. So yes, we better you, you found that to also be helpful.
Arne Sjursen 12:04
I did. The other thing that I can remember was, when I was learning to read, I could never go from one sentence to the next I would go from one sentence to two or three down, and you skipped and I had to go with my finger to keep my eyes on the right sentence.
Jennie Sjursen 12:25
I remember you doing that we were kids I watching you read sometimes. And they said,
Arne Sjursen 12:28
the teacher said, you're not allowed to use your fingers. So that compounded the uncomfortableness about my inability to read. It made me feel very insecure.
Jennie Sjursen 12:42
And yeah, I can make because that was your strategy. That was your one strategy that helped and it was taken away from you. So grandma was still alive when you found out Did she ever say anything?
Arne Sjursen 12:53
She was sad, because she wasn't able to help me. And I guess it was enlightening to her too. Because apparently, we have a couple of other cousins who have some reading issues. After my mother found out about my youngest daughter. She wanted to help out the other cousins. It never worked out because she couldn't contact the people. They live too far away. But anyway, I think it made her understand my formal education a lot better, and it made her more comfortable to.
Jennie Sjursen 13:32
Okay, it was helpful for her to also have an understanding and a reasoning.
Arne Sjursen 13:36
Yeah, because I guess I was the first one. And she was kind of hoping that I would be an academic star. And she was embarrassed as I was embarrassed about barely getting by. And now she had, it wasn't a reflection upon the way she brought me up. It was just that it's the way I am. The skill set that I have is that I have troubled decoding words, single syllables, I can do multi syllables. I need the space. And I need the phonics were enormously helpful. I know I've said that several times. But that gave me the tools to feel confident that AI can read this and be a my comprehension is was always good.
Jennie Sjursen 14:31
Slot. Yeah. And that's a classic dyslexic thing. That it's not a comprehension issue. It's a getting the information in issue. I know you've touched on how you said that. Grandma was disappointed in your academics as a kid, but she was pretty proud of you by the time she passed away.
Arne Sjursen 14:51
Well, Oh, yeah. Yes. And I think a lot of that was because she got understood what was going on with me and Sarah. And she understood that we were able with tools to overcome that inability to decode words.
Jennie Sjursen 15:13
But she was also proud of what you accomplished outside of academics by that time. Well,
Arne Sjursen 15:18
she had a lot of confidence that if she needed something to be done, she could count on me. I was very solid for her.
Jennie Sjursen 15:26
But you're talking around it. She was very proud of the business that you built, and what you were able to well, she never told
Arne Sjursen 15:31
me that, but I think she was.
Jennie Sjursen 15:33
We know she was okay. Yes, okay. But you're right, she counted on you. You were there. You to have that kind of relationship where you joke and tease each other. But it was a very deep love. And she Yeah, I appreciate you very much. What advice would you have for other Dyslexics and you mentioned it a little bit when you said, I wish you had told the student that was down here this summer?
Arne Sjursen 15:58
Well, the advice that I have is, is that if you're dyslexic, pay attention and put an enormous effort into the tools that you're given to help you learn to read, because reading is wonderful. And once you learn that you can read, and it is not as stressful because you understand what's going on, you will enjoy it. And you will learn a lot from reading. But you also have enormous, and I'm just learning that in the last 10 years. enormous fun. And reading the books that when I was a kid I didn't like to read, because I couldn't
Jennie Sjursen 16:45
you've become quite the reader in the last couple years. Well, yeah.
Arne Sjursen 16:48
And most of the books that I've read, I've loved. And I've gotten more perspective, because I've been reading books, political books, primarily, about when I was a kid, and it was sort of describing what was going on in the 40s and 50s. And even the 60s, and I began to appreciate what was going on? And why before I was too focused on just trying to get by?
Jennie Sjursen 17:20
Well, you're also saying that one of the things you think is because you have to read slower, that you get into the books deeper than other people. And you really dive in there and these characters become your friends.
Arne Sjursen 17:34
Oh, yeah, that's true. In order for me to understand and the nuances of what they're trying to say, I have to be real careful and slow about understanding that we're reading that sentence. And understanding what it said, Now, if I'm not focused, I'll just go over it, and then I will not understand. And I don't like that the essence of what that paragraph or that sentences. So the more complicated the books, the better I like it, because I'm learning that it's okay to go very slow. I'm learning that focusing on this helps me enjoy and learn what I'm trying, while reading the book, I find that enormously comforting. I just love it. And what I was trying to say to your student, I guess he's 10 or 11. pay a lot of attention to what you're trying to do now. Because it opens up a different world to give you you'll have the tools for the rest of your life to read. And he's a smart kid. And with that ability, and foundation. I think he'll enjoy reading as well.
Jennie Sjursen 18:58
He is he's a very, very smart and he's very curious about a lot of things. So yeah, is ability to take in information and stuff will be enhanced the more than he
Arne Sjursen 19:07
is? Well it is because it gives you details. Intuitively, you sort of have an idea. But when you're able to read, you'll fill in the reasons why you want to totally feel that way. And kind of buttresses your thoughts and I like that.
Jennie Sjursen 19:26
Is there anything that I didn't ask you that you think that you want to share or that you think people should know?
Arne Sjursen 19:33
Well, I know I'll reiterate this but as a dyslexic, and people that you teach and give them the tools. Don't give up on it accomplish your ability to read by phonics or whatever message you can do. It will free you up for life. It will absolutely take away the pit in your stomach from about standing up in front of a class Yes. Which is very discomforting. Because you know what's going on in two. You'll learn an enormous amount of stuff by reading and it's enjoyable. Thank you. You're welcome.
Jennie Sjursen 20:16
I hope you enjoyed this episode of literacy untangle. If you love this episode as much as I did, head on over and rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you want to continue the conversation or share your takeaways, head on over to our Instagram at literacy, untangle, and comment on your favorite part. I can't wait to hang out with you again soon. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
