Diary of A Dyslexic Kid

As we prepare to kick off Dyslexia Awareness Month, 2014, we would like to introduce you to a very special little boy who we crossed paths with after launching our campaign. His name is Justin and he is a 4th grader from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is nine years old and he is 1in5.

This little guy already has his very own Facebook page called Diary of A Dyslexic Kid. If you take the time to scroll through his page, you will find many typical things that are important to nine year old boys  - photos of his family, support for his favorite team, a caramel cake made by his mom that he can't wait to eat. But if you look a little closer, you will find that Justin is not your typical nine year old boy. Recently, I had the pleasure of conducting an interview with him via his Facebook page. I was amazed by what I learned.

Justin with his brothers, Jay and Joshua

He has two brothers, Jay, who is 14, and Joshua, who is 6. Joshua shares his struggle with dyslexia. Justin told me how sad dyslexia makes him while he is at school. He feels like all of his friends are smarter than him and he feels left out when they get to attend parties for their achievements and he doesn't get to go. He told me, "I feel sad. I want to read chapter books they read but my school makes me read baby books. That's no fair."  Naturally, he and his little brother have had some tearful moments when dealing with all of this. So they picked a song to listen to that helps them deal with things. It is called "Break Every Chain" and you may have heard Tasha Cobbs sing it. Justin and his brother know it from somewhere else though. He told me it is a song that his babysitter praise dances to at his church. He asked his mom what the song meant. She explained to him that break every chain means that when something is hard for you, you don't have to allow it to get the best of you. You can breaks the chains on it. So Justin and Joshua said they break chains on dyslexia... and an idea was born!

Justin asked his mom if they could make t-shirts to raise awareness for dyslexia. So his dad got to work and helped him and his brother design shirts with the phrase "Breaking the chains on Dyslexia" on the front, complete with a silver awareness ribbon and the names of both boys. Then they started selling the shirts to try and raise enough money to have someone in their community trained to work with dyslexic students. 

His efforts didn't stop there though. His dad is the president of Trojan Youth Sports. So they talked to one of the coaches and got their very own Light It Up Red for 1in5 event planned. Trojan Youth Sports will be hosting a skate party on October 14, 2014 to raise awareness for dyslexia as well as funds to provide educational training in their community. Trojan players will be wearing their red jerseys and all other guests who attend will be wearing red as well. Together they will light Arkansas Skatium up red for the night! We love that Justin has adopted Light It Up Red for 1in5 and taken the party where he is! He has set a great example about what one small step can accomplish. 

We also love that Justin has created a page to share his journey. I believe it has the potential to help us all. It can help parents of dyslexic children by perhaps giving us a little insight on things that our own children may be experiencing. It can help our children because they can have a place to go and see that they are not alone in their struggles. Most of all, it will help Justin. By showing support for him through his page, we can show him that he is not alone in his journey and let him know that we ALL appreciate the efforts he has made.

Justin with he best friend, Jaxon

I asked Justin during our interview if there was anything he would like for me to include in his story as I share it with all of you. He said he plays baseball, basketball, and soccer, but he doesn't like football. He also likes WWE and playing with his best friend Jaxon and his little brother, but he says his favorite activity is singing and dancing. He told me that singing is his gift from dyslexia. He does talent shows at his school and he has big plans to become famous one day. Well, Justin, you might not be famous yet, but you have already found two of your biggest fans here at Light It Up Red for 1in5! We are so very proud of you for everything you have done and we believe you WILL go far in life. Lots of love to you, Justin!

We encourage you all to stop by Justin's page and check it out. You won't be disappointed!