At six years old, Shelton Williams was already having trouble reading and writing. He did not understand what he was reading and often wrote certain letters and numbers backwards. Being a teacher in the Headstart Program near Washington, DC, Shelton’s mother recognized the problem right away: Shelton was dyslexic. As with many of those suffering from a learning disability, Shelton quickly developed feelings of inferiority and experienced low self-esteem. He became shy and withdrawn and rarely spoke up in class, for fear that his classmates would ridicule him. Shelton’s father was not prepared to deal with the parental challenges he now faced and was often cross and impatient when Shelton asked for help with homework. Eventually, Shelton stopped asking.
Soon after discovering his condition, Shelton’s mother enrolled him in research groups dealing with the problems of dyslexia and found him special programs and tutors designed especially for the Learning Disabled (LD). Since he could not comprehend what he was reading, Shelton had to have everything read to him.
Though he often felt isolated from his classmates, he had many friends and eventually began to gain self-confidence through playing basketball and football in high school. Through public and private school programs and constant support from his mother, Shelton graduated from high school on time. The following fall, he enrolled in a local community college in Maryland.
Without the support to which he had become accustomed and with the traditional freshman spirit, Shelton’s college life began to deteriorate quickly. Unprepared to function on his own abilities and lacking focus on a major, Shelton failed at school but succeeded in developing a drinking problem.
His mother again interceded and located Landmark College, a school in Vermont that specializes in Learning Disability curricula. With classes more resembling college preparatory classes in a more traditional LD environment, Shelton was able to function at Landmark, but still lacked direction in choosing a major.
Because of his dyslexia, Shelton’s advisors had consistently discouraged him from pursuing the medical career to which he felt drawn. Frustrated and lacking motivation, Shelton transferred to Mt. St. Joseph’s extensive LD program here in Cincinnati, in an attempt to jump-start his college career. As a default, he chose a business major and proceeded to party again. He flunked out of Mt. St. Joseph in the spring of ’98.
Upon returning to Maryland, he began getting pressure from his parents to get his life in order. Unable to deal with his parents, he returned to Cincinnati and moved in with his sister. By chance, he heard a radio ad for a massage therapy school. Shelton knew the benefits of massage from the times he would rub his grandfather’s bad back. Seeing the power of relieving pain was the origin of his interest in medicine.
Finally discovering his niche, Shelton completed an eighteen-month program at the Cincinnati School of Medical Massage, and passed the Ohio State Medical Board exam last June; he is expecting his license any day. Shelton is at RWC taking academic courses towards an Athletic Training degree at Xavier, which he begins next fall. The degree will combine his love of sports and medicine.
Shelton has little problem reading now and managed a 3.4 last quarter. And the drinking problem? Shelton started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in July of 2000 and hasn’t had a drink since.
For all parents dealing with dyslexic children, he says, “Continue to support your child, encourage and motivate them. Really, what you have to do is give your kid time to work through the problem.”
Shelton explains that dyslexics have to work ten times harder than everybody else. That’s all right. He’s learned to handle it.