Range Rider

New Houston-Lantrip Center building focuses on dyslexia and autism spectrum education Imagine that you struggle to read, that you stumble over even simple, one syllable words. You are labeled as “slow” or “challenged.” Now imagine that after years of exhaustive efforts to read and to do well in school, you learn someone has the key to help you learn to read on a functioning level, thereby turning your life around. You realize that you are not alone, that many others have the same struggles you have, and that there’s a name for it: dyslexia. You also learn that there is help available. Finally, you have hope. For Jaelynn, now age 14, the scenario above was all too real. Her family moved to Abilene in the summer of 2013, and she soon started the fourth grade. On only the third day of school, her teacher approached Jaelynn’s mother, Megan, telling Megan that she believed Jaelynn had both dyslexia and dysgraphia. Testing proved the teacher was correct, and she immediately referred Jaelynn to Dr. Emily Dean, director of the Houston- Lantrip Center for Literacy and Learning at Hardin-Simmons University. Unfortunately, Dr. Dean didn’t have an opening for a new student at the time. Megan took Jaelynn elsewhere for help, which had unsuccessful results. Thankfully, in January 2014, Dr. Dean had an opening and Jaelynn began dyslexia therapy. Jaelynn was in the middle of her fourth grade year, but was reading and writing at kindergarten level. After two years of therapy and intensive instruction in the Houston-Lantrip Center, Jaelynn was reading and writing at the sixth grade level. 4 RANGE RIDER | FALL-WINTER 2017