Eric Adams struggled academically throughout his elementary, middle, and high school years.
Some of his classmates teased him and called him “Dummy.” He was scared about being asked to read aloud in class.
He was attending college when he overheard a documentary about learning disabilities being played in the library. After hearing it, he realized that his difficulties in school were because he had dyslexia.
He tells a story of how his mother struggled to find help and navigate the challenges of the Department of Education.
They thought he just needed to try harder.
He became a police officer and later ran for public office. At that time, he was reluctant to talk about his dyslexia because he felt like he had poor self-confidence. Through it all, he never forgot or forgave the school system for not helping him and his mother when they needed it.
He embraced his dyslexia during his mayoral campaign to show the working-class constituents that he understood their challenges.
Today, he is the mayor of New York City. He is changing how the city teaches reading and helps children who have trouble learning so that they don’t fall behind as he did.
Love the success story!
My son is 17 and has dyslexia. It is aggravating sometimes, but he’s really smart, it just takes him a long time and creative ways to learn.
Enjoyed the article.
Laurie
Hey Laurie, Kudos to your son! If only more teachers recognized what you just stated and stopped thinking children with dyslexia are lazy or unmotivated, we would have a lot more success stories.
Hi Florence,
I really like the stories that you share about people who have persevered and succeeded when the learning curve was steeper for them.
Kudos and more power to them.
Thanks, Doug. Many of these people succeed in spite of the negativity and lack of support from the school system they were a part of.
I think it’s so important for kids to see examples of successful people who’ve overcome struggles.
I had not read about the Mayor before this. Interesting story. Having to discover that he had dyslexia on his own is beyond ridiculous. His mother tried to be the best advocate but someone in the school system failed him.
Sadly, his is not the only story of its kind, Cheryl. I think of the hundreds, if not thousands, who never find out that dyslexia caused their academic difficulty, and are relegated to the garbage heap of humanity.