National Adult Literacy Database

May 27, 2002

This week, we are launching nine stories written by students from Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a special event, you can read some of the stories as well as hear them, with the audio player. The following stories were written by members of the Learner Speakers' Bureau, coordinated by Literacy Partners of Manitoba. These learners participate in different programs in the Winnipeg area. The stories from this year's Learner Speakers' Bureau graduates will be unveiled at the Winnipeg Learner Conference on May 29, 2002.

Note : The text versions that follow do not always match the audio version, because some people preferred to update their stories after the recordings.

 

Play an audio version of this story

David Fontaine's Story

by David Fontaine

My name is David Fontaine. I would like to talk about how I deal with my dyslexia.

I am a survivor of dyslexia. I know a lot of people, both famous and ordinary, who have this learning disability. At the age of 25, I found out that I had dyslexia. It made me very angry. It took a long time for me to accept that I have this learning disability.

Until I could accept it, I wasn't able to learn and move forward. For example, I couldn't read, write or spell properly. I thought to myself - I need to learn how to read and write. In other words, I wanted to be a better person, and to be happy with what I have and who I am. So, I set goals for myself. My personal goals are to be a better reader and have better spelling and handwriting. Also, I want to be a better communicator. I work every day on my goals and I try to complete them. I know I have a long way to go, but I know that I will reach my goals.