This really is a fascinating thread, and it does me much good to be reminded that what I went through was not an isolated case. My dyslexia (and also very poor eyesight) was not diagnosed until age eleven or so, by which time I had spent far too many years at the mercy of educators who were quick to label me "Stupid", "Lazy" and "Retarded". (I wonder for how many of us those words will ring a painful bell for the rest of our lives?)My childhood was a nightmare of trying to succeed until my heart nearly broke, only to be constantly belittled and punished for "not trying". When I was in school (and a supposedly progressive, private school at that!) there was little enough known about dyslexia and it's attending conditions, to allow for any recognition of my problems. I scored consistantly high when administered countless IQ tests,scored high above my age/grade level when tested orally, excelled at aural learning, and won every (oral)spelling bee in elementary school....but could not pass a written test to save my life. I am happy to say (due entirely to the love and persistance of my parents, and exactly TWO teachers who cared)that I was eventually diagnosed, and shown coping and compensation skills that allowed me learn despite my disability. Though I used to live in abject terror of speaking in front of a group,was unable to process letters or numbers properly, and was told by several schools that I would never make it through high school, I graduated, became an honor roll college student, and now make my living as a teacher, a writer and an actress. (with free lance work in art, interior decor, floral arrangement and clothing design, just to name the more visual vocations) I would like to applaud and echo what someone quoted above; "It's not just what your given, it's what you do with what you've got" (-Si Khan). What drove me to become a teacher, by the way, were the emotional scars inflicted on me by so-called educators, who called me stupid and lazy to my face.I wanted to have a classroom for kids, in which someone took the time to UNDERSTAND. My Aunt (who is in the medical field) once made a sad but accurate remark - she said "By the time learning disabilities are diagnosed, half of these kids don't have enough self esteem left to overcome them". The inverted letters, reversed numbers and other symptoms I can compensate for and live with...but it took me over twenty years to regain the confidence and self esteem, that PEOPLE (not my disability) robbed me of in childhood. To me, the loss of self believe is the far greater disability. Has anyone else had similar experiences?