Dyslexia is a neurological, language- based learning disorder that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. Students generally have difficulty with spelling, writing, and speaking, often reading at levels significantly lower than expected, despite having normal intelligence. They may also show difficulty with word recall, sequencing, and the passage of time.
By Rachel Haynie

Carol and Cole Crawford share their love of art.

Rich conversation, visual stimulation of two artists, lovingly- read bedtimes stories, even a child's personal library should have readied Cole Crawford for reading. The youngster's household was a virtual incubator for learning. Yet Cole's first grade teacher noticed delays even before Labor Day.

"At first Mrs. (Lucy) Waddell attributed Cole's slow processing speed to family stress and trauma," recalled the boy's mother, Carol Crawford. "I had been hit by a car while riding my bicycle near our home just three days after he started school. Someone else had to go to his school and tell him why I wouldn't be picking him up. I was in the hospital for two months, so Cole's beginning days in school were not at all what we had planned for."

In time and with good care, Carol was able to come home, but her head injuries put her through agonizing cognitive challenges. "I had to learn to learn all over again;" she re- connected with the son she had missed so deeply while hospitalized by sharing homework time with him. She learned while he learned, "but it was taking him two hours to do first- grade homework."

As the family normalized, Cole's parents were baffled by his response to school. "He said he hated school, and he especially hated reading," his mother recalled.

The couple, both professionals with academic credentials, thought Cole's attitude toward learning was tied to separation anxiety stemming from the accident and its lingering aftermath. Carol was a paper conservator formerly with the Library of Congress. Craig, Cole's father, is an art conservator and an artist. Some of his conservation work has included paintings at the Library of Congress and in the nation's capital.

Fortunately for the Crawfords, Mrs. Waddell involved Mrs. Guignard. Both Heathwood Hall educators were keeping a close watch on Cole. "When they suggested we have him tested, Terry Melloh diagnosed him with dyslexia. Renee Crump tutored him, and, ultimately, Connie Fiffick, his second grade teacher directed us to Sandhills School," said Crawford.

As the Crawfords learned about dyslexia, Craig recognized some of the difficulties his son was encountering. "What we learned about this learning disorder matched up with some experiences I had as a student."

Craig's work is all hands- on. "Working with my hands and at my own pace works out great for me," he said. The USC graduate remembers feeling swamped in large college classes, "but I did very well at a small, liberal arts college in Georgia."

"Even a clock was distracting to Cole," Craig recalled. His own studio, shared with Carol is a fairly solitary setting. Carol says as she continues regaining her cognitive skills, she finds herself on the same page with her son and husband.

To satisfy his curiosity that dyslexia may run in his family, Craig plans to be tested. "If I knew I could be a better advocate for Cole, who is now at Sandhills School and loves it. Also, I have a nephew who is working through learning disorders, and I wouldn't be surprised if my father had dyslexia, too."

Craig looks at a black and white painting that hangs over the family breakfast table from a series he created two decades ago. The figures and elements appear to have pieces in the wrong places. "Now that I am understanding dyslexia, I think I finally know what those paintings mean. They represent looking functional while being dysfunctional."

Craig has a number of works in this Friday's art show and sale at Sandhills School. Proceeds from the gala event will support the school's educational programs and scholarships.