Westerman shines light on dyslexia

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., invited dyslexia experts and advocates to the Library of Congress on Tuesday for a briefing titled: “The Science of Reading: Understanding Dyslexia.”

The event attracted parents of children with dyslexia, as well as former National Hockey League defenseman Brent Sopel, a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., also spoke about the importance of helping students overcome learning challenges.

Westerman’s interest in dyslexia is long-standing.

“I credit my wife [Sharon] for that. It’s a passion of hers,” the lawmaker from Hot Springs said. “She taught in the public schools, she saw the negative effects of children with dyslexia not getting the interventions they need, and she really piqued my interest in it.”

“As a special-education teacher, she’s focused a lot of her studies on the science of reading,” he added.

Before representing southwest (and a slice of Northwest) Arkansas, Bruce Westerman served on the board for the Fountain Lake School District.

Hill, a former Little Rock banker, spoke of two people he knows who had confronted learning challenges. One was a boss he had decades ago, he said.

The man was brilliant but struggled with written communication, he said.

“I could not figure out why he never read anything I sent him,” Hill said. “Every meeting was verbal. Every decision that he took was verbal. Every command he gave … was verbal.”

Years later, the man’s mother told Hill how her son had struggled and how they had worked together to overcome his learning challenges.

“She had gone to class with him every day at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and taken the notes for him. Because he was a brilliant person and he is a brilliant, successful businessman to this day. … But he had a mom who went to class with him and took his notes.”