Ilia Edwards-Novelo could tell early on that her son Rowan was bright. He was already reading word books by the time he was eighteen months old, and he excelled in pre-K and kindergarten. When he got to elementary school, though, he ran into trouble, as his reading skills fell far behind his peers.

“By the end of first grade, I knew something was not right,” said Edwards-Novelo. “Homework had become a struggle, and his self-esteem began to plummet. ‘I can’t do it! I can’t read! Everybody else can read but me!'”

It wasn’t until the beginning of third grade that Edwards-Novelo managed to turn things around. She met the parent of a dyslexic child, and after speaking with her, she realized that all of the symptoms she described matched Rowan’s. With this knowledge, she enrolled Rowan in the Windward School, a private school for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. There Rowan was finally able to get the help he needed.

“Within a few weeks, he would begin his homework without prompting and complete it independently,” said Edwards-Novelo. “He always wanted to be a successful student, and there he was – finally, doing homework just like everybody else.”

Today, Manhattan electeds and community leaders are discussing how to ensure that no dyslexic child has to go through the years-long struggle that Rowan did.

Manhattan Community Board 2 (CB2) hosted a panel discussion on dyslexia last night, going over the warning signs, what parents can do to advocate for their children, and a recent proposal for a new school for the dyslexic in Greenwich Village. The panel took place last night at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, 18 Bleecker St. It was co-hosted by Council Member Margaret Chin (D-Battery Park City, Chinatown); New York State Senators Brad Hoylman (D-Chelsea, Midtown) and Brian Kavanagh (D-Lower East Side); Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (D); Comptroller Scott Stringer (D); Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D-East Village, West Village); and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn). Read the full story here