Tic and Twitch

Hi, I want to tell you about someone special. His name is Treasure Mouse. Treasure was usually a happy mouse. He liked the others at school, he liked his teachers, and he liked school.

Well, most of the time. Singing was lots of fun. Treasure liked listening to the stories, and he liked Show and Tell.

What he did not like was reading; it was so hard! Sometimes, the letters changed and jumped around, other times Treasure didn't know what sounds went with which letter.

He watched the others in his class as they learned to read. He saw how excited they were as they learned to read those stories themselves. Tim Chickadee loved Adventure stories.

Laura Ladybug likes mysteries. Blair Beetle likes scary stories, and little Arby Ant likes science books.

Treasure tried harder and harder. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get those letters to stay still so he could work them out.

He was very embarassed. He was sure the others would make fun of him.

After awhile, they started to. Sometimes they teased him when he tried to write words or sentences in his journal. Sometimes they called him names. That made him feel bad.

One day was really rough. The others kept teasing, his teacher was frustrated, and he had been doing his best all day! He wanted to melt into the ground.

He closed his eyes and wished. He wished he could disappear. He was so sad, and mad and frustrated himself.

For awhile, he tried to stay away from school. He was late alot. But, he knew his sister, Emily, would tell on him if he didn't go.

One day, his teacher called his house to talk to his Mom.

When he got home that night, his Mom tried to talk to him. But he was afraid that maybe she would laugh at him too, or maybe she thought he wasn't doing his best. He really was trying so hard! So, he had a temper tantrum and was sent to his room, instead.

The next day it was his turn to read to the class. He looked at the pictures and made up his own story. He thought no one would know the difference.

But he was wrong. You see, his story was so much better than the one in the book. The teacher thought he was so clever, but she knew he was lying to himself. She realized then that he might be having a problem with reading.

His teacher talked with his mother again, and with another teacher; Miss Robin. After that, Miss Robin took him to her reading room, everyday, for a little awhile.

Like Treasure, Miss Robin was special. She told him that she had a hard time learning to read when she was young. Someone gave her lots of time and taught her in a different way, how to read.

Treasure was surprised to find out that there were others in the school with problems kinda like his. Carla Bunny can't remember what she hears. Quint Quail has a hard time saying what he's thinking, but he writes really well.

Danny Duckling has a hard time writing things down, but he reads well. Miss Robin knew some special ways to help them. She would sing little songs....

Tell stories that rhyme, write notes for Carla, and other neat things like that.

Her books were not so hard to remember. No one was upset anymore, if Treasure did not get all the words right, when he told the story.

Miss Robin had talked to his Mom and told her how important it was for him to memorize the stories for awhile.

After what seemed like a long, long, long time; Treasure realized that he knew what some of those words were, when he looked at them.

He still had a long way to go, because he didn't always look at the words. That was so hard to do! It was much easier just to listen than to look at those words. Things were different now though. Now he knew he could do it!

Miss Robin told him that it would not be easy. He would have bad days, but he would also have more good days. Words did not scare him so much now. He began to try harder in her class.

One day, he told Miss Robin about the others in his class, and how bad he felt. She talked to them and showed them a movie about how tough it is to learn letters and numbers that jump around.

She used mirrors and special boxes to get them to trace stars. They had a very hard time doing this. They learned that sometimes learning is harder for some kids. They stopped teasing and started helping.

Miss Robin helped Treasure to realize that she cannot teach everyone, and he soon understood what she was saying. Sometimes, those who are afraid of things they don't understand, will tease. It's up to him to teach them and others about his problem.

It is nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to be afraid of. He is not to blame. He can not change it, anymore than a giraffe can get stripes, or a zebra changes to spots. He can't make it go away but he can learn new ways of doing things. Even when it's hard.

If words or even numbers, are hard for you, then it's okay. It may not be easy, but you can learn. Like Treasure, you will feel better talking to an Adult about it. Maybe your Mom or Dad, maybe an Aunt or Uncle, maybe a teacher, or maybe even your grandparents, or a neighbour.

Like real treasure, Treasure was rare and special, and so are you!

Fall of 1994