An article printed in MTSU's The Record
July 22, 2002
By Tom Tozer
See The Record's Full StoryA young man, diagnosed in the eighth grade with dyslexia and monitored for three subsequent years by the professional staff at the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia, recently scored a 32 composite score on his ACT.
Now, this Eagle Scout and member of ROTC is hoping to attend the University of Central Florida and study forensic science. Justin Newnum, a rising senior at Blackman High School, is a success story in every sense. He was already a bright young man in elementary school, but his immense frustration as a result of transposing letters in English and flip-flopping numbers in math forced him to wonder if he was dumb.
"When I got back papers with red marks, with words spelled wrong, it got a little frustrating," Justin said.
"We mainly saw it in his spelling in the third grade," said Justin's mother, Judy Newnum. "He was always a good reader. He could say the words orally, but he couldn't write them correctly."
Several flags went up throughout Justin's elementary school career, but it wasn't until seventh grade, following testing by the school psychologist at Central Middle School, that someone suggested Justin should go to the dyslexia center.
"They did different exercises with me in spelling and breaking up words," Justin said. "They recommended a modified program for me at school, and I returned to the center periodically for check-ups."
"The center went through an evaluation process with us, then made recommendations to Justin's school," his mother added. "They put us on the right track on how to teach him spelling."
There were some teachers who pegged Justin as lazy, his mother said. They viewed her son as intelligent, but his work wasn't matching his aptitude.
"We were fortunate that no one ever labeled him as slow," Mrs. Newnum said. "So many kids are beaten down at a young age, or they are channeled in one direction and can't get out."
"On the recommendation of our staff, Justin did receive some accommodations in class, such as not counting spelling in his writing, being granted extended time to complete work, receiving the teacher's notes and keyboarding," said Dr. M. Tara Joyce, coordinator of adolescent and adult dyslexia at the center. "That made a huge difference."
Justin was certified for both giftedness and for a learning disability by his school, Joyce said. He will likely need those kinds of accommodations in college. Justin himself admits that he still struggles with spelling. The last time he was tested at the center, he said he was reading on a college level, but he was spelling on a fifth-grade level.
The center is located at 200 N. Baird Lane on campus.
