Through The Cracks
When Daniel Boulet was in the seventh grade, his teacher pulled him aside to let him know it was his week to read to the Kindergarten students.
Daniel had always struggled with his reading and tried to tell his teacher he didn’t think it was a good idea, but she downplayed his pleas, assuring him he would have no problem reading a Kindergarten-level book to the youngsters.
Though he didn’t know it at the time, Daniel is dyslexic and has attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD). He also didn’t know that he was about to experience a defining moment in his life.
The Kindergarteners picked out a book for Daniel, and he began reading to them.
“I started to stumble, and the kid just looks at me like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’” Daniel recalls. “And this kid just started reading the book by himself, for the group. It made me feel kind of [crappy] about myself because this Kindergartener can read better than I can and I’m in Grade 7.”
Today, Daniel is 26 and looks back on that moment as a ‘last straw’ that prompted his parents to take him to Red Ladder Optimized Learning for a psychoeducational assessment, where he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.
High school wasn’t easy, but armed with the knowledge about his learning disabilities, Daniel’s parents were able to advocate for him to receive some accommodations that helped him get the work done and ultimately graduate on time.
“Without my mom, I don’t think I would have graduated high school, just because of the lack of awareness about kids with learning disabilities,” Daniel says. “The education system; I honestly think we really need to just re-look at it all, because they’re just moving people through. Like cattle. I’m baffled I made it that far without [knowing how to read], I honestly think it was almost denial by the school that I couldn’t read. I’m dyslexic; I need to accept it, you guys need to accept it, and now that we’re here, what can we do about it?
“The numbers are there; what, one in five kids has a learning disability? So obviously they’re there, and I’m sure they’re all struggling. And like I said, these systems are just pushing them through.”
After high school, Daniel took a year and a half off to work, before completing a few semesters at The University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Mennonite University. Shortly after that is when he says he discovered his passion for social work and working with kids.
Daniel is currently three years into a degree in social work at the University of Manitoba, and although accommodations like note takers and extra time to write exams has been helpful, he still struggles with feeling different from his peers.
“It’s helped, I just… feel kind of weird,” Daniel says. “Everyone is writing [their exam] in the room, and I’m out there, it just feels like I’m missing something when I’m writing a test by myself in a room. But I mean, I wouldn’t be able to write the test otherwise, so it’s great, but at the same time… you just feel different. You don’t feel normal.”
Daniel came to the Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba for his first of two work practicums, where he’s been working within the organization’s FRIENDS Resilience program, a cognitive behavioral therapy-based program for children to help reduce anxiety and depression, increase self-confidence, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and social emotional skills
“This place is awesome, because I always felt like I was the only one,” Daniel says. “At my school, I just felt like I was by myself and no one understood. It’s nice to be at a place that is accepting, and that understands.
“Since a lot of these kids [in the FRIENDS program] have learning disabilities, and we know about the assumptions people make and how it can make us feel isolated, we internalize how others view us. So it’s very important that this program is here.
“A lot of them just need to realize that they’re special human beings. They’ve had some bumps and bruises, but their disability doesn’t define who they are.”
After university, Daniel dreams of working for the federal government in Ottawa, specifically focusing on Indigenous issues and helping Indigenous kids who have learning disabilities. He applauds the progress that has been made, but says Canada still has a long way to go.
“When do we bring that awareness into action? That’s where I want to be, creating action to bring change.”