Local student overcomes adversity in the classroom
MSMS Senior Madison Montgomery shares her journey with dyslexia.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It takes grit and determination to overcome adversity.
We are continuing our coverage on the students nominated for the annual Accepting the Challenge of Excellence Awards by the Exchange Club.
Madison Montgomery, a senior at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, was one of the nominees.
Even though a diagnosis didn’t come until later, Madison Montgomery said there were always signs of something different about her.
“In like elementary, teachers knew that I was at reading slow and I failed every single spelling test that I can take. And it was just frustrating,” said Montgomery.
It wasn’t until her junior year at MSMS that she was diagnosed with dyslexia.
“I felt relieved… it helped me get the accommodations that I needed, but I couldn’t get back the years that I lost from all of my childhood,” said Montgomery.
The Pontotoc native said in the past, her guardians did not see her reading challenges as a real problem.
“They didn’t really notice it. They just thought I was not working hard enough, and I was pressured at a young age to study really hard, get the best grades possible, and if I didn’t, I would get grounded, I would get my stuff taken away… I would have to stand in a corner,” said Montgomery.
Madison said her mother also has dyslexia, but that fact didn’t change the attitudes toward her.
She said spelling is still one of her toughest battles.
“Dyslexia can vary how bad it is for a person. Mine affects auditory, spelling, speech and reading, so I’ll hear sentences backwards and sometimes I’ll say sentences backwards,” said Montgomery.
However, her difficulties in the classroom didn’t keep her from applying to MSMS.
She said she wanted the challenge.
“I thought it was a great opportunity. My old schools were kind of like not challenging enough for me, and I wanted a little more to work towards,” said Montgomery.
And to make school easier for some younger students, Madison plans to give back.
She plans to study speech pathology in college.
“Speech pathology stood out some because of my struggles with dyslexia … because my speech is wrong and I was like ‘maybe I can get help learning these things,’ finding new tricks. But also, I can help students and children who can’t pronounce their words right,” said Montgomery.
Some tricks Madison uses when reading are highlighting difficult words to research later or following along with her finger.
If a child or someone is struggling with reading or spelling, Madison advises them to tell a parent or trusted adult.
In the fall, Madison will study speech pathology and audiology at The University of Southern Mississippi.
