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Henrietta Post Newspaper, June 13, 2007

HENRIETTA POST • NEWS
June 13, 2007

Resident wins school achievement award

Ryan Dixon, a student at Norman Howard, was presented with the distinction May 23.

By JESSICA GASPAR
Messenger Post Staff

Ryan Dixon’s proudest moment so far was when he received the Award of Personal Growth from his school.
It was a long road to get there, and when he stood up to accept the award, his friends and peers cheered him on.
“I felt very proud and glad they were cheering me on,” said Ryan, 13.
His mother, Joanne, was touched by their actions.
“It brought me to tears to hear someone encouraging him and saying something positive to him,” she said. “I think he was more struck by kids saying ‘Good job, Ryan!’ ... than the actual award.”
Ryan, who has a learning disability, started attending the Norman Howard School about two years ago, after being in an integrated classroom at Sherman Elementary School.
At the school’s Sixth Annual Celebration of Success event on May 23, Ryan was given the award after being nominated by his teacher, Sue Vercruysse.
“Ryan has really taken control of trying to m a i n t a i n focus and he is really just putting forth so much effort to stay on track and do his best,” Vercruysse said.
His mom couldn’t be happier with Ryan’s improvements. “I am thrilled for him. I think it illustrates how this school has changed his relationship with education,” Dixon said.
Ryan was born premature and weighed less than 2 pounds. When he was 2 years old, his parents noticed Ryan was having learning difficulties, Dixon said.
So, Dixon began seeking help for her son’s disability, like early intervention services. When he was 4, she enrolled him in a BOCES preschool class. Ryan took a seat in a special education classroom around first grade. During gym and music classes, Ryan was integrated with other kids his age.
Then, in second grade, Ryan was enrolled in a regular classroom at Sherman with a lot of special education and occupational therapy support, Dixon said.
“That was difficult for him. He has a lot of trouble with social skills,” said Dixon.
Because Ryan was different, he was teased by his peers, who would often tell Ryan to do embarrassing tasks, like kiss another boy, Dixon said.
“That really was very destructive for him. Ryan was mercilessly picked on,” she said. “He was designated the weirdo. He was constantly reminded how different he was.”
Around age 10, Ryan began having suicidal thoughts.
“He was like, ‘Life is too hard. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up,’” Dixon said.
Ryan was so reluctant to go to school, he used a marker to draw brown dots on his body to make his parents think he had chicken pox, she said.
Ryan doesn’t do those things anymore. He says he actually looks forward to going to school.
“It has a lot of lessons that I like. I don’t want to be late to the classes,” Ryan said. “I think I’m doing good.”
The school specializes in individual instruction for students with learning disabilities. Teachers and support staff assist students by putting them on an individual learning plan based on the needs of the student.
Now that Ryan’s in an environment where he is like his peers, he doesn’t get teased by the other kids, Dixon said. The school sets curriculum strategies for the students and helps the students master those strategies, Vercruysse said.
“These strategies help them break down larger tasks. Even though he’s (Ryan) very smart, he’s so overwhelmed by the prospect of a big task, he really needed to break it down. The strategies really helped him do that,” she said.
The strategies are put in play by modeling real-life situations, like how to enter in a conversation already in progress or how to count money at a grocery store, Dixon said.
“It’s just great. It has literally turned his life around,” she said.
After Ryan finishes his time at the school, he wants to become either a video game designer or a special education teacher, like those at Norman Howard, he said. The video games use strategies and Ryan can relate to them from the strategies used in school.
“I love video games, so it’s kind of entertainment to me. They really improve my mind,” Ryan said.

Jessica Gaspar can be reached at (585) 394-0770, ext. 323, or at jgaspar@mpnewspapers.com.