John's story

August 10, 2009

John is on a mission to make the invisible, visible. He lived with an undiagnosed learning disability for more than two decades. And, for the most part he struggled alone.

John was left in the care of the Children’s Aid Society at the age of five. He moved from home to home and school to school. “It felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I was alone and scared growing up.” John’s learning disability made matters worse.

Although thoughts are clear in his head, John cannot translate those thoughts to paper. “It’s like there’s a short circuit from my mind to my hand,” he says. “Everything that I try to put down on paper is a scrambled mess. In today’s society, if you can’t write it’s a huge setback.”

Pegged as simply not as smart as the other kids, John grew up feeling ashamed and insecure. “I knew I had more abilities but I just couldn’t get them out properly,” he says. “A learning disability is like having a wheelchair with square wheels. And I call it an invisible disability because the barriers I face aren’t obvious.”

For most of his 20s, he did manual labour and eventually became custodian at a church. That’s when John’s life started to change. A parishioner introduced John to psychologist Jessica Colson, who diagnosed him as having a Nonverbal Learning Disorder. John came to understand that his challenge had nothing to do with his intelligence — he just learned differently and there were resources to help.

John enrolled at Fanshawe College. His first attempt was frustrating: he got discouraged and was talking about giving up. Then, tragedy struck. Jessica, who had given him much hope, died in a car accident. Not wanting her contribution to be lost, John found the strength to return to Fanshawe — this time with the support of adaptive software called Dragon Naturally Speaking. “The software removes the challenge of writing my thoughts,” says John. “I think and it writes. The barrier to my success was lifted.” John earned his arts and sciences diploma.

One of the places John turned to for support was the Learning Disabilities Association of London and Region, a United Way funded organization. Beginning to realize the potential he knew he always had, John started to serve as a role model for others. John speaks to individuals and groups about learning disabilities, and he was inducted into the Learning Disabilities Association Hall of Fame. John even started a Facebook page – I Can Do That – for people to learn, support and advocate.

John’s success extended into his career. He is now a telephone banking specialist with TD Canada Trust. “I’m still getting better every day,” he says. “When I started, I had a support assistant with me almost full time. Now, I meet with someone once or twice a week for about 30 minutes. I’m really proud of that.”




Strengthening families is one of United Way of London & Middlesex's priority areas. Learn more.