At 29, Nelson Lauver was illiterate.
By 32, Lauver wasn’t just reading and writing. He was on his way to becoming a nationally syndicated radio broadcaster – overcoming a lifelong struggle with illiteracy caused by undiagnosed dyslexia.
Services for Students with Disabilities brought Lauver to speak Wednesday night as part of its Disability Awareness Days, aiming to raise awareness about the office’s services on campus, said Margie Roe, director of SSD. About 15 individuals attended the event, hosted at the Technological Institute.
“It’s a challenge trying to promote this office where the recipients are entitled to confidentiality,” said Dan Butler, a graduate intern at Loyola University Chicago who helped organize the event. “But you want people to know that there is an office that works with these folks,” he said.
Now a nationally syndicated journalist and broadcaster on the radio program “The American Storyteller,” Lauver’s talk was based around a series of stories. From historical biographies like those of the Wright brothers and Rosa Parks to personal anecdotes like that of a homeless WWII veteran he met in New York, each story related to his own narrative of growing up with an undiagnosed learning disorder.
“I’m a writer, a storyteller – it’s the passion of my life,” Lauver said. “It almost didn’t happen.”
Lauver spoke of his trials in an educational system he said dismissed him, deciding to hide his problem with literacy at a young age after encountering teachers who ridiculed his struggle with reading and writing. After years of keeping his illiteracy a secret, Lauver was finally recommended to go to an occupational vocational rehabilitation, where he was diagnosed with severe dyslexia.
“I thought to myself, ‘Finally, I had a name to go with this thing that had had its hands around my throat my entire life,'” he said.
Lauver’s talk was the third event in Disability Awareness Days, which also held a panel called “Disability Services after NU” in Norris University Center’s Wildcat Room and an ice cream social at the Rock on Tuesday.
Roe said Lauver’s talk was particularly relevant for reaching out to NU students – a group she said didn’t always openly address disabilities.
“(NU students) are a very independent group,” she said. “The typical NU student thinks they should be able to handle everything themselves. So it is difficult for some of them to think that they may have a condition where they might need some kind of accommodation to level the playing field.”
SESP senior Nikolai Smith said he attended the event after reading about it on a flier, but found the low attendance disheartening.
“That’s how I approach NU,” he said. “It’s like, if it doesn’t have a big student group behind it, it’s poorly attended.”
Butler said discussions on disability could encourage students to address their own challenges.
“With the proper strategies and management, (a disability) should not stand in your way at all,” Butler said. “You can pursue whatever it is you’re after in life.”
