As identical twins, Bailey and Mackenzie\u00a0Bennett\u00a0obviously have\u00a0a lot\u00a0in common. Athletic, artistic, and studious, the sisters share another characteristic\u00a0that\u00a0they\u2014and those who know them\u2014would not expect: dyslexia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the sisters found reading difficult during their early elementary years, their keen ability to memorize words enabled them to do well in most subjects and helped mask their struggles. As they grew older, however, their literacy challenges became more apparent.<\/p>\n
Test taking and reading aloud were noticeably difficult, and benchmark testing led to placement in lower reading and writing groups. Bailey, who was affected to a greater degree than her sister, recalls the dread she felt during a second-grade spelling bee. Even though she knew her word, she hesitated to spell it correctly because that would have meant advancing in the competition to a word she\u00a0perhaps\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0yet\u00a0memorized.<\/p>\n
Their mother, Jill, suspected something was wrong considering her own lifelong difficulty with spelling, as well as\u00a0the fact\u00a0that the twins\u00a0were not\u00a0progressing in reading as\u00a0well as\u00a0their older brothers had at the same age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jill raised the issue at a parent-teacher conference. Subsequently, the sisters were privately tested\u00a0at the end of fourth grade\u00a0and were\u00a0diagnosed with\u00a0dyslexia. For the next two years, they worked through their learning challenges with the help of their Wilson Reading System\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0(WRS)\u00a0tutor, Pam Swan, and went on to become fluent, independent readers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDyslexia is known as an unexpected learning disability, particularly among students who excel in other areas and are known as exemplary students,\u201d Pam explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n At first, the girls loathed going to their tutoring lessons, which tapped into time with sports and friends and meant more work after school. But within a few weeks, they realized the benefits and diligently worked through the Steps during fifth and sixth grades\u2014summers included.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were nervous to go, but when Pam told us\u00a0that she\u00a0also has dyslexia,\u00a0it helped reassure us,\u201d Mackenzie shared\u00a0about their first lesson with Pam, a Wilson\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0Dyslexia Therapist (W.D.T.) and Wilson\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0Credentialed Trainer (W.C.T.). \u201cKnowing that she had gone through what we were going through helped.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wilson Reading System taught us how to sound out words we didn\u2019t recognize and those we had memorized,\u201d said\u00a0Bailey, who became an avid reader of\u00a0young adult\u00a0novels. \u201cPam was easy to talk to and she would go at our pace. There was no expectation on where we needed to be or how fast we got through something. We gained confidence and became better at test\u00a0taking.\u201d<\/p>\n Through their hard work and the guidance of\u00a0their\u00a0skilled WRS instructor, Mackenzie and Bailey\u00a0became\u00a0award\u00a0winning, three-sport, scholar\u00a0athletes in high school. They were active in soccer, basketball, softball, student government, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the yearbook staff,\u00a0and prom committee, to name a few. Each earned many academic and athletic awards as well as college scholarships.<\/p>\n They graduated as Regents Scholars and #4 and #7 in their class in 2019, an accomplishment Bailey still finds astonishing. \u201cIf you told me when I was younger, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n This spring, they completed their freshman year as honors students at\u00a0Cazenovia\u202fCollege\u00a0in New York, where they major in fashion\u00a0merchandising\u00a0and business and play on the women’s basketball team.\u00a0The\u00a0sisters\u00a0will continue\u00a0their studies this fall, and after earning bachelor\u2019s degrees, they\u00a0plan to pursue master\u2019s degrees in\u00a0business administration.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are two hardworking women,\u201d Pam\u00a0said. \u201cI am so proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Bailey and Mackenzie\u00a0said having overcome the challenges of\u00a0dyslexia\u00a0enables them to empathize with peers who similarly\u00a0struggle yet\u00a0aspire to\u00a0achieve\u00a0their\u00a0academic and career goals.<\/p>\n For those just starting out in WRS,\u00a0Bailey\u00a0shared, \u201cAt first it was hard, but\u00a0it definitely helped me. I love reading now.\u00a0You just have to\u00a0push\u00a0through,\u00a0and you will see results.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Mackenzie, \u201cIt can be difficult at first, but once you get it, it will really help in the future. Don\u2019t be ashamed of\u00a0having dyslexia and getting help for it.\u00a0With the right help, you can do anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As identical twins, Bailey and Mackenzie\u00a0Bennett\u00a0obviously have\u00a0a lot\u00a0in common. Athletic, artistic, and studious, the sisters share another characteristic\u00a0that\u00a0they\u2014and those who know them\u2014would not expect: dyslexia.\u00a0 Although the sisters found reading difficult during their early elementary years, their keen ability to memorize words enabled them to do well in most subjects and helped mask their struggles. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1364,"template":"","success-story-cats":[],"success-story-tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363","success_stories","type-success_stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n