Student Defiles Learning Disability

By Jennie Aho
Staff Writer
Daily Sundial, Monday, August 23, 1982

OK, it’s not by me — but it is about me.

Odell Hathaway has written his first novel. The CSUN sophomore from Sherman Oaks is also a self-taught computer programmer and soon hopes to earn his private pilot’s license. These are accomplishments of which any young man, just short of his 21st birthday, could be proud.

But Hathaway is not just anyone. When he first attempted to enroll at CSUN, his application was denied because his SAT scores were too low. With an IQ in the 130 range, Hathaway is certainly smart enough to pass the test, but he couldn’t read the questions well enough or write his answers clearly enough to get a passing score. Hathaway has dyslexia and dysgraphia.

Both are learning disabilities. Dyslexia is a disturbance in the ability to read, and dysgraphia is a disorder in the ability to write. Another disability, dyscalculia, concerns difficulty with math.

“For years in grade school I was known as ‘Obell’ because that’s the way I wrote my name,” Hathaway said. “I had a backward view of the letter D. It took a long time and a lot of practice with B’s and D’s to finally break me of it.”

Hathaway credits his enrollment at CSUN to the help he received at the Veterans and Handicapped Student Affairs Office.

“I brought them my rejection notice, and they worked to get me in,” he explained. “Counselor Steve Loving worked hard for me. He had me get letters from former teachers saying that I would be a good student and could learn. I also turned in samples of my computer programs.”

With the sun shining brightly on his red hair, Hathaway — wearing a light-blue CSUN T-shirt — said he was diagnosed as having a learning problem in second grade. The teacher felt he wasn’t progressing at a level consistent with other students.

“They labeled me educationally handicapped,” Hathaway said. “It’s a catch-all term for anyone who didn’t fit into the school system properly. Emotionally handicapped children were also placed under the same heading. My parents were told I would never be able to read or write.”

Although it was suggested that he be placed in a special school, Hathaway’s parents rejected the idea, fearing that if he were placed in that environment he would tend to fit that mold.

So Hathaway continued in regular school and attended a special reading class three times a week. After two years he transferred to the Area J Reading Center, which he attended from fifth grade through eighth grade. The center, part of the Los Angeles School System, was later closed for lack of funding.

Hathaway struggled through difficult times during his school years but graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1980. He endured cruelty and ridicule from both students and teachers.

“Teachers didn’t want me in their classes,” Hathaway said. “Apparently it embarrassed them to have me there. I was a fan of ‘Star Trek,’ and I used the example of Mr. Spock to overcome the stigma. He didn’t fit in either. I figured I could do one of two things — learn to fight or be logical like Mr. Spock and ignore the idiots.”

Hathaway, who works as a computer programmer for RTR Industries in Canoga Park, taught himself programming on the computer his parents use for their business. “I was up front with them,” he said. “I showed them the work I had done, and they hired me. It’s strange, but computer programming isn’t a reading function for me. I’ve trained my mind so I know the words on sight.”

The firm, which manufactures stereo speakers, uses the computer to track inventory, payroll, and sales. Hathaway said he has improved existing programs and designed the entire system for keeping sales records.

Largely because of Hathaway’s handicap, his parents, Margie and Jay Hathaway, organized the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth. They believe that medication his mother took while pregnant with him damaged part of his brain.

Today Hathaway can read, but at a much slower rate than normal. He must look at each letter and select the proper translation for it in his mind. His writing is unclear, and some teachers don’t like to take the time to read it.

Hathaway is one of 15 CSUN students to identify themselves as having learning disabilities, said Patricia Conklin, coordinator for Veterans and Handicapped Student Affairs.

“We’re working hard to create a formal program,” she said. “Some students aren’t aware they have a problem. It’s often difficult to detect. We need more awareness and faculty assistance to help identify students with learning disabilities.”

She added that one indication of a learning disability may be a student who verbalizes well but has difficulty writing.

The office provides students with disabilities resources such as tape recorders, talking calculators, and test proctoring (in which a question is read aloud and the student’s answer is written down for them). Some textbooks are also available on tape.

Hathaway recorded his novel, a science-fiction story, on tape, and his sister is typing it. He said he is in a race with his father to see who will get a pilot’s license first. He likes the challenge of doing things people think he can’t.

Although Hathaway has yet to declare a major at CSUN, he is interested in history, journalism, and computer science. Ironically, even though he works as a programmer, he doesn’t yet have the math background needed to major in computer science.

“One of the greatest things to happen to me occurred when a high-school teacher was gloating in class over a gifted-students list,” Hathaway said. “The criteria to get on it was an IQ of 130. I asked if my name was on it because I had been tested and my IQ was 130. He wanted to know who told me that, and I said it was on my records and he could look it up. I don’t think he ever did.”

Next: Tom Lehrer the Man, His Myth and his Music?