Texas college student uses auto racing to cope with his learning disability

From NASCAR.com:

For one young man, racing is more than just a hobby; it's become a coping mechanism for his learning disability.

Dean Abbey (pictured) is a college freshman in Texas who has dyslexia. Although, the moment he gets inside a race car the stress and anxiety that come with reading and the challenges of traditional learning disappear.

"Racing helps me get away from some of the down times of being dyslexic. I escape when I race in my car. I've learned that everybody struggles with different things and that everyone has a talent. I am good at racing cars, so I will race for the rest of my life," Abbey told a learning specialist and author who featured the student and racer in her recently released children's book, That's Like Me!

The author, Jill Lauren (pictured), who teaches in New York, created a 40-page, non-fiction children's picture book filled with stories from young people and other adults who have found other personal strengths and talents to help overcome their learning disabilities.

Abbey's personal strength is on the track. He's been racing since he was 7 years old, starting with go-karts and Legends cars, and hopes one day to make it to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series and compete in the Daytona 500.

Just like a true NASCAR driver promoting his personal cause, Abbey explained, "The more people who understand dyslexia, the better it will be for the younger kids. My Legends car also teaches people about dyslexia. It has the logo for the International Dyslexia Association on it."

Lauren wanted Abbey's story for her book after she realized he could win a race and feel good about his accomplishment, which was greatly needed during his difficulties with high school, where he was put in special classes and teachers struggled to teach him.

"I spent a couple of hours talking with Dean and his mother, Sharon, and learned that he worked best with an outlet and learns best by using his hands," Lauren said. "They were actually in Indianapolis to accept an award. He touched everyone's heart and it is his goal to help as many people with dyslexia as possible."


Jill Lauren and Dean AbbeyAbbey was the recipient of the International Dyslexia Association's Remy Johnson award given to teenagers who refuse to be limited by the challenges of learning differences, strive for excellence and choose to live life as an achiever and role model for others.

Lauren, teaching now for 25 years, said her students inquire regularly about others who are in similar situations. They want to hear from other kids with learning disabilities. They want to know other kids like them, she added.

"The idea for the book came from those kids' needs and when you hear Dean talk about racing and how much it helped him, you can see the energy in his eyes," Lauren said. "It is very powerful how racing makes him feel proud and very happy."

Abbey encourages students with learning disabilities not to give up.

"Just keep working at it and learn ways to work and read around it. My dyslexia has gotten much better," said Abbey, whose experiences on the track have helped him believe in himself, which in turn has enabled him to better handle the frustrations of school.

Today, he is still racing and has advanced to sports modified cars and is an automotive major at Texas State Technical College in Waco.