The Michigan House Education Committee is considering a couple of bills that would help schools identify students with dyslexia and other reading problems.
Former NFL player Deon Butler testified at this week’s hearing about going through school with undiagnosed dyslexia.
“He signed a contract with the Detroit Lions,” Butler said. “That’s when he learned the Detroit Lions playbook was much harder than the college playbook. This young man was doing everything he could to fight for his spot on the roster. The Detroit Lions kept releasing him and signing him back to the team. The Detroit Lions thought maybe he would finally open the playbook, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was he couldn’t read.”
Butler says he was let go by the Lions more than once because he couldn’t read the playbook. Butler is now a disability advocate after he learned to read with the help of a tutor and often reads to his daughter.
There’s been no vote yet on the bills in the House committee, but they were approved in the state Senate.
