Our web designer had difficulty learning to read and write.

Meet Our Web Designer

colin had difficulty learning to read, spell and write Twenty-one year old Colin Hodges lives in Arnold, Maryland. His parents nurtured his early artistic and technical talents. He started drawing at age 6, and using a computer at age 8. His technical skills developed as he discovered how to change the programs of the video games he was playing - to enhance their performance or to make them react in different ways.

"I remember this game I used to play on my old computer — I could never quite win the darn thing. One day I decided to make my spaceship indestructible. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to finish the game after that."

Despite his many talents and successes, Colin had difficulty learning to read, spell, and write in school. In third grade, he was diagnosed as dyslexic. "The most helpful teacher I ever had was a tutor in seventh and eighth grades. I had really only read one book in my life up until then. Capitalizing on my interest in science fiction, she helped me improve by having me read out loud. I learned how sounds relate to written language and began to read with accuracy, fluency, and understanding."

"My parents both have learning differences, so understanding me came pretty naturally to them. Once, in an Easter egg decorating contest, I wanted to make my egg into a scarecrow. They didn't see how it could work, but I tried it and it came out really well - first place! My parents always promoted my interests and let me try out my ideas, even when they thought my ideas wouldn't work. We're all on the same wavelength."

In high school, Colin's artistic and technical interests converged as he developed his skills in computer graphics. He hopes to pursue a career in special effects for film.