“Norway’s toughest” – Magnus has dyslexia and thanks his mother for helping him in his childhood – NRK Nordland

Magnus Nybakk Pettersen has become a familiar face among the Norwegian population.

The 24-year-old Norwegian is a swimmer who loves speedos and food, and who came fourth in this year’s season of “Norway’s Toughest”.

But it is still not the physical aspects that received the most attention. It was something he did in the first episode, when he read out a note to the rest of the participants.

Because it may have been a braver act than one would think.

“Cheating” on the reading lesson

Although he is a trained nurse, going to school has not been as easy.

When he started first grade and was given homework in elementary school, he memorized the reading homework until he could “read” it by heart.

He continued with that in second and third grade. He created an illusion that he was good at reading.

– But in third grade we started to get more difficult texts, especially the students who “could” read.

And among those who could read was Magnus. He had proven that the reading was not a problem.

Now, however, it became more difficult.

– Suddenly, “he Magnus had started to stagnate”, he says.

And then came the question: Why had Magnus become less able to read?

He first had to have his eyesight tested, but eventually he received an examination which found that he had dyslexia, reading and writing difficulties.

– The obvious disadvantage is that you read incredibly slowly, like myself, laughs Magnus.

Figures from Dyslexia Norway show that around 5 per cent of Norway’s population has a diagnosis of dyslexia.

Magnus wants to show that it is completely harmless, and that there are even advantages to having reading and writing difficulties.

– Although there are disadvantages to dyslexia, there are advantages to having it. I get more problem solving methodology that not everyone has and you see more possibilities.

– One thing I find a bit sad is that I hear people say “I have dyslexia, that’s why I can’t do it”.

Mom pushed Magnus

When Magnus was diagnosed with dyslexia, the solution was that he simply had to work more at school.

– Mum was a very good mover in the home. I had to read at least half an hour every day. And I did that until the ninth grade.

He thinks he has improved from reading it, and now he is grateful that his mother did not take the easy solution, but actually stood by it.

– Why?

– If mum hadn’t pushed me through it, I would have done what I wanted, and that was to not read. Because it’s not fun to read badly.

Magnus believes that he would never have finished school, had it not been for his mother.

– But because of my mother, the schooling has gone very well.

Good dialogue is the key

– Some with reading difficulties develop their own methods, so-called compensatory strategies, to remember words and texts by heart. As Magnus did. But at some point it will become, as he also experienced, difficult to maintain.

So says Monica Melby-Lervåg, who has researched dyslexia.

That Magnus read a lot at home can be a strategy that works for some, she says.

On a general basis, she still believes that one should be careful about pressuring children with the diagnosis to read.

– It shouldn’t be like that there should be a lot of conflict, arguing and defeat over homework. In a way, it must demand something from the child, but it must also be based on things that the child has mastered.

In the worst case, it can lead to the child experiencing that the home also becomes a performance arena where one might fail.

Melby-Lervåg further emphasizes that the main part of learning and reading training lies with the school, so in general the key is to have a good dialogue with them.

– The school’s role is the key to helping students with reading difficulties, and the school is obliged according to the Education Act to provide training, intensive reading courses and special education when there is a need for it, she says

– It is therefore important that parents are aware of it.

And back at Magnus, he has one piece of advice for those who have dyslexia or are the parents of someone who has it:

– Don’t give up, and be supportive through the challenges.