Brent Lindsay started school with his name written on a piece of paper in his pocket because he could not talk. As a child, he was enrolled in special education classes at Franklin Academy in Malone. When he graduated from high school in 1996, he couldn't read. In 2003, Lindsay started working with Jim Byrne, a retired truck driver who lives outside Malone, NY. Since then, Lindsay's score on the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) has increased from 1.6 to 4.1, which means hisr eading skills have progressed from the first-grade level to the fourth-grade level.

He is a charter member of his affiliate's learner advisory council, and he serves on the board's fund-raising committee. He's a frequent competitor in the Special Olympics, and he currently has a job working for his mother at a fabric store. He has also written a book, My Life: How it Came Together and How I Accomplished My Dreams, in which Brent tells his story, his family's story, and his dream of one day learning to read.

Lindsay would like to earn his GED someday and hopes that he will be able to work with a tutor with a background in special education.To read more of Brent Lindsay's story, go to: http://www.proliteracy.org/students/profiles_b-lindsay.asp [1]