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"ABC Afterschool Specials" Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984)
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Overview
User Rating:
TV Series:
"ABC Afterschool Specials" (1972)Original Air Date:
7 March 1984 (Season 12, Episode 6)Plot:
13-year-old boy has problems reading, which his teachers attribute to laziness. It is later discovered that he has Dyslexia. | add synopsisPlot Keywords:
Boy
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Dyslexia
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Real Life Siblings As Fictional Siblings
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Learning Disability
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Real Life Brothers Playing Brothers
more
Awards:
2 nominations moreUser Comments:
Um...just what you would think. moreCast
(Episode Credited cast) | Madge Sinclair | ... | Miss Tomas |
 | River Phoenix | ... | Brian Ellsworth |
| Judy Farrell | ... | Barbara Ellsworth |
 | Joaquin Phoenix | ... | Robby Ellsworth (as Leaf Phoenix) |
| Stephanie Evans | ... | Kim |
| Sharon Anderson | ||
| Charles Theodore Bates III | ||
| Daniel Davies | ||
| Bo Kaprall | ... | Walter Ellsworth |
| Peter Moore | ||
| Shirley Venard | (as Shirley Venard-Diercks) | |
| Jack Walsh | ||
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
 | Catherine Campion | ... | Student |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
60 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
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This TV special had good intentions but it was stifled by the usual superficiality of this type of thing. Even the relaxed and relatively natural acting of River and his little bro Joaquin couldn't save it.
The film pretty much acts as if the kid's dyslexia problem developed overnight. He must've had the most clueless mom and teachers in the world if they never noticed anything seriously wrong before he reached junior high! You would think that the fact that his dad was dyslexic would've made the parents more savvy about the problem...but I guess not. The only things I learned from this TV movie were that dyslexic people have a poor sense of balance and they can't run in a straight line. Interesting.
Another major problem I encountered was that the kids and the teachers virtually never talked like their counterparts here in the "real world" would. It detracted from the message that was trying to be told.
Only recommended to those who are interested in seeing River and "Leaf" early in their careers. 3/10