Judge Jeffry Gallet recounts the nature of his dyslexia and how it has affected his perceptions of himself as a person in the context of academic and professional expectations and performance. Low self-esteem was engendered by authority figures and peers who attributed his learning disability to low intelligence and a general inability to learn. He still wrestles with this low self esteem as he analyzes the nature of his handicap and how he has dealt with it, thanks to the support and guidance of those who recognized his strengths and helped him compensate for his limitations. The theme of his address is that handicapped persons must be guided in recognizing that their disabilities are limited in hampering normative functioning, that their strengths must be maximized, and that the effects of their disabilities can diminish through creative strategies of compensation.