Learning Disabilities (Robert Toth's recall by Penny Hutchins Paquette)
Robert Toth says his school days were very sad. With both
attention deficit disorder and dyslexia, he had problems with
“everything---reading, writing.” He repeated fourth grade three times,
and he didn’t learn to read until he was twelve. He says that even then
his visual skills were a source of hope and inspiration. By the time he
was fourteen he was still having trouble with academic subjects, but he
was also winning prizes for his artistic achievements. “I found I
didn’t have an attention disorder when I could focus my attention on
what I liked most, and with that came the enthusiasm to hyperfocus.”He
found that when he was involved on hands-on activities and with the
inventions he found in Popular Mechanics magazine, his problems with
attention diminished.
Today Toth focuses his attention on his artwork. He is a
painter, a sculptor, and jewelry designer. Here he is pictured with one
of his paintings and his portrait sculpture of Andrew Jackson. The
Royal Scottish Museum, The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, MGM
Studios, and The Franklin Institute have purchased his work. His
portrait sculptures are often used as awards, including his sculpture
of Benjamin Franklin that is presented as the Ben Franklin Award to
screenwriters at the Greater Columbus Film Festival. To learn more
about him and to see some of his work, visit his website at
www.RobertToth.com.
Penny Hutchins Paquette, educational writer.
Photo by Lee Toth
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