Thursday, April 23, 1998
Real bruins
PEOPLE: Nick Tobey has overcome dyslexia to help run
the family business and author a proposition
By Michelle Navarro
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
"A lot of people like Perfect Paul, but I prefer Doctor Dennis,"
admitted Nick Tobey with a laugh. "He’s the typical Jewish doctor,
so maybe it’s a sentimental thing."
Doctor Dennis and Perfect Paul aren’t the newest soap opera
characters or towering WWF wrestlers. They are actually names for
two different voice styles on Tobey’s Digital Dec Talk voice
synthesizer. The system aids Tobey with any reading or writing
assignments he receives from his political science professors.
In crystal clear surround sound, Doctor Dennis’ booming voice
guided the 27-year-old Bruin through the computer’s menus and
programs one evening after class. Most importantly for Tobey,
though, it can read off pages of text.
Without this technology, Tobey would have to endure hours of
headaches to read the material himself – a difficulty that comes
with being dyslexic, which impairs one’s ability to read.
No one can see his disability when he walks up and down campus,
which, according to Tobey, may both work for and against him.
"You look like everyone else," he said "You have to explain to
people how it affects you. There will be some that you will never
reach; you will meet some who are antagonists. But you get a
thicker skin because of it."
"There are others who are rare teachers that understand the
disability and are perceptive enough to diagnose the disability and
understand how to work around it."
Tobey was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade, but his
parents decided not to tell him until he was in high school. It was
a problem he had to deal with growing up, sometimes even soliciting
the help of tutors along the way.
"I’ve never been ashamed of my disability," he said. "I’ve
always been a realist and dealt with it as a fact of life. I don’t
know what it’s like not to have it, so I don’t know what I’ve
missed."
Through the years he has learned to handle his learning
disability. According to Tobey, it’s a challenge to find an
alternative learning route to the norm before arriving at the same
level as other students.
"It’s as if one of your kidneys has been lost. The other kidney
grows to compensate," he said. "It turns you into a fighter. There
are many roads to the same place if you’re willing to look for
opportunities to get there."
That’s exactly what Tobey does at UCLA.
At a university where classes consist of one to two hour
lectures, taking good notes is imperative to doing well in the
course. Dyslexia doesn’t make this essential skill easy. So when
Tobey sits in Haines for his first class of the day, he’s all
ears.
"It’s something I used to rely on," he said. "In grammar school
and high school I didn’t have the technology, so I relied on
listening."
Tobey has developed auditory skills that allow him to retain
most of a professor’s lecture. As an added help, the Office of
Students with Disabilities has provided him with a class
notetaker.
In his discussion section following the lecture, Tobey also
makes use of another skill.
"One of my strengths is my ability to speak and my verbal
communication skills," Tobey said with a smile. "In class, I’m very
outspoken."
The ability to contribute to class discussions has also come
from Tobey’s experience in politics. Among other accomplishments he
has volunteered for five campaigns, one U.S. Senate campaign and
was an author of Proposition 198, the open primary initiative
passed in 1996.
Tobey’s interest in politics stems from a major concern for
education and the environment, areas in which he would like to see
change.
"There needs to be a better business approach in the school
system," Tobey explained. "There needs to be better rewards for
excellent teachers because they don’t get everything they deserve.
And the poor teachers don’t get fired. You can’t have a dynamic
system without accountability."
When his political science classes are over, Tobey makes a shift
in his day and drives to work on La Cienega. There he runs the
family business, Richard Tobey Fine Frames, with the help of a
manager.
"It’s a partnership, but my father is 78 years old, so
responsibilities are shifting in my direction."
Tobey spends the remainder of the day making sure the deadlines
for art shows are met, training employees and handling a few sales.
The company has done business with the Getty Museum, the Norton
Simon Museum and even a few presidents.
In the early evening, Tobey returns to his apartment next to
UCLA to take a break and unwind.
Before settling down to study, he calls a friend or watches
C-SPAN, because he is a "political junkie."
Around the room, the walls are bordered with framed art of
fishes. In one corner of the apartment rests Tobey’s computer
system
On the coffee table lays a stack of old photographs of Tobey’s
days as an intern at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in
Honolulu, Hawaii. His time spent there is one of the reasons for
his involvement with environment politics.
"They’re like the four stooges," Tobey joked, looking at a
picture of the four bottle-nosed dolphins he worked with at the
laboratory.
At his computer, Tobey sets the Dec Talk voice synthesizer on
reading a book stored in the system. The voice reads at an
extremely quick pace, but appeared to be comfortable for Tobey.
This reporter wasn’t able to clearly understand and comfortably
listen to the voice until the speed was lowered about four levels
slower than Tobey’s.
Even though the computer may fly through pages for him, it still
takes Tobey more time to complete the same amount of work.
"It takes me longer than most people," he said. "But the
technology gave me the chance to combine it with my auditory
skills. A computer-generated voice is still better than if I were
to read the text myself."
Tobey has faced several other obstacles because of his dyslexia,
from snide remarks to trouble with studying, but he knows his goals
are still attainable. He has a whole list of successful people who
have the learning disability to prove it.
Among the people he listed were Albert Einstein, Winston
Churchill, Tom Cruise and Cher. Daily life may be more challenging
than it is for the average Joe, but it is possible to accomplish
the same things.
"There are lots of people who have beaten this," he said,
"because they figured out different strategies to compensate for
it."LYNN NISHIMURA
Nick Toby supervises the building of a frame in the family owned
business that he works at.
Photos by LYNN NISHIMURA
Nick Tobey sits at his specially made computer that can read out
loud to him. "A computer-generated voice is still better than if I
were to read the text myself," he says.
Nick Tobey attends his mass media discussion section, where he
admits he is very outspoken.