Above Dyslexic Girl Trying Hard
"Could it be dyslexia?" I asked my son's kindergarten teacher. "No, it's not dyslexia. Don't worry, he just needs to work harder" she reassured me. My bright boy, who had anxiously waited for the day he could go to school to learn to read, had begun to tell me that reading was stupid and school was stupid.
"Could it be dyslexia?" I asked my son's first-grade teacher. "No, it's not dyslexia. He just needs to work harder" was again the response that I received. This was after he had become so frustrated one evening and cried "Reading is stupid! It makes my brain hurt," and "I am stupid!"
I sought help for my son and was told that vision therapy was what he needed. More than $6,000 and one year later, he was even further behind. "Could it be dyslexia?" I asked his vision therapist. "No, it's not dyslexia. He could do better, he just chooses not to," she told me.
In second grade, Casey attended his first public school. His teacher told me that he was reading on a kindergarten level. I was shocked. "Could it be dyslexia?" I asked the teacher and reading specialist. "No" was their reply. Meanwhile, my bright boy was struggling, his self-esteem suffering and he had behavior problems at school. Casey was heartbroken to see the Us on his progress reports.
"Do you test for dyslexia?" I asked a psychologist. "Yes," he told me. While waiting for the results, I feverishly searched for information regarding dyslexia. I found a knowledgeable woman, Susan Barton.
She told me what areas of weakness (indicators of dyslexia) I should look for in the testing the psychologist conducted.
When the psychologist reported the results, the weaknesses, the indicators were there. I then asked if my son did have dyslexia and was told: "Dyslexia cannot be tested. Dyslexia is an all-inclusive term for learning disabilities."
I stopped asking "Could it be dyslexia?" I knew the answer. With God as my guide, I learned to tutor my son using an Orton-Gillingham based system, the Barton Reading and Spelling System. His grades quickly improved from Us to As and Bs. Casey's DIBELS scores improved from high risk to above average. After just four months of tutoring, he was reading at a third grade level. Reading finally made sense. On the Florida FCAT Reading assessment, a score of 5 is the highest that a child can earn. Casey scored a 4 in third grade, a 4 in fourth grade and a 5 this year in fifth grade.
Dyslexia is not determined by how great of a parent you are, how much education you have or how much money you have. This is an important truth to grasp. Dyslexia does not discriminate. You must listen to your gut instinct and listen to your child. Professionals can be wrong. They may have a big heart and a higher education, but they can still be wrong.
For professionals reading this (teachers, doctors, principals, reading specialists, etc.) my hope is that you will take the time to learn more about dyslexia so you too can spot the warning signs. It is not my intention to discredit any of my son's teachers, private schools or public schools. My intention is to increase awareness.
My son has been blessed with many wonderful teachers who have done an awesome job educating him. They simply did not comprehend the fundamentals of dyslexia. I have worked within the Polk County schools for several years and to the many educators out there, I extend my appreciation for all that they do. We need to do more to recognize and understand dyslexia.
If you have ever found yourself asking "Could it be dyslexia?" the answer is "Yes, It could be dyslexia." Please, don't wait another moment to seek help. It is their life, their future, their self-esteem. Dyslexia can be diagnosed and dyslexia can be overcome. "Seek and ye shall find" (Matthew 7:7).
By Debbie Copple
To learn more about dyslexia and where to seek help, visit www.kangadyslexia.com [the author's Web site] and www.brightsolutions.us.
[ Debbie Copple, M.S. CCC/SLP, of Lake Wales is a certified dyslexia tutor and dyslexia testing specialist. ]
Source: The Ledger.Com
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