Concerning Dyslexia

T.,

I have an aunt and a good friend who are dyslexic. My aunt sadly used it to her advantage and never learned to overcome it. My friend wanted to over come her dyslexia and she has worked extra hard so that she is not treated like she has dyslexia. She didn't want the label and to be in special ed classes, which there is nothing wrong with it, it was just her choice. My daughter is autistic and is in special ed classes because of it. With all that said, you need to help your son make a choice on how hard he is willing to work to overcome dyslexia. It will be hard and it will take a lot of patience and maybe even a little extra work on his part, but in the end it will pay off and create good habits for when he gets to be an adult. My friend is now a college graduate with a bachelors in culinary arts. She now has good habits that help her to overcome her dyslexia. She also refused to let teachers "baby" her. She wanted them to treat her the same way they treated kids without dyslexia because it made her want to work harder and get those good grades. You'll have to give your son a little extra work, but in the end it will pay off and he can over come dyslexia. It will always be there and sometimes he'll slip, but that's ok. Just work hard at home to help him recognize when he's done something backwards. Let me know if you'd like some activities and ideas on what to do for extra help and I can contact my friend to see what she did.

T., my 25 yo son was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in the 2nd grade, so I have a LOT of experience dealing with this.

There are 2 web sites that will really help you:

www.ldonline.org

www.wrightslaw.com

LD online has a wealth of information on all kinds of learning disabilities, and Wrightslaw helps you advocate so you children get the education that is their right.

My suggestion is to investigate those sites, then decide what you need to know further. You have a long time of working with your son ahead of you, but since you have other children with disabilities, you know that already.

A great video to help you understand what your son is experiencing is "How Difficult Can This Be?" by Richard Lavoie. That and his other excellent videos can be purchased from this site:

http://www.ricklavoie.com/videos.html

If you need more information, you can contact me through Mamasource or at my home email, ____@____.com

My brother has it and he is super-bright. Please don't let it stop your son from reading and doing math!! Math is hard because my brother would copy the problem wrong on his paper(6 into 9 for example), do that math correctly, but seemingly get the wrong answer. However, he could do it verbally and understand math concepts far ahead of his grade level. When reading finally kicked in for him, it was amazing. He went from not reading to reading the entire book Gone With the Wind (I think its 600 or 900 pages, adult level reading). He still doesn't like to write, but did get to "grade level" by 8th grade. The biggest thing my mom did was read to him every day and never give up. Good luck with the road ahead of you. D.

hello T. my first question is what type of dyslexia was your son diagnosed with (there are three main types ) and 82 other known offshoots still in the research stage (unkown causes) in cases of twin births : there is a condition called Sitsus Inversus Totalis with Dextro Cardia (all the internal organs are mirrored asymmetry) including the brain known to cause dyslexia . my last Q: does your son get confused with the lower case fonts (d b q p) have you ever seen him doing mirror writing. paschar

My daughter was diagnosed with mild Dyslexia a year ago. We have her working with a tutor who specializes in multi-sensory approaches for teaching reading. One of these approaches is called Orton-Gillingham, but there are others. Look up the Dyslexia organizations in your area to find a tutor. You may also have a private school in the area that specializes in learning disabilities. They may be able to suggest a tutor.

Good luck. Keep your chin up. Children with Dyslexia are usually extremely bright. Your son will find his way.

There is a book that I absolutely loved called "The Gift of Dyslexia", I can't remember the author but you should be able to find it with just the title.

Hi T.. My 12 year old son is dyslexic. The best program is the Barton Reading and Spelling System. You can see their website at bartonreading.com
They have a program to tutor your children at home. Susan Barton is also very helpful. I talked on the phone with her for about an hour and she patiently answered all of my questions. She also directed me to resources in my area where we could get help. If you are local then you might also want to contact The Achievement Center in Roanoke. Their website is achievementcenter.org
It is a school for dyslexic children. I can't afford the tuition for my son to attend there, but he does attend the summer program which runs for 6 weeks. Their teachers also do private tutoring for an hourly fee. They use the Orton-Gillingham system, which is the same system that the Barton Reading and Spelling System utilizes. Good luck!