Dyslexia - Macomb,MI

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I don't have a whole lot of advice, but I will share something with you. Does your son like dogs? My dyslexic niece got into a program where they red to trained service dogs. I can't tell you how much her reading and understanding improved. She said she felt no pressure and was so excited to have a dog with her. The dog relaxed her, helped her focus and I can't believe what it did to her confidence. She is doing so so well now and we owe much of that to her program. IF he loves dogs, I really encourage you to look into it!! See if you can find a program like that around you.

M.,

As others have said, Orton gillingham programs are best, but you have no say so in the method your school chooses. You can request it, but focus instead on "orton gillingham based" or alphebet phonics" programs.

You are doing well to have the evaluation completed by age six. The school will not be recognizing his two years of struggling, because 4 year olds are not expected to be reading, so it is not yet time to be behind, so, in the sceam of things, you are several years ahead, so one mistake you could easliy make here is in having an attitude that the school is slow, not that they would not be, just that your story is not the norm.

I am surprised that you were asked by the school to get a "medical" diaganosis, because (although developmentalsts, nueropsychologists, psychologists) can all do this evaluation and do impact medical diagnostics, dyslexia is not considered medical in most considerations, most importantly, not at school under IDEA. The most closely related medical issue that IDEA requires a medical diagnostic for is for children who qualify under the category of Other Health Imairment for ADHD, which is very frequently comorbid with dyslexia. In my experience as an advocate, the use of "medical" diagnostics within the school confines can backfire, as schools refuse to recognize a "medical modle" and when they apply thier own "educational modle" they find no disablity exists. Did they tell you to go get a medical diagnosis?

The way it works at schools right now does not depend on a diagnosis. Children who are having difficulty reading are supposed to receive intervention just because they are struggling. It is called RTI, or response to intervention. The program they use is also not up for debate, though some school districts have better services than others. The idea is that kids will get intervention early enough (and I am talking 1st grade, so your child would just now be noticed, maybe) so that children do not ever get the diagnosis of a learning disablity to begin with. So, your resistance from the school district is probably going to revolve around that, if they even have services to offer, they will more than likely want to provide the RTI services first, and as such, my guess is that they will try to resist an IEP.

One thing I would suggest to you is, if your child needs an IEP, that you not argue about what the category they want to serve them under is. This is the most common argument early on, and it can prevent your child from getting appropriate services and will sour your relationship with the school. It simpley does not matter. Once a child is qualified for IDEA, they are served according to thier needs, not their identificaion or diagnosis. If your school asked you to get a medical diagnosis because they would rather serve him under the category of OHI, meaning they think he has ADHD, don't waste your time arguing about it. Once he is qualified under IDEA, go straight for your reading IEP plan, ask for alphebet phonics, try to get them to be on the best possible terms with you, and you will have more success negotiating what is important, that he get that ortongillinham based program, not what category the school collects federal dollars for. Trust me on this, it is just not that important. I just have a hunch you will be facing this, maybe because you said "medical."

Know too, you should always know what your son needs to maximize his potential. Get what you can from school, then supplement him with private services so that he gets maximum benefit. The school is required to make your son functional, not to maximize him, that is an incrediblly low bar to jump.

Log on to www.wrightslaw.com, and read about advocacy, dylexia, identifcation, IEP's orton gillingham and alphabet phonics programs, and learn how to advocate.

Also, though the numbers are high, they are not quite 1 in 5, as the whole disablity rate is only 14%, which includes all types of dysablity. Be aware, kids with one issue are very likely to have others, so visual motor and visual perceptual issues, ADHD, speech and langauge, and others are very common, so don't be alarmed if you have not reached the end of your journey as it would be less common than you think for someone to know everything that will be effected by age six.

Above all, stay on good terms with your school. Try not to "teach" them anything about dyslexia, even if you really do know more than they do, which is not uncommon. If you come off that way, it will be a long, hard road, and it won't do you any good anyway. Let them tell you. That does not mean that I am saying be a pushover, quite the contrary, let them tell you, ask them what they think, gain their trust and respect, and then quietly work in to what you want for your child. Know what you can and can't get before hand, and don't waste your time trying to get what is not there to be had. You can get good services, but you do have to know how. You will learn how to do that, and stay on good terms with your school at wrightslaw.

Good luck,
M.

I'm glad that your son was diagnosed so early. My niece is dyslexic, but the school refused to recognize that until she was in the 3rd grade, so she didn't receive any help until then. My dad, brother and sister are dyslexic so we recognized the signs and tried to help. The school would not listen to my sister. My niece is doing much better now that she is in a program.

I would see if the library has any books that would help. I'm sure you know the frustration they go thru because they are highly intelligent but some things are difficult. I'm sorry I don't have any tips for you, but I do know that once she was taught a way to look at things, she doesn't have as much trouble as she did in the early years.

My son was diagnosed in 3-4 grades, he has had his struggles with teachers, and with IEP's-it was terrible for him to go through that, but throughout High school he had wonderful teachers that helped him with every struggle. He now is going to college and is a IT tech at Staples!!!

Also start googling and amazoning "_________ advocacy". Special Needs, Dyslexia, School, etc.

It is such a JUNGLE to hack your way through dealing with both public and private schools that entire books have been written on the subject. Not to mention websites, training seminars & programs... ugh. Part of the reason I decided to homeschool was the several foot tall stack of information on how to deal with the double advocacy I was going to have to do with my son (2e... gifted & adhd). After a year of it, I was done. I would have had to of changed the entire flippin' system where we live, which takes years and money the schools didn't have for programs required by law that they didn't have because they couldn't fund them... so by the time I would have managed to bring the mountain to mohammed my son would have already been graduating. Instead I decided to focus that energy at home instead of fighting with the system. Not as admirable, perhaps, but my kiddo comes first.

Luckily, dyslexia is far more entrenched, and there are a lot more programs already in place... but depending on your school it could still be an uphill battle. Those advocacy books/websites/lectures/etc I found to be invaluable.

The number 1 trick throughout? Not getting angry. Persistent, and never backing down, but pleasant. I'm just not that good of a politician.

Hi, My daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in first grade, she is now in 4th grade. I am happy to hear that your son was diagnosed at such an early age, studies show that the earlier the diagnosis and intervention the better the outcome. In my research, I feel that the Orton Gillingham method is the gold standard for teaching kids with dyslexia. Many schools use the Wilson method which is taken from Orton Gillingham. but it is not quite as effective as the Orton Gillingham method. Becareful there are a lot of nonsense so called "cures", a chiropractor cannot cure dyslexia, eye therapy does not cure dyslexia and there are many programs that are just plain scams so be very careful with anyone or program that promises miracles.

Read Sally Shaywitz's book Overcoming Dyslexia, you will find a lot of useful information about dyslexia, new research and learning techniques.

You will need to advocate for your son for the rest of his school years, even if he is reading at grade level, make sure they continue to give him support.

My daughter goes to a program provided by the Masonic Learning Center, they have learning center's across the USA and are dedicated to teaching children with dyslexia to read using the Orton Gillingham method. You can google and find out if there is a center in your area and find out more info from their website. It is a wonderful program, that I highly recommend. My daughter goes for tutoring 2X per week and thanks to them she is now reading at grade level. They have a waiting list, so you should get your son on the list ASAP if you are interested.

Most important, keep an eye open for all the gifts that go hand in hand with dyslexia. Your son most likely has some amazing talents and most people with dyslexia have very high IQs. As your son grows you will see that he has a different way of looking at the world, amazing kids!