Dyslexia Concerns

My younger sister was diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade. I was almost out of high school then, so I wasn't around for a lot of what they all went through to work with her, but I do remember a couple things. Something that affects a lot of kids in the reading area is trying to read black on white or white on black. Apparently it is harder for their brains to process. My mom bought these colored transparent overlays to go over the pages in her books, and her teachers would use colored markers to write on the white boards at school. The overlays helped immensely. They keep the words from swimming on the page and help with retention. (Interesting fact- Ozzy Osbourne has dyslexia and this is why he wears colored tinted glasses).

For math- my sister had a really hard time if she had to copy the math problem from the book onto paper. If she had a workbook, she had no problems. This was how we first noticed the problem. In her old school, they had no books so the teacher made photocopies of a workbook page, and she did fine. At her new school she had a book and suddenly couldn't do math. Once we looked at it we realized she was copying it wrong, not actually doing the math wrong. If this is your daughter's problem, maybe if you wrote the problems out for her on her paper and just let her solve them it would help. We did this with my sister for a few years, eventually she didn't need it done anymore. But she still checks and rechecks a million times. She is a special education teacher now, by the way. She pushed herself very hard, and there was a LOT of crying at our house but she did it. My mom still proofreads for her, and double checked every single paper she turned in during college. I would recommend asking her teachers for titles of books to get at the library to try to help her more at home. Every kid is different, it might take several things to help yours. Does she have an IEP and a person assigned to it? She needs to if not.

Hi S., I know exactly how your daughter feels. I have Dyslexia too. I was diagnosed when I was in the 5th grade. I was on medication temporarily for it. It helped but I was still having a hard time learning. I had a tutor. That may help her build her confidence. My tutor helped me in every subject, mostly in math, that was my worst suject. I didn't do well in reading either. Maybe Sylvan learning center or something like it may help. If reading comprehension is a problem for her I totally understand. I bet she hates reading hu? Practicing may help her. I know if she hates reading she's probably not going to want to do it, but I think the more she reads and if she reads to you or her dad, and you ask her questoins about what she's reading or has read, that may help her comprehension. Practice math too. I know math is hard but the more she does it, the better she'll get at it. My tutor helped me a great deal, a private tutor may be a good thing too.

I hope this helps and I wish her the best of luck. I hope she doesn't feel stupid like I do most of the time. She is very smart. I heard that Dyslexics are smarter than the average person. Tell her to look at her disability as a positive thing and not a negative one. That will definetly help with her confidence. I got picked on all of the time too and I too was in L.D./special ed. I eventually tested out and maybe she will too. She needs all of the encouragement she can get, not that she's not getting any mind you. Take care and good luck with everything. J. A.

I haven't had direct personal experience with my children having dyslexia, but I do have some adult friends and a brother-in-law who have had it all their lives.

Have you sought a tutor who specializes in her particular kind of dyslexia who can help her and give one-on-one sessions to help her through it?

My brother-in-law grew-up being told it wasn't his fault that he had a learning disability, and his parents coddled him instead of helping him learn to adjust to his dyslexia (he sees sentences sloping downward instead of straight). At 42 years-old he is embarrassed to work for anyone other than himself because he's never been pushed to find a way to overcome his condition.

I wish you the best. I hate to say it, but from my personal exposure to adults with it, the best thing may be to push her in a supportive way with whatever resources you have available. The fact that you're concerned and are being proactive shows how much you care and support her!

What are you doing to help her? The school can't do everything. Try to look on line to see what you can do to help her. Talk to someone at school. I am sure you will see a difference :)

Hi S.
I am a reading instructor and I do free evaluations. I would love to test your daughter and give you some ideas that may help. I live in Oak Ridge and I make house calls... If it is a long way I might ask for help for gas. It takes about 45 minutes. I am not a doctor so I can't give you diagnosis or anything, but I have lots of other helpful information.
The reading program I use is called Evidence Based Literacy Instruction. You can find more information on it at EBLI.org. It is based out of Michigan where it has caught on and brought about wonderful results. It is awsome for people with dyslexia.
Please let me know if you would like some help.
###-###-#### I will be happy to provide references.
Sincerely
N. Z