Questions about Dyslexia -

AKA THINGS I’M ASKED ALL THE TIME

After publishing Diary of a Dyslexic Homeschooler, more and more of my acquaintances and friends are asking me about dyslexia. And not just the surface skipping question. Oh, No. They’re asking deep, nitty-gritty, open the underwear drawer, getting personal questions. Though I’m not shy to share my family drama, this story is not all mine to share. Yes, my book was inspired by family experiences but I’m not trekking the journey on my own. Though I do have permission to share, I will not divulge anything I believe may come back to haunt my loved ones. That and I am no expert. I am just a desperate homeschoolin’ mama learning as she goes. Jesus does the good and I do my best to follow His plan path for me. Still, I do want to help and encourage so here are some of my most frequently discussed questions.

1. Are you dyslexic? Me? No, not as far as I can tell. I see tiny symptoms that are similar to things I see in my family, in myself. But no, I, personally, am not dyslexic.
2. Is your book based off your daughter? As all authors would probably say… YES And No … Inspired by but not based on her life.
3. Does your daughter see words backward? Hmmm? Nope. Not that I can tell. Yes, she tends to flip her B’s and D’s. She can read saw as was and the other way around. But on the whole, she doesn’t read words backward.
4. How did you know she was dyslexic? There are a ton of warning signs!! TONS!!! Besides maternal intuition. The most basic symptom was her inability to read. Dyslexia displays differently in every dyslexic. Here’s what it’s like in my house:
  1. The lesson could be understood and could be completed yesterday but impossible to remember how to do the same thing today. Thus lessons repeat, repeat, and repeat sometimes to the point of tears.
  2. The ABC song was in high use in my home up to the age of 10. Example: I point to the letter K and ask what does this letter say? And my pupil hums the ABC song, placing a finger on each letter as they go, and they can tell me the name of the letter… in order to remember what sound it makes.
  3. We speak in accents in our home… French, Bostonian, Jersey, Texan accents randomly weave in and out of all our conversations. Even though we’re straight out of Cali and the only accent we should be sporting is a surfer dude accent.
  4. Syllables frequently trade places. Magazine becomes Mazagine
5. Weren’t you worried to label your child for life? YES YES YES … in fact I avoided it as much as possible for as long as possible. God kept needling me but I ignored Him. 🙁 So, to get my attention He had my 8-year-old label herself as inadequate and ignorant. And then that same kiddo flat out ASKED for me to get her some help. So, we did. I searched and prayed and God brought the right assessor along at the perfect time and the experience liberated my student.
6. Should you be talking about Dyslexia, isn’t it embarrassing for your child? I ask myself the same thing. I didn’t want to humiliate my already hurting family. However, the things we’re most ashamed of tend to be the same things we avoid in our conversation. Kids are smart they pick it up. (Thus farts are usually a family only conversation piece) I don’t want my lack of discussion and sharing to make my kids feel like I’m ashamed of them or that Dyslexia is anything to be embarrassed about. In fact, as soon as we started talking about it my girl’s confidence rocketed! She started sharing and self-advocating immediately!

1. 7. If you know your child has Dyslexia, don’t you think you should leave their schooling to the public school professionals? Oh, don’t get me started. …. Leaving emotion and personal beliefs out of it… here’s what I learned through researching dyslexia. Most school districts wait or are required to wait until a child is performing 3 or more years below grade level to have them assessed or give them any kind of remediation. Dyslexia is often misdiagnosed as ADHD. Though the conditions can go together, a dyslexic will often be fidgety, loud, emotional, and hyper in a classroom setting. This can be due to boredom, anxiety, worry, fear, and general overwhelm. But one of largest deflectors, keeping me away from public school, is that most professional public school teachers receive little to no training about dyslexia at all. I have little to no training, as well. But I do have a whole lot of determination and can (and do) spend my leisure time researching and paying for training to help my kiddies. But do the research yourself, things are always changing. Let’s pray for the better.

8. Isn’t it hard to fit it all in? Homeschooling, and now remediation? YES YES YES But it is SO worth it. Battling through the hard days as a team. Crying together. Praying together. Celebrating successes together. It’s all worth it.

9. Where do you go for information and help? First, I go to God. He created me and He created my kids. He knows what He’s doing. He knows where this path is heading. He’s called me and daily He equips me. If you find yourself walking a similar trail, He’ll do the same for you. I’ll be praying for you.

Meanwhile, here’s a few helpful links: