New Found Struggles

As I said in a previous post we are taking the final part of our school year to work on weak areas for the children. This had brought out some interesting struggles.

My husband brought to my attention that he himself is dyslexic (I had never noticed because it is not a severe case and he hides it well), and that while we were listening to B (our almost 8 year old) read we realized that his reading is getting worse and not better. He's starting to forget (or just not use) some of the phonics he's previously learned. This led me to do a little research on Dyslexia, and in doing so found that B has many (read nearly all) of the signs of both Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.

I am not one who likes to label a child and so I will not take him in to have him tested for it, nor will I ever tell him he has it or bring it to the attention of others who may work with him. Labels tend to follow children for the rest of their lives and I don't think that's helpful. So our new plan is to go back to the beginning and reteach phonics, SLOWLY and REPETITIVELY, until we are certain that he's got it. I have to remember to be PATIENT with him, and I have set aside a time 2-3 times a week to sit alone with him and work on his phonics, meanwhile I will simply remind him of the phonics rules and guide him through his lessons.

In a way it is a bit of a relief to know that there is a reason for all of his struggles, and while this isn't exactly a cure all, it is at least a step toward progress. I am relieved in a way because this means that I didn't make a mistake in my teaching (though I probably still did), and now that I have an idea of what's going on I can work toward fixing it.

I had noticed many of the signs of dyslexia in him very early, but the signs I noticed early on are also just common mistakes children make (such as reversing b and d, or E and 3, or p and q). Now that he is older and nearly 8 years old still making the same mistakes and then some I think it's time to take action. So without labeling him, I am simply going back and reteaching and hopefully he'll improve. If he does not make improvement by the fall then I will consider taking him in for further testing, I hope it won't come to that. I think that with some patience and steady work we can get him over this hump.

He may struggle with reading always, but if I don't do what I can to help him I don't feel I'm being a good teacher. I'm ok if he's never a speed reader, I'm fine with the idea that he may never enjoy reading and writing, but I am also confident that with love, patience, time and review that he can improve in those areas so that school isn't such a painstaking process for him.