Is Dyslexia Why Your Child Struggles at School?
By Kimberly Hudson
I had the privilege of speaking to a group of teachers a few weeks ago about how to identify students with dyslexia.
I love speaking about dyslexia, as it affects one in five people.
It is often a poignant moment when a teacher stands before me, with tears in her eyes, as she begins listing all of the signs she has seen in one, or more, of her students.
Mission accomplished…the light bulb has been turned on!
The day after I met with these teachers, the phone rang at our office and a mother began pouring out her heart about her sixth-grade son.
She had started asking his teachers, in the first grade, why her bright son was struggling so much in school. She kept being told he would outgrow his difficulties and not to worry.
One of his teachers attended my presentation. That very night, upon arriving home, she called this young student’s mother and kept saying, “We missed it! We missed it!”
This bright, well-spoken young man and his mother walked into our office. As his mother and I began talking, she explained the agonizing hours of homework.
They were spending two to three hours every night while his peers spent only 45-60 minutes to cover the same material.
As I showed this mother a picture of the brain, I explained what areas are activated when we read.
Unfortunately, her son is activating only one of those three areas. The good news is that those neural pathways can be built.
Her son is reading above grade level, but his comprehension is several years below grade level.
It takes him longer to process information, requiring additional time to complete his school work.
He has figured out how to compensate.
However, as his grade level work increases, it becomes more difficult to use these tactics.
His mother notices his struggles, but he knows how to camouflage them in front of his friends and teachers.
When you call our office, we will walk you through the steps to ascertain whether your child should be evaluated for a reading disorder.
We can complete testing to determine if dyslexia is what is causing your bright child to struggle in school.
We are trained to diagnose all areas of reading and provide research-based interventions that will build neural pathways and bring your child’s reading and spelling skills up to grade level or beyond.