I've been putting off starting this page for quite a while now, and I'm not really sure why.  Maybe it is because as an educator, I felt like I was part of the problem over the years.  Maybe it's because dyslexia isn't widely acknowledged or accepted.  Maybe it's because I feel a little guilty that my child is now going to get help...when there are SO many other children that are struggling even more than him.

 

Whatever the reason...it has  been hard for me to sit down and start this journey for you.  But, now that I'm here.....let's get to it.

Our journey with dyslexia began when my son was in 3rd grade.  (Though, looking back....there were signs much earlier.  As early as his toddler years.)

 

Let me back up a little...to 1st and 2nd grade.  When my son was in 1st grade I noticed that he was a struggling reader.  As a teacher, I was bringing home guided reading books that I was preparing for my lowest group of struggling 1st graders in my classroom, and I decided to have my won first grade son read through the books.  I was alarmed when he struggled to read the books.  Throughout his kindergarten and 1st grade year none of his teachers had mentioned that he was struggling so I was very surprised and concerned.  (Now I know this was due to the type of testing the school was using).  

 

Then in 2nd grade the testing format changed and my son was identified as a high risk student.  He finished the computerized test so fast though, that they thought he didn't try and just clicked buttons, so they made him redo the test.  The second time he took a few minutes longer to complete the test (still got done way too fast) and his score still showed that he was high risk.  But, because he was getting good scores in the classroom on reading comprehension tests, the concern wasn't as high for my son.  Luckily, this is the year that I switched districts and began working at the same school that my children attended.  This allowed me the opportunity to actually be a part of these conversations that were happening between teachers and to put in my two cents about how he really was a struggling reader and needed some extra help.  I am SO thankful that my life path brought me to their school that year...as I am not sure if he would have been accepted into the intervention program had I not been available with additional input.  And him being included in that intervention program in 2nd grade, actually was a factor in his diagnosis. 

 

That brings us to 3rd grade.  In the middle of third grade, after being in reading interventions for about a year, my son made enough progress to be exited from the intervention program.  While I was happy that he had made progress, I was concerned that he still wasn't reading proficiently.  So I brought up my concerns with his doctor.  I asked if dyslexia might be a concern that we should look into.  (I had noticed other concerning things in his writing with reversals and inability to spell simple words).  The doctor said that we could contact the school if we were concerned about his reading progress and have testing done.  Working at the school, I knew what this meant.  We could request testing for special education. 

 

Did you know, that as a parent, it is your right!  If you are truly concerned about your child's progress in school, you can request an evaluation for special education testing, and the school, by law has to comply with your request. 

 

Now, working over the years, with many students in the special education program, I knew that while my son struggled with reading, there is no way that he would qualify for special education services because his needs were not that severe.  So, I decided not to pursue that option and never approached the school about testing.   I don't know if that was the right decision or not...as I still am confident that he wouldn't have qualified for services through the school, but I now wish we would have addressed this concern back then in 3rd grade, when the issues first came up.  Because, now we are left trying to remediate gaps that would have been much more age appropriate to fix at that age.  But honestly, I don't think the resources were actually available back then and I'm not sure what kind of help he would have gotten anyways.  

 

Alright...now moving on.  My son continued to plug along, struggling with reading, but doing okay.  Then, we got to 5th grade when the next concern came about.  My son had gotten good grades throughout elementary school (another reason why no one realized he was struggling) until he had to write 5 paragraph essays in 5th grade.  His teacher brought up the concern that he wasn't able to get much on paper and was having to stay in at recess a lot to finish his writing assignments.  And then, when he did finish the work was not that great.  To all of us adults, it seemed like my son just wasn't trying hard and didn't want to write, so he got some lectures from mom and dad about using his time wisely and to not be worried about the spelling of words (this was still very hard for him) and just get his ideas down on the paper.  Knowing what I know now, that his struggles with writing were actually due to dyselxia and a processing disorder, I regret that we did not have him assessed medically at this time.  This would have allowed him to enter middle school with accommodations in place.  But...you don't know, what you don't know.

 

That brings us to the next step in our journey....middle school/6th grade.  We got a letter at home during the summer before 6th grade that knocked us off our socks.  Our son, who had struggled with reading and writing his whole life, had qualified (based on his district test scores) to be part of the advanced learning STELM program in middle school.  WHAT?!?!?!?!  How was that even possible???  I remember looking up his test scores to see how he had done.  

 

Okay...the OCD in me just took over.  ;-)

I was going to generalize his test scores....but I had to actually go dig them out of the files to be accurate.  And, then I couldn't find the correct year so here I am generalizing the scores anyways.  ;-)  If I remember correctly, he scored in the advanced range for math and science, the average range for reading, and the minimal range for writing.  His advanced scores are what allowed him to qualify for the STELM program.  

 

So, then he began his three year journey through the STELM program, which I am very grateful that he had the opportunity to be part of.  It helped him discover some things about himself....

• Yes, he struggled with writing and grammar
• Yes, reading was slow for him (but if he found the audio version of novels on line, he could listen as he read along)...and did okay on the assignments
• He was really good at math and science (and was grade advanced in both of those subjects)
• He seemed to be naturally inclined for technology subjects and excelled at things like coding, robotics, engineering

 

Being part of the STELM program allowed my son to see that you can struggle with reading and writing, and still be really smart and have strengths in other areas.  I am grateful for this opportunity as it gave him a level of self confidence that I'm not sure he would have had otherwise.  

 

Next, we travel through the uneventful years of middle school and high school.  Nothing much changed for my son.  Reading was still slow and writing was still really hard, but he was doing well and getting good grades in school.  Every parent-teacher conference pretty much yielded the same comments.  He was really quiet and well behaved.  He did his work on time but it was usually pretty short and to the point without much elaboration or detail.  His participation in classroom discussions was pretty much nonexistent...(we always thought this was shyness, but now we know it is part of his processing disorder).  

 

Around 8th grade or so I brought up the topic of dyslexia with my son.  I told him that I had noticed that he struggled with reading and writing (even though he was really good at science and math) and that it was something we had noticed when he was younger.  I bought up a checklist online of typical signs of dyslexia and had him look it over.  He was surprised when he could answer yes to almost everything on the checklist.  I asked if it was ever something he would like us to get checked out.  I let him know that we didn't get him tested in school, because we knew he wouldn't need special education services, but that we could go to a medical doctor to get the tests done.  At that time, he decided that he didn't feel the need to get testing done, but thought he'd think about it for the future.  

 

That brings us to the end of his freshman year of high school.  The first time that his struggles had affected his grades.  The way things are done in his school, he pretty much has all the time he needs to finish tests and assignments.  It's not a big deal if they need extra time, so it wasn't a problem that his reading and writing were slower.  But, then in one of his high school classes he had an essay assignment that they had only 1 hour to plan and complete during class time.  Being parents who check grades regularly...we were hounding him about why he had gotten a score of zero on his essay.  That's when we realized the degree of his struggles and how he would probably need extra accommodations in college.  He told us that on this particular project they had 60 minutes to plan and complete their essay.  He said he was trying really hard, but it's hard for him to plan and organize his thoughts before he writes.  He told us that by the time he had planned what he wanted to write it had already been 50 minutes...and he only had 10 minutes left to actually write the essay.  That's when we realized we might be dealing with some processing delays that needed the accommodation of additional time.  I'm very grateful that this assignment was given because it helped us kick things into gear and start the process for official testing of dyslexia.  That process is not easy, or fast.  Below I will detail the steps we had to take to get a diagnosis of dyslexia for our son to qualify him for the additional time that he needs 

 

 

Our timeline to a diagnosis of dyslexia