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Dyslexia
- one mother's story |
Bringing
up a dyslexic child is quite a challenge . . . Mary ELizabeth
Harvell relates the history of some of the difficulties she went through.
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Some of the learning disabilities caused by dyslexia that I have noticed in our 8-year old son are: difficulties with sounds, reading fluently, spelling, printing, skipping lines while reading, acting out/frustrated, failing grades, and lack of attention/staying focused. Below is a little history: When my son was 18 months old, I noticed secretion from his left ear. Little did we realize this would be the first of many ear infections. At two different times, the infections were so severe that the left eardrum ruptured. My son, being the child that he is, never complained about pain. However, that was not true if he didn't have a bowl of cereal in front of him the minute his eye graced the morning sunlight! As time passed, and pre-school rounded the corner, I started to see a change. The ear infections continued, and his hearing faded. I agreed to have tubes placed in his ears to drain the fluid and restore the hearing. All seemed to be going well. Kindergarten rounded the next bend. About 2-3 months into the school year, I again noticed something not exactly right. My son was not able to hear me talking as well as he should, and he was 'ignoring' his teacher - so I thought. I decided to take him back to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. Much to my surprise, the tubes were infected. No fever, no sign of pain. However, the hearing test showed 40% hearing loss in both ears. The tubes needed to be replaced and he needed to go back on an antibiotic. At this stage my son, aged 6, could read lips, but could not read the word 'dog'. June approached rather shockingly. First and Second grade came and went with very little incident. Don't get me wrong - reading was an hour-to-hour, day-to-day struggle. Presently, in Third grade, I am learning that the ear infections and lack of hearing have finally caught up. He is failing the third grade in reading and writing, but managing to get through science and social studies. His printing went from a 3rd grade level back to a first grade level, and he doesn't write on the line. His temper flares frequently (it's usually over homework.) He has a strong desire one minute and total disregard for the correct way, the next.). He has the ability to answer the question(s), just as long as he doesn't have to put a pencil in his hand and put his thoughts on paper. He constantly states: I am stupid, this is stupid, why do I need to know this anyway, I want to play professional baseball. I don't need this junk to be a professional baseball player. Why can't I read? Why did this happen to me? WHY? WHY? WHY? As a parent, I often find myself questioning where did I go wrong? I doctored all his needs! Why is school becoming an issue? He's a tremendous athlete; he's a caring, lovable child, and a kind 8-year-old boy. We have been told: auditory dyslexia - meaning a disturbance of the ability to read; broadly: disturbance of the ability to use language. Before being diagnosed, my son struggled: he struggled to the point of sheer frustration, he would rather not waste his time on studying, because he would probably fail it anyway: he is only 8 years old. He struggles with reading simple basic sight words, simple syllables, and the inability to vocalize a word without having to take time to decode the word. It is extremely frustrating for a parent to watch a child have the anger and hostility that my son has, all because of an auditory processing problem. Dyslexia also runs in my family, I too have dyslexia, and was diagnosed in the 7th grade. My dyslexia, however, is a comprehension issue causing me to stutter and become introverted (when I was younger), whereas my son's dyslexia has affected his behavior. I know and understand some of the feelings my son has. They are not pleasant! But an individual with dyslexia is not STUPID!
Mary ELizabeth Harvell Links to connected topics Dyslexia
Parents Resource - letters
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