Dyslexia! Earlier this summer, we finally got an answer as to why Chad can't read or write higher than a 1st grade level. Some background: We adopted Chad when he had just turned three, and it was a special needs adoption because he was delayed in several areas. We really figured he just needed to catch up in a nurturing environment. Even though I was a veteran homeschooler, my other kids were teenagers and I was sick with a chronic illness, so I thought he would be better served in school. He plugged along through kindergarten, a little behind the others, but actually was sounding out CVC words at an early age. 1st grade was a disaster-he did not progress at all. We kept asking the teacher if he thought Chad had Dyslexia. He continually said no(but never tested him), we just need to read with him more. More?? As a homeschooler, we already read more than the average family!
At the end of 1st grade, after a particularly upsetting 'incident' involving Chad's teacher, we pulled him out of school with only a few weeks left of the year. My husband and I both felt that I could do better one-on-one with him. So last year we set out to learn to read and write closer to grade level. The results? He did progress-a little. Not as much as he should have for all we did. So, this summer we had him tested privately. It turns out he does have
Dyslexia, quite a severe case actually, as well as
Dysgraphia,
Irlen Syndrome, and several other auditory and visual learning delays. We weren't surprised. He has had a small amount of tutoring this summer, and I have spent a lot of time researching how to teach him. I've had lots of great support from my friends at the
TOS Crew, as many of them have experience with Dyslexia. I've recently ordered my curriculum, and I'll do a separate post about that once it all arrives. I'm actually excited about the promise this year holds-we finally have a direction to go in, and my prayer is that we can discover whatever it is Chad needs to understand how to read and write.
