"We don't worry about dyslexia until 2nd grade."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, you might not get many examples because this is the special needs section - we end up here because things didn't work out without intervention! But honestly, of course lots of late readers learn to read perfectly without intervention! But they probably didn't have dyslexia. A dyslexic kid isn't going to stop being dyslexic (even after they've learned to read. Its a brain-structure issue). So the question is how to tell kids who are just late readers from those with dyslexia. And the answer is with an assessment, done as early as possible. If there are no deficits causing the slowness in learning to read, all is good and the kid can take as much time as he/she needs. But if there are deficits the assessment will identify them and the learning can begin.

You might call me a "wait and see" that worked. I didn't learn to read until late second grade, and I somehow learned by memorizing the shapes of words. I actually was a speed reader by high school because I could take it the shape of whole chunks of text at once. But I couldn't spell even simple words and couldn't do rote memorization. But I'm still dyslexic, and my options for careers would have been wider if I had gotten help as a child to teach me some skills for dealing with my deficits.

PP here. Thank you for sharing. My question was somewhat rhetorical. The reason for posting here and not in a general education forum was to elicit views from parents or family members of kids with SN/LDs as well as NT or mainstreamed kids.

Personally, as a parent of both NT and SN children, I think the the "wait and see/don't worry" line of thinking is a cop out from a lack of training for parents and educators.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I figured this forum would be a good place to start.

[Anonymous]

DC was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder at age 4 and dyslexia at age 7. Please do not listen to teachers. Reading Specialist aboce has it right. DC used to hide those K books with pat, cat, cut, but - because they were too hard! That confirmed to me we were going to be a on a long road. O-G Wilson Reading etc can be started now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If people with degrees in the subject are telling you this, why would you not believe them? Many kids at that age have difficulty reading, confuse and reverse letters, and it settles down.

Please know that people with "degrees in the subject" most likely know nothing about dyslexia.

Dyslexia is fairly common, affecting 15-20% of the population. It is neurologically proven to exist. Yet look at the university programs that are training our teachers. Very little attention, if any, is paid to dyslexia. So most teachers -- even those in special ed or the so-called "reading specialists" -- do not understand what dyslexia is. Some have told me that they don't even believe in the concept.

You MUST educate yourself by reading primary source material. You MUST go outside of the school system to get help. DO NOT believe what the school tells you. Chances are, none of them have received proper training in understanding, detecting, our teaching students with dyslexia.

The longer you wait, the harder it is to remediate....not to mention the fact that your child's self-esteem will suffer. I have worked with many families who have learned this the hard way, wasting years and years of the schools "let's just wait" attitude.

[Anonymous]

Suggestions for providers who will test kids earlier than second grade for dyslexia and not just call it a "delay" that can be grown out of? Also, someone who understands dyslexia and not just label it a general learning disability? Looking for real answers.

[Anonymous]

Suggestions for providers who will test kids earlier than second grade for dyslexia and not just call it a "delay" that can be grown out of? Also, someone who understands dyslexia and not just label it a general learning disability? Looking for real answers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Suggestions for providers who will test kids earlier than second grade for dyslexia and not just call it a "delay" that can be grown out of? Also, someone who understands dyslexia and not just label it a general learning disability? Looking for real answers.

We had a full neuro-psych done with Dr. David Black at the end of first grade. He diagnosed our child with "specific learning disability in reading" which is just fancy-speak for dyslexia. His specialty is social cognition/autism, so don't know if he'd be the person to go to if you only have academic concerns.

Stirred would probably also take your concerns seriously.

[Anonymous]

We had a good experience with The Treatment and Learning Centers in Rockville. DS diagnosed with Learning Disability (not specified) with deficits in a laundry list of skills that make up reading, plus working memory. In the notes the psychologist said this was "otherwise known as Dyslexia."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suggestions for providers who will test kids earlier than second grade for dyslexia and not just call it a "delay" that can be grown out of? Also, someone who understands dyslexia and not just label it a general learning disability? Looking for real answers.

We had a full neuro-psych done with Dr. David Black at the end of first grade. He diagnosed our child with "specific learning disability in reading" which is just fancy-speak for dyslexia. His specialty is social cognition/autism, so don't know if he'd be the person to go to if you only have academic concerns.

Stirred would probably also take your concerns seriously.

Stixrud. D@mn autocorrect.