Has anyone's child overcome the challenges of LD such as dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

I just started the process of having my child evaluated for LDs. Meanwhile, I am making my own armchair diagnoses to find out what I can do while we wait to find out what is going on. Based on what I read, she may have dyslexia. Do you know of a child that learned to read fluently and if so with what methods?

[Anonymous]

Not sure what you mean by fluently. My DD reads well, but not quickly. Homework has always taken a long time. She needs time and a half on tests/exams/SATs to accommodate for slowness in reading in writing. Her spelling is actually pretty good, although studying for spelling tests in 2nd and 3rd grade was about the most painful process I have ever been through. Foreign languages are impossible.

DD was tutored for several years in reading and phonics. I don't think she has overcome the challenges but she has certainly learned to deal with them.

[Anonymous]

My youngest boy is dyslexic. He started first grade without being able to read at all. He now reads well above grade level and is in the 92% percentile for reading ability. His school gave him 30 minutes a day of extra reading tutoring, using a reading specialist.

One of my brothers is a PhD candidate in chemistry and dyslexic. He does drug research. He has had a couple of papers named "most important" for the year that they were published. He is developing non-narcotic drugs for pain relief and for regrowing cartilage in joints. He is extremely successful and yes, he reads fluently. (His handwriting is a whole other thing. )

My other brother is dyslexic a programmer who has done a lot of work in bleeding edge technology. He has a BA and an MS in Computing and Information Systems. He is brilliant and creative and has worked on stuff that you use all the time. Yes, he reads fluently.

My dad is a dyslexic. He built a $10 million a year construction business from scratch. He reads fluently

OP, I highly recommend that you read a book called "The Dyxlexic Advantage." It might help allay some of your fears.

[Anonymous]

I have that book and will read it next. thank you!

You mentioned a reading specialist, did that person come through the school? Can I hire such specialist privately?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have that book and will read it next. thank you!

You mentioned a reading specialist, did that person come through the school? Can I hire such specialist privately?

You can hire a specialist privately. My MIL was a reading specialist who did private tutoring and who worked as a consultant for her school district. She specialized in Orton-Gillinham method, which is excellent for dyslexia. She wasn't cheap.

Youngest son had reading tutoring through school. It was free and they did a great job. Dyslexia qualifies for an IEP or 504, if you request one. If you want to know more about that process, check out the Wrights Law website.

[Anonymous]

My best friend from med school has dyslexia. She's an OB/GYN and researcher now.

[Anonymous]

My good friend from college, one of the most brilliant and accomplished people I know, is dyslexic. I don't know exactly how she learned how to read, but I do recall that she was falling behind in school (and her brother--it runs in the family; he is also brilliant and has a masters degree from an ivy league university) had to be pulled out of school and home schooled for part of elementary school so she could learn some coping strategies. She did an IB program for high school and did phenomenally in college and graduate school--so those years of figuring things out at her own pace worked out for her.

My mom is pretty certain she is an undiagnosed dyslexic. She had a lot of issues learning how to read, and she's a slower reader than my dad or I am, although a very avid reader. Growing up in the '60s, it was before the days of alerting a reading specialist, so she just eventually figured out her own coping strategies and she has a masters degree.

[Anonymous]

I think a reading specialist would be helpful. I really like the list of resources for specialists at LearningAlly.com. Where are you located?

[Anonymous]

A good friend of mine is severely dyslexic. Despite all the challenges, he always wanted to be a journalist. Now he is a reporter at a national newspaper.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the severity of the dyslexia. Certainly there are numrous program that help people with dyslexia become better readers. Some do develop fluency, but others do not.

As for reading programs, look at programs that are based on the Orton-Gillingham methods and are multi-sensory. Different programs work with different kinds of dyslexia and intelligiences. Talking to a reading specialist that is trained in several of these types of programs AND knows your child would be beneficial. Is there a reading specialist at your child's school?

[Anonymous]

My favorites:
Fluency- Read Naturally
Decoding - Wilson, Orton-Gillingham
Comprehension - Leveled Literacy Intervention

[Anonymous]

Lots of people do:

http://dyslexia.yale.edu/successfuldyslexics.html

What's important is that you're get the help your kid needs. Hire a tutor. Learn to read. Conquer the world!

Lab School Tutors are great as is their summer camp.

[Anonymous]

I have heard good things about Lab School too, however I recently called because it took awhile for any of the tutors to respond to my e-mail. They have not and will not be adding tutors to their provider list. It seems like they dropped the program. Unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

International dyslexia Association has great resources. Overcoming Dyslexia is a great book. I like learning Ally too.

[Anonymous]

Being LD may not be a blessing because it makes childhood more difficult, but it's not a curse either. Actually, it's not really even a disability. Being LD is not a cognitive issue, it's a processing issue, so it's really not a disability.

Being LD forces people disassemble information and to remember it in ways that are different from the majority of ones peers. This process creates what appears to be delays in simple reading and writing decoding processes early in life, but it also forces individuals with LD issues to analyze information more fully than many others. Before mandatory education became the norm 150 years ago, people could have lived their entire lives without anyone having any idea there were some among them who processed and decoded information differently from those around them.