Dyslexia Stories
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Dyslexia Stories, Parents, Students & Teachers
A Note on Dyslexia from a Girls Perspective
The phenomenon exists that girls are identified as at risk of dyslexia late or not at all. This perspective is corroborated by a range of studies on the subject, including Arms, Bickett & Graf (2008), suggests that girls habitually miss out on diagnosis because boys are more likely to cause active disruption by not behaving in class when they’re disengaged – girls are more likely to disengage quietly, to daydream or talk quietly, making it less obvious when something is wrong and a less pressing matter to pursue a diagnosis. This hinges on differences in how both parties are socialized and unconscious gender biases within the education system. This needs to change as girls with untreated dyslexia are more likely not to attend college, become teenage mothers, victims of addiction, and require public assistance.
References:
Emily Arms , Jill Bickett & Victoria Graf (2008) Gender bias and imbalance: girls in US special education programs, Gender, and Education, 20:4, 349-359, DOI: 10.1080/09540250802190180
| gender_bias_and_imbalance-girls_in_us_special_education_programs.pdf |
A Parent's Struggle for Services, and Recognition of Dyslexia
I could tell my son had problems with letter recognition at 4. He went to preschool had friends but really struggled with writing his name. He could say the letters but could not remember them, Everytime we wrote it out it was like he was seeing it for the first time.
I requested he had 1:1 with a reading teacher in kindergarten which he did get. By second grade his teacher had concerns. He was bright attentive but struggled to do work independently. His doctor diagnosed him with dyslexia but the school dragged out the psych testing until I threatened them with wrights law. Many of the teachers said, "Geez I don’t know how to teach someone with dyslexia." They were under the assumption that none of their students have ever had dyslexia. (If I had a dollar everytime some said if he just took his time he will get it, or he’s just a boy it takes them longer I would be a millionaire).
His test revealed above avg IQ but struggled with phonemic awareness and the school offered me a 504 and I declined and would not accept anything less than an iep. He does get extra help but his iep does not identify dyslexia just word language problems. Every year I have to contact the teachers a remind them he has an iep and it’s for a reason and he gets hard copies of notes textbooks for home. They do agree to do these things but I really have to stay on top of them because following his iep is not a priority. I think all teachers and administrators need to spend the day doing dyslexia awareness.
My son still hates school with a passion. Has avoidance issues. He hates going to resource room and hates feeling like he’s the dumbest in the school. I think if schools could offer classes geared towards dyslexics. More verbal discussion more hands on and less reading and writing I think they would find out dyslexics have a lot to offer with very good well thought ideas. But because they have a problem putting it on paper no one sees how bright they can shine.
Solution/Suggestion:
Stop teaching the common core way go back to phonics and early screening. Dyslexia can be indicated much earlier than third grade. The earlier they get 1:1 the better these kids have in keeping up with peers. 3rd grade is too late. Reading teachers need to educate themselves on Wilson method and phonics instead of just having these students read the same paragraph over and over for fluency. They are not reading it they have it memorized. Teach students to use AI devices just as spell check and thesaurus and all the things tech can offer instead of thinking that it is cheating. I would much rather him be taught how to use a calculator than worry about math facts. I would much rather him to an essay using talk to text rather than not do the work. Teachers need to be reminded they are preparing them for life, not just trying to pass a regents exam or standardized testing that ny state puts forth. My kids do not participate.
I requested he had 1:1 with a reading teacher in kindergarten which he did get. By second grade his teacher had concerns. He was bright attentive but struggled to do work independently. His doctor diagnosed him with dyslexia but the school dragged out the psych testing until I threatened them with wrights law. Many of the teachers said, "Geez I don’t know how to teach someone with dyslexia." They were under the assumption that none of their students have ever had dyslexia. (If I had a dollar everytime some said if he just took his time he will get it, or he’s just a boy it takes them longer I would be a millionaire).
His test revealed above avg IQ but struggled with phonemic awareness and the school offered me a 504 and I declined and would not accept anything less than an iep. He does get extra help but his iep does not identify dyslexia just word language problems. Every year I have to contact the teachers a remind them he has an iep and it’s for a reason and he gets hard copies of notes textbooks for home. They do agree to do these things but I really have to stay on top of them because following his iep is not a priority. I think all teachers and administrators need to spend the day doing dyslexia awareness.
My son still hates school with a passion. Has avoidance issues. He hates going to resource room and hates feeling like he’s the dumbest in the school. I think if schools could offer classes geared towards dyslexics. More verbal discussion more hands on and less reading and writing I think they would find out dyslexics have a lot to offer with very good well thought ideas. But because they have a problem putting it on paper no one sees how bright they can shine.
Solution/Suggestion:
Stop teaching the common core way go back to phonics and early screening. Dyslexia can be indicated much earlier than third grade. The earlier they get 1:1 the better these kids have in keeping up with peers. 3rd grade is too late. Reading teachers need to educate themselves on Wilson method and phonics instead of just having these students read the same paragraph over and over for fluency. They are not reading it they have it memorized. Teach students to use AI devices just as spell check and thesaurus and all the things tech can offer instead of thinking that it is cheating. I would much rather him be taught how to use a calculator than worry about math facts. I would much rather him to an essay using talk to text rather than not do the work. Teachers need to be reminded they are preparing them for life, not just trying to pass a regents exam or standardized testing that ny state puts forth. My kids do not participate.
Kelly Zempko, Upstate New York
As a parent, you know when something isn't right and I knew in kindergarten that something was off with my son. I expressed my concerns with the teacher, but she said he's fine. I trusted in that thinking they are the experts. Well by the 3rd quarter she admitted something was off but didn't think it was much to worry about. She just thought he was a typical boy who was inattentive. Long story short, he didn't receive any help until midway through 1st grade. The weird part was even with extra help he still was not making progress.
He was insecure and stressed. He was so frustrated by the time he was in 2nd grade he was biting his pencils in half. The school said his insecurities were probably caused by his parents separating.
I knew there was much more wrong after speaking with a couple of teachers who worked one on one with him. I sent him in the summer after 2nd grade to a dyslexia camp. In two weeks of Orton Gillingham training my child was happy and relaxed again. During that 6 week program he made terrific progress and was confident again. I decided to take him out of public school and enroll him in the dyslexic school. I did not hire an attorney or advocate because that would have just went on and on and waisted precious school education time.
He stayed at the school until they closed and then he had to return to public education in 6th grade. Since he had lost the first 3 years of literacy training in public school, he was still behind grade level wise. However, he had learned decoding strategies and had a decent foundation which helped him. I retained him a year and his IEP indicated special reading class, which stayed with him through 8th grade.
The special class wasn't helping him at all and he was annoyed that he was losing his elective classes fir something that wasn't helping. The remediation was ineffective and degrading to him. Together we asked to stop the special reading class, but he does receive help from his special ed teacher in each class. He is honestly stressed and exhausted at the end of every day. He has to stay after 2 to 3 times a week just to keep up. He has a workhall and resource room in his schedule but still has to stay for extra help to stay afloat.
I feel like he is just being pushed through not really understanding anything. I do not think he is being supported properly with the tools and teacher expertise he needs. I do not think he'll do well in college unless they recognize dyslexia and his IEP. I feel like the teachers think he's lazy and don't understand how much harder a dyslexic student has to work to get through an academic day. They have fought me every step of the way and he's now in 10th and is struggling. I think it's time that public education test, diagnose and remediate with a program that is effective. Wilson is not effective for most severe dyslexic children. Teachers need to be educated about dyslexia and know how to remediate properly. These children aren't lazy or stupid as they are made to feel. Most have much to offer but we don't give them a chance.
Solution/Suggestion:
He was insecure and stressed. He was so frustrated by the time he was in 2nd grade he was biting his pencils in half. The school said his insecurities were probably caused by his parents separating.
I knew there was much more wrong after speaking with a couple of teachers who worked one on one with him. I sent him in the summer after 2nd grade to a dyslexia camp. In two weeks of Orton Gillingham training my child was happy and relaxed again. During that 6 week program he made terrific progress and was confident again. I decided to take him out of public school and enroll him in the dyslexic school. I did not hire an attorney or advocate because that would have just went on and on and waisted precious school education time.
He stayed at the school until they closed and then he had to return to public education in 6th grade. Since he had lost the first 3 years of literacy training in public school, he was still behind grade level wise. However, he had learned decoding strategies and had a decent foundation which helped him. I retained him a year and his IEP indicated special reading class, which stayed with him through 8th grade.
The special class wasn't helping him at all and he was annoyed that he was losing his elective classes fir something that wasn't helping. The remediation was ineffective and degrading to him. Together we asked to stop the special reading class, but he does receive help from his special ed teacher in each class. He is honestly stressed and exhausted at the end of every day. He has to stay after 2 to 3 times a week just to keep up. He has a workhall and resource room in his schedule but still has to stay for extra help to stay afloat.
I feel like he is just being pushed through not really understanding anything. I do not think he is being supported properly with the tools and teacher expertise he needs. I do not think he'll do well in college unless they recognize dyslexia and his IEP. I feel like the teachers think he's lazy and don't understand how much harder a dyslexic student has to work to get through an academic day. They have fought me every step of the way and he's now in 10th and is struggling. I think it's time that public education test, diagnose and remediate with a program that is effective. Wilson is not effective for most severe dyslexic children. Teachers need to be educated about dyslexia and know how to remediate properly. These children aren't lazy or stupid as they are made to feel. Most have much to offer but we don't give them a chance.
Solution/Suggestion:
- Teachers educated about dyslexia.
- Proper testing in kindergarten by qualified personnel.
- Dyslexic students learn differently and at different pace-accomodate that.
- Don't pull students out for tests etc., label them it kills their morale for years.
- Have special ed teachers trained in Orton Gillingham and teach accordingly.
A Parent in NYC
My son was in a public school from prek-1st grade, doing 2 years of kindergarten. The teachers saw early on that he was struggling, and through a private eval they suggested he was dyslexic. His struggles continued, and the school did not have a specialized program for children who are dyslexic . They had all but given up phonics programs for their literacy ( i have an older son who went to the same school and they used to use phonics programs).
My son with dyslexia had to learn through a program called Teachers College which did not help him at all. He had good teachers for kindergarten years but by the time he got to 1st grade he was still reading at a prek level. I wasnt even informed of this until late in October- they had assessed him and told me nothing until parent teacher and I had to ask. The school put him in a group reading program with 6 kids - a couple of times a week and this did nothing.
Differentiation for him in the classroom did not exist. They told us that we should just give him time to catch up, We had to fight to get him any help in school. We did have a private tutor and shelled out lots of money for him (still do). By the time COVID hit and schools went remote my son was lost, he couldn't do online learning, no one checked in with us as he refused to get online because it was overwhelming for him.
At that point we decided to put him in a private school that was meeting in person in the fall. He has been there since. He does get services and they do an amazing job of giving him accommodations but he never received any specialized literacy learning in the school - no one trained in OG or Wilson. He is in 5th grade now and doing much better - the help of our private tutor and a supportive staff- but we pay so much money for private school and tutors. I wish he could be in a public school.
Solution/Suggestion:
Every school should have literacy specialists! We know SO MANY children in schools with dyslexia! Programs that meet children where they are and not try to force feed reading programs to neurodivergent children!
My son with dyslexia had to learn through a program called Teachers College which did not help him at all. He had good teachers for kindergarten years but by the time he got to 1st grade he was still reading at a prek level. I wasnt even informed of this until late in October- they had assessed him and told me nothing until parent teacher and I had to ask. The school put him in a group reading program with 6 kids - a couple of times a week and this did nothing.
Differentiation for him in the classroom did not exist. They told us that we should just give him time to catch up, We had to fight to get him any help in school. We did have a private tutor and shelled out lots of money for him (still do). By the time COVID hit and schools went remote my son was lost, he couldn't do online learning, no one checked in with us as he refused to get online because it was overwhelming for him.
At that point we decided to put him in a private school that was meeting in person in the fall. He has been there since. He does get services and they do an amazing job of giving him accommodations but he never received any specialized literacy learning in the school - no one trained in OG or Wilson. He is in 5th grade now and doing much better - the help of our private tutor and a supportive staff- but we pay so much money for private school and tutors. I wish he could be in a public school.
Solution/Suggestion:
Every school should have literacy specialists! We know SO MANY children in schools with dyslexia! Programs that meet children where they are and not try to force feed reading programs to neurodivergent children!
A Teacher's Struggle at a Public School in New York
I am a special education teacher in the elementary level. I have a 16 year old son who faces the challenges of dyslexia. He is reading at a 5th grade level. Even with all of the knowledge and training to educate children with special education needs I have, it has been a very challenging road since first grade for my son. We had to advocate for support with a reading specialist, and it was a battle each year. We did not seek out an advocate. Once he was classified and placed in a special education classroom, administers insisted he receive his remediation from the special education teacher within the classroom. We knew this would never be effective enough direct instruction specifically designed for his reading disability. Not because of lack of skill of the special education teacher, but because of the demands that teacher faces daily with the variety of needs of all of his /her students. His educational team did not feel strong enough to call his struggles dyslexia and we sought out private tutoring and consistent reinforcement from me as his mother/ special education teacher.
We were finally able to get a true diagnosis by 4th grade and entering the middle school the report gave us leverage to recommend 1:1 reading specialist in school 5 days a week. The diagnosis definitely helped us advocate for his needs without push back from administration. The diagnosis also brought some peace and healing for my son who always felt so discouraged from the extreme challenges to learning to read. It gave him much better understanding and acceptance to why this has been so difficult for him.
As a sophomore in high school, remediation from a reading specialist has continued with accommodations on his IEP to get support with grade level reading. My son will attend vocational training classes in his junior and senior year. He is looking forward to a labor type job some day, like tree removal or a lineman. He has no desire to carry his studies to a collegiate level. He has phenomenal work, leadership, people, and collaborative skills. He will be very successful some day. He does ask often if he could just quit school and start working.
We were finally able to get a true diagnosis by 4th grade and entering the middle school the report gave us leverage to recommend 1:1 reading specialist in school 5 days a week. The diagnosis definitely helped us advocate for his needs without push back from administration. The diagnosis also brought some peace and healing for my son who always felt so discouraged from the extreme challenges to learning to read. It gave him much better understanding and acceptance to why this has been so difficult for him.
As a sophomore in high school, remediation from a reading specialist has continued with accommodations on his IEP to get support with grade level reading. My son will attend vocational training classes in his junior and senior year. He is looking forward to a labor type job some day, like tree removal or a lineman. He has no desire to carry his studies to a collegiate level. He has phenomenal work, leadership, people, and collaborative skills. He will be very successful some day. He does ask often if he could just quit school and start working.
