I want to share my story on how I became so passionate (or, as my daughter would say, “obsessive”) about dyslexia. Let me start by saying I did everything wrong. Yup! I’m a classic example of what NOT to do. You can learn from my mistakes.
My story started almost a decade ago, when my youngest daughter was in high school and we discovered that she’s dyslexic. Yes, you heard that correctly.
Diagnosed in high school!
When she was diagnosed, there were so many unanswered questions. So, I did what I always do when I feel out of control. I started researching, going own internet rabbit holes, buying webinars, attending trainings. Anything that could provide answers.
How did this happen?
After all, I was an involved parent. All throughout elementary school, I volunteered in all of my daughter’s classrooms. Heck, I was even the PTA president at one point. I didn’t have a clue and neither did many of her teachers.
In hindsight, there were a lot of red flags. The warning signs were there. I just didn’t know what to look for! In the second grade, her elementary teacher mentioned that Alex might have some tracking problems – when you go from line to line while reading. So, off we went to have a visual evaluation. The results appeared normal so I crossed that off the list. In the third grade she won the award for the messiest desk (maybe it was called the most disorganized desk) but that was simply Alex being Alex. I knew that she wasn’t a strong reader so after school I would have her practice reading out loud. I would have her use a ruler to keep her place. I do have to say that listening to her read out loud was painful, and so slow it would put you to sleep, but I thought that was the process. In the 6th grade, she stopped competing in FFA because she would be required to read a cold passage out loud without any practice. She refused! In the subsequent years all I can say is Middle school was middle school. Enough said about that period. Although her spelling was atrocious and she was usually the last one to finish her exams.
Fast forward to high school
Fast forward a few years, and in the 9th grade, my daughter asked me if she could be dyslexic. I remember when she asked me. There was something in her tone of voice that said this is important so I looked up from my computer; I asked her if she reversed her bs and ds. Yes, I really did ask her that! When she said no, I told her to go finish her homework and went back to my computer. Yes, I really did that. For years, I just thought she didn’t like to read, was incredibly disorganized, and perhaps a bit lazy.
Boy was I wrong!
It all came to a head in high school. That’s when she hit the proverbial brick wall and she was tested by a neuropsychologist. Lo and behold, my daughter was dyslexic. Well, that explained a lot. Then in my naivete, I marched over to the school, results in hand and started a process that became a battle royale. Up until that point, I adored her school and could not have foreseen how it would all play out. It was a nasty, traumatizing ordeal that created some lasting scars. It required me to hire a lawyer and learn A LOT about dyslexia. I will say that I’m an optimist so on a positive note…
