Dyslexia Sucks but my son does not....

Dyslexia is hard for me to understand. I want so much for my son to enjoy books like I do. I want him to get lost in the stories of other places, other people, other ways and come out with other thoughts, other feelings, other ideas. I want his head filled with language that he wouldn't hear on a day to day basis.

I have felt like without the ability to read he would not get to experience this. I was wrong.

We are re-reading the Kane Chronicles so we can then finish the series. He commented that a song he was listening to on his iPod was kind of Sadie Kane's theme song, something about being a classy rebel or something. I couldn't hear the lyrics nor do I know the song that well. I was just so excited to hear him make a connection like that. It means, to me, that the characters are living in his head all the time, not just when we read at night.

I was just reading a book, Kushiel's Dart, that I am giving up on. It took me awhile to figure out why I wasn't connecting and during that we had some conversations that The Boy joined in on. I talked about how while I was reading the book the world was alive for me but when I put it down there was nothing calling me back. There was no one character that stayed with me calling me back to read one more line or find out what was going to happen next. The Boy commented how the Kane's kept calling him back and wanting to continue to hear their story.

So what I need to remember is that right now I am how he is getting the stories, he doesn't want to listen to audio books, he wants me to read to him, partly because we can then have conversations about the books and partly because he really doesn't like change.

I'm pretty sure he is on the cusp of wanting to listen to audio books though because he can then take control of when he can enter the story again.

Life is good.

Torn

We live in Colorado, in Colorado the homeschool law states that every odd numbered year starting in 3rd grade you must administer a nationally normed standardized test and turn the results into a school district in the state, or you can get an educational expert with a masters in education to evaluate the child and turn in the evaluation to the school board.

We choose the test route. First because it makes my husband feel better to have a test result that is given by someone other than the loving mother of his child. Second because while I know some people with the requisite masters degree in education they are all very busy people with jobs and things and I don't like to impose, and I'm cheap. I know how much their time is worth and it is cheaper to pay for a test and administer it myself than pay for someone who knows what the hell they are doing.


We just finished the testing. This was such a painful experience for him. Even the parts that were easy. This is so very different from my experience with testing. I LOVED testing. It is the place I felt comfortable in competing. I was nearly always the first one finished with a test, even in college. I likely could have tested better if I wasn't so damn cocky about finishing first but I never did poorly in fact I always tested as a smarty pants so there was no learning experience from taking it quickly, heh. I understand how to study, take, and do well on a test. Standardized test are a breeze, for me. Watching my child struggle is really hard. I want to put the part of my brain that just 'gets' testing into his and let him have it.

The thing is I really do know where he is at in his schooling. I know what his reading level is(low), I know how proficient he is at writing(not), how well he understands words(wow!) and the use of words (subject/predicate, easy). I know where he is in mathematics(hello pre-algebra I've missed you). These tests are nothing more than a hoop to jump through to appease the state. I get that, but the part of me that wants to test well and finish quickly wants my son to do the same.

I'm glad that we don't have to face this again for 2 years. I'm wondering if I shouldn't look for the 'qualified person' to evaluate him at that point rather than giving him sleepless nights and headaches from the stress and worry of testing. Yes if he wants to go to college he will most likely have to take a standardized test to get in, if he goes back to public school he will have to take standardized tests and I get that. College is a long way off (it is too!) and well, public school who knows where that is.

I'm glad we are done for now. Now to spring break, what should we do with the lovely weather? Watch the wild fires that are sprouting up all over the state because we have had no rain or snow? Maybe.

Decisions and things

We have reached the part of the year where we have started to slump. This is when I'm starting the searches on the web to take us somewhere, anywhere but here. (aka Disney)

This is also when the summer camp listings come out in the local paper. There I found, thanks in large part to my Mom(Hi Mom!), a listing for a camp for dyslexic kids. It is 5 weeks long, it is intense. They work half a day on reading using Orton-Gillingham methods. They have hour long individual tutoring. Then in the afternoons they ride horses, learn about edible & medicinal plants in the mountains, mountain bike, do technical climbing. You know fun camp stuff. 

The thing is this camp is the price of 2 vacations, maybe 3, but I can see him getting so much from it. The kind of intense work they would be doing would have him progressing so quickly. The interaction with other kids who have dyslexia would be empowering. To see he isn't the only one. The freedom from the fear of being asked to read the instructions for something, or to figure something out that is presented in written form only would be a breath of fresh air. 

Now that he is in 3rd grade and doing things with 3rd-5th graders they expect them to be able to read. I get that. I get that it is age appropriate but damn it hurts to see the look of panic that crosses his face when he is in a group setting and he is told he has to read the instructions to complete a task. He will advocate for himself in all situations now and explain that he can't read many things because of his dyslexia but the other night I saw the panic on his face as he looked over at me and it ripped my heart. I went to sit next to him in case he needed me to read anything. He didn't, the instructions were mostly pictures and a few words, but he was able to read them with no problem and did not need the help of Mom, thank you very much. That shows while he will panic and feel the anxiety that comes with the words "You will need to read this" he is able to take care of things and find a way to be in the situation. 

When I first looked at the cost of camp and the application process I was shocked that they wanted a $100 application processing fee. That the cost was so very high. What the hell do they think they are offering? Then I thought about what the hell they are offering. They are offering a private school with certified instructors 5 days a week for 4 hours a day, plus recreational activities like horseback riding and technical climbing that are not inexpensive to provide. They are offering the chance to learn to read in 5 weeks of crazy, intense tutoring. They are processing applications like they are accepting students into a school program and so need to see if the applicant will fit with the program.

So I get the cost, I do. I know the afternoon stuff would be fun, I also know the morning stuff would be hard, and he would consider it torturous.  I just don't know, is it worth it? I know by the end of 2 years he will be reading at or above grade level just doing what we're doing. Is it worth it to send him to the very expensive camp when he doesn't have to show progress next fall to a new teacher? If we were going to put him in a public or private school next year I could see spending the money so he would be on grade level starting in the fall, but he doesn't, and next year isn't a testing year for homeschooling purposes so I don't see that as a reason to do it.

I thought writing this all out would help me make a decision. It didn't it brought up more questions and made me question why we are thinking about it in the first place. Hmmmm. More to think about.

Anyone have some thoughts on this? 

Test Results

Friday ended up being crazy, crazy, crazy. Oh and a little bit more crazy on top.

I did a business meeting, kind of, way, way down South.(30 miles south is too, way south) Then drove back north to make the meeting with the tester and hope that the crazy, heavy rain/thunder storm was not at our house where Honey was hanging out in the back yard. It wasn't hadn't rained at all yet at home but then Honey was not in the back yard. The short of a long emotional story is she was back in our yard Saturday morning. Maybe someday I'll write it up but I feel like it stole so much of my energy that I can't do it again right now.

Plus I really want to digest the information Joni, our tester, gave me yesterday. DH couldn't meet with us because he was flying home as we met and then had to go directly into the office upon landing in town. I don't think either Joni or I was in the best shape to be delivering or asking for information. Her mom is in the midst of a serious illness and I sat down with her after spending an hour walking all over our neighborhood talking to people and looking for my dog. Yeah, neither of us at our best but I got the basics of the info and I'll email her for clarification as time goes on.

The tests confirm what I thought was going on he is moderate to severely dyslexic and moderately disgraphic. The Boy has asked that I not discuss the specifics here so I will honor that. It was hard to hear the specifics of the results even though none of it was surprising. To hear that he really is struggling and not just blowing me off is good to know but now I have to figure out how to help him.

To that end I want some help with ideas. I am going to be helping him improve his working memory and want ideas of fun sentences to read to him and have him repeat back to me. I have used an oath of one of the lantern leagues or whatever they are called. A friend suggested Shel Silverstein, any other ideas? I'm looking for 6-15 word sentences. Thanks for any ideas.

I'm also looking at iPad aps that may help. If you know any iPad aps that help with dylexic children, working memory, reading, or fine motor skills let me know.

Thank you all.

I'm back, or what the heck have I been doing?

Where I've been is digesting the wonderful information you all shared with me. Thank you. This has been crazy and scary and we aren't even that far into it.

We are going to have him tested, with a qualifier thrown in. We are meeting with the tester first and if what we tell her and show her with his work doesn't make her feel 85% certain that he is dyslexic then she won't test. That is fine with me. I have no desire to put him through testing if it isn't going to give us good info. Plus then really the money can be spent on more expensive testing. That will give us info on what else it could be.

We are looking at some different programs to use with him. I purchased one today through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op  called Reading Assistant. (The link will take you to the page describing it.) I'm hoping it will help him increase his fluency. I will continue to use the Phonics Pathways for now. It seems to help a bit and he is getting better at reading. I'm feeling better that we are doing something positive.


Of course now that I've admitted that it might be dyslexia I'm seeing everything as that. Isn't that the way it always is? He has this habit of repeating the first part of his sentences before getting to the main idea. An example from today he was talking to his Aunty and said "He wanted to... he wanted to.... he wanted to try something more positive." Then continued the conversation. This is something he always does. Come to find out this behavior is called Cluttering as opposed to stuttering. When reading the list of symptoms I never bothered to look and see what that meant since he doesn't stutter, or do what I think of as stuttering so I figured he didn't do whatever was associated with it. Heh.

So DH & I have a meeting with the tester in a couple of weeks, she will go over all the test results we have, look at some of his writing samples, and talk to us about our history.

On another front my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are putting on a charity event with the proceeds going to Save the Children specifically for children in Japan effected by the earthquake and tsunami from March 11, 2011. If you live in the Denver metro area please consider coming out and listen to bands, buy some books for your kids or maybe some of my stuffed animals. I'm working on some chicks and maybe some bunnies to sell. They will look like these,

kind of, in the way that they are based on the same pattern but, well they are handmade and so each is an individual. ;) So the Deets on the event...

Front Range Community College
3645 West 112th Avenue
Westminster, CO 80031

from 2:30PM to 5:00PM

How did the month of creativity go?

Well let's see, I seemed to run out of steam about half way through the month. As it is though I'm pleased with what I did get done. I feel like I proved to myself that I can make things from my brain become real and concrete.

I also got off my duff and actually finished 2 projects I had let slip by me, and actually took steps to figuring out what is really happening with my son.

I got back to working on the books for a business I'm trying to help/work for. (Which reminds me I have more to work on this afternoon) It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it did take some concentrated time. Which is hard to come by. The Boy and I made a deal and I would work for 1 hour then play with him for one hour, and so on. It worked ok. I used my ear buds and listened to music so I wouldn't have to listen to the TV while I was working.

The Blue & Gold Banquet went off beautifully and we have a date for summer camp reserved. Life is good.

I purchased an assessment test from Homeschool Buyer's Group and gave it to the Boy. It gave me the info I was looking for. I gave him the reading portion first which caused complete melt down and then he really melted down for the math portion. The thing is even with the math melt down he was able to do really well on the math, much higher than 2nd grade, and the reading showed him well below 2nd grade level. It is frustrating and I just need to find the help with this.

One of our 'beliefs' coming into homeschooling him for Elementary school is that there is nothing in the Elementary curriculum that either DH or I could not teach him. The thing is that was based on the idea that reading would come easily to him. That he would learn to read and nothing would cause a problem with that. The thing is he doesn't and can't. He aced the grammar portion, he understands the rules of grammar, he understands that different words in our language came from other languages, and can explain which they came from. He recognizes the patterns that indicate a word comes from Greek or Germanic, but has a problem sounding out the words pen and pin, big and dig, and din and den. I need to document where I am seeing consistent problems to relate to the tester.

Ugh, so much to think about. I've called 4 different testers and left messages for each of them. We'll see if anyone calls me back.

By the way, have I mentioned a really cool book I found and we loved reading/listening to?

Ox, House, Stick The History of Our Alphabet, it is really interesting to learn where our alphabet came from and how/when they changed from sounds that mean something to symbols for sound alone. If you or you have someone at home interested in how our language became what it is this is interesting easy to understand book.