Could My Child Be Dyslexic?

I always knew one of my children was a little different.  At age two, he could quickly complete complicated puzzles that his six-year-old brother struggled to put together.  His mind just saw the way it had to be!  He was incredibly smart and continually amazed us with his mechanical mind and ingenuity.

When I began teaching him to read, though, he struggled.  He changed b’s into d’s and 9′s into 6′s.  More telling, though, was the fact that he couldn’t remember little words.  If he was reading “Tim and Tom and Mary and Jan” he would have to sound out the word “and” every single time.  He could not remember it from one second to the next.  I had him informally tested, and he “passed.”  We were told he was not dyslexic.  That put my mind at ease for a short while, but not for long.  Signs which could not be explained any other way continued to crop up.

He skipped words or even lines while reading, as if they weren’t there.  He read words backwards.  He added letters that weren’t there or deleted ones that were.  He ignored punctuation marks.  Reading and spelling became a horrible chore.  We had him tested again by a trained psychiatrist and found out that he was, indeed, dyslexic.

At first I was stunned.  I had feared this was true.  I had known it somehow, deep down.  Yet the truth still felt like a punch in the gut.  How would this affect him?  What would this mean for his long-term future?  Could we handle this?

Although it did not feel like it at the time, receiving that diagnosis was a blessing.  We could finally begin to understand what we were dealing with and address it in ways that are making a difference.  My patience increased exponentially overnight, as I realized that he really was doing his very best, and as I began to see school through my son’s eyes.

I am grateful that I found some excellent programs for him, even before I knew for sure that he was dyslexic.  The psychiatrist was shocked that our son was less than a full grade level behind in his reading and spelling, and he attributed that to the strength of the programs we were using.

Dyslexia is not diagnosed only by a child being behind. It has to do with the discrepancy between the level he is working at when reading and writing versus the level he is able to work at when those components are removed and he is listening and speaking.  There were eight grade levels of discrepancy between those two points for our son, so although he wasn’t very far behind his grade level, he was miles away from living up to his potential academically.

It has been almost four years since he was diagnosed.  We’ve kept the good and improved on the rest, and each school year has been better and better.  Our son is thriving and is actually up to grade level now in his reading.  His spelling is coming right along, and he is achieving spelling success every week rather than constant failure.  Our family built the website My Audio School to address his core content needs through the auditory pathway.  My Audio School provides the auditory learner with access to hundreds of recorded classic books, educational old time radio theater and historic news broadcasts.  We are using Writing with Ease and Institutes for Excellence in Writing to help our son learn to communicate on paper.

If any of this rings a bell, I encourage you to check out this article from All About Spelling about Symptoms of Dyslexia and this one I wrote about Helping Dyslexics Help Themselves.  I didn’t want to face the truth, but it has truly set us free.  Now we are working with our son’s strengths and helping him learn how to accommodate for his weaknesses.

Audio Books: Listening and Learning

For years I viewed audio books as a nice supplement, to be enjoyed only as a treat, when we had inclination or money to do so.  It wasn’t until I started regularly using audio books with our dyslexic son that I realized how their widespread, daily use could benefit all our children!  Here are some ways we’re using audio books in our home:

With our preschooler:

• Audio books develop a love of literature.  Our preschooler listens every day during his rest time.  Sometimes he listens to a special book again and again, while other days he discovers a new favorite.
• I love reading to my preschooler, but sometimes he wants to hear so many books that it is hard to satisfy his thirst!  Audio books give him some measure of control; he can listen when he wants to, rather than waiting until mom is available.

With our emerging reader:

• Our emerging reader likes listening to a book and then trying to read it.  Pre-listening before reading makes it easier for him to decipher names and tricky vocabulary.
• When the text is not too difficult, our emerging reader can read along while listening.  This develops reading fluency, and helps him progress through a book even when some words are beyond his reading level.  Bear in mind that it’s important to have access to the pause button for this activity, as sometimes the narrator gets ahead of the emerging reader and he may lose his place.
• I have spurred each of my three older boys to overcome a lack of reading confidence through the initial use of audio.  We start out listening to a book that is within their ability to read.  After a few chapters (when it starts to get really interesting!) I make the switch to text.  The boys are excited enough to see what happens that they are willing to take a stab at reading the text.  Excitement gives way to surprise as they see it isn’t as hard as they feared it would be.  Voila!  The gateway to chapter books has opened!

With our special needs child:

• Audio books have opened a whole new world for our dyslexic son.  Through the use of audio books, he can work independently, at or above grade level.  His interest in school has blossomed for the first time, and he is finally able to take personal responsibility for completing assignments, rather than waiting until mom can help him decipher his history book.
• Before we started regularly using audio books, our son thought that he hated books.  Now, he has discovered that he loves them!  He can finally sit down with a good book and actually enjoy “reading” it, an experience which many of us take for granted.
• Our dyslexic son’s reading level has grown over the years, but so has the difficulty of his schoolwork.  Audio books enable him to keep up with a rigorous load of assignments.

With our high school student:

• Our high school student listens to audio books over the summer to get a jump start on the new school year.  He enjoys listening, and the advance preparation lightens his load in the fall.
• Some high school level books are really long!  Audio books are a welcome break.
• Audio books help our busy high school son kill two birds with one stone.  He listens while cleaning his room, working in the yard, and exercising.

As a break from family read-aloud time:

• We enjoy listening as a family during meals or in the evening.  Everyone is gathered together and quiet.
• We “redeem the time” daily by listening while driving to and from sports practices as well as whenever we take long road trips.
• Our children often crawl into bed a half hour early so they can listen before falling asleep.