Something to ponder
Hmmm...what would you do? Tonight, Spencer had to type up a paper for school. He got busy and I went up to tuck Sam in and play the piano. When I came back down, he asked me to read it and show him how to work our printer that has had a mind of it's own lately.
It was the weirdest thing to read. Some of his words were typed with all the right letters but in the wrong order so for instance the word 'academy' was spelled, 'acdemay'. At first I thought he just didn't know how to spell the word but in looking at the misspelled word, it isn't even spelled phonetically. If he didn't know how to spell, I would have expected something like 'ackadamy'. He told me it was 'academy'. I pointed out that he had spelled it wrong and he said, "No I didn't." and he spelled the word back to me. He knew how to spell it. I showed him again, that is was spelled wrong and he read it on the screen and said, "No, that's right. I copied it straight from the board too so I know it's right."
"Spencer, those letters are mixed up, do you see that?" I asked
"No." he replied
"Ya, they are. Do you think you have dyslexia?" I asked
"Yes, I do." he simply stated.
"Ok, well has it always been a problem?"
"Yes, but just leave it alone, I'm fine." and he headed up to bed.
It doesn't really come as a surprise if he does have dyslexia since Sam has dyslexia and dyscalculia but how did I miss this after all these years of school? The more I think about it, the more I can look back and see how much he hates reading and has always struggled with reading and spelling just like Sam does. He has also avoided typing at all costs. He wears glasses and is always complaining that he still can't see even the day he gets a new prescription in his glasses. Maybe he has been trying to describe 'not seeing' in terms of dyslexia rather than 'not seeing' in terms of blurry vision.
I will have to take this issue slow so he doesn't feel like one more problem is being added to his list of ailments. Maybe, he doesn't have it but it seems a little strange to me...what do you think?
It was the weirdest thing to read. Some of his words were typed with all the right letters but in the wrong order so for instance the word 'academy' was spelled, 'acdemay'. At first I thought he just didn't know how to spell the word but in looking at the misspelled word, it isn't even spelled phonetically. If he didn't know how to spell, I would have expected something like 'ackadamy'. He told me it was 'academy'. I pointed out that he had spelled it wrong and he said, "No I didn't." and he spelled the word back to me. He knew how to spell it. I showed him again, that is was spelled wrong and he read it on the screen and said, "No, that's right. I copied it straight from the board too so I know it's right."
"Spencer, those letters are mixed up, do you see that?" I asked
"No." he replied
"Ya, they are. Do you think you have dyslexia?" I asked
"Yes, I do." he simply stated.
"Ok, well has it always been a problem?"
"Yes, but just leave it alone, I'm fine." and he headed up to bed.
It doesn't really come as a surprise if he does have dyslexia since Sam has dyslexia and dyscalculia but how did I miss this after all these years of school? The more I think about it, the more I can look back and see how much he hates reading and has always struggled with reading and spelling just like Sam does. He has also avoided typing at all costs. He wears glasses and is always complaining that he still can't see even the day he gets a new prescription in his glasses. Maybe he has been trying to describe 'not seeing' in terms of dyslexia rather than 'not seeing' in terms of blurry vision.
I will have to take this issue slow so he doesn't feel like one more problem is being added to his list of ailments. Maybe, he doesn't have it but it seems a little strange to me...what do you think?
I dont know much about dyslexia. What do they do to help the kids? Maybe letting it go for now is not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this contributes to his lack of interest in school. I would take him out on a nice calm day (if they exist) go for a walk or a drive in the car. Bring it up. If he gets uncomfortable let it go. If he talks to you about it, ask him what are some of the coping mechanisms he uses to deal with it and try to come up with more to help him.
ReplyDelete