Learning about Dyslexia, week 1: Into the Fog

I'm still plowing through the Everything book. Much of it is helpful to me, especially in helping me change my attitude toward Chee-Chee. I have unknowingly reset my expectations and determined to start over.

I found that dyslexic children are very disorganized and easily distracted. It explains why Chee-Chee can take more than an hour trying to copy a few lines of Bible verses. So the first thing I did was move his work area to the dining room, so I can sit next to him while he works. I oversee him through all of his seat work instead of giving myself the time off to catch up on emailing.

I'm also becoming more patient (praise the Lord!), knowing his brain is wired differently. Rather than seeing only the mistakes he makes or words he skips, I'm impressed when he reads well and spells a sight word correctly. The last three days have seen a drastic improvement in our interaction and his overall efficiency!

Of course the more complicated part is yet to come. It seems that , based on the book and other feedback, dyslexia requires intervention and special tutoring and/or purpose-specific reading programs. Here's where the fog rolls in. Over this past week, I've been informed of many options. While it's encouraging to know there are solutions out there, it's also daunting and confusing. I feel like I'm standing in front of a multi-pronged maze, each of which has its own intricate criss-crossings and always a sizeable entrance toll. How does one choose?

Bright spot: "Individuals with dyslexia tend to be very creative thinkers, with a knack for 'out-of-the-box' thinking... they often will know the answer to a problem or question, but have difficulty explaining how they arrived at it." -The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall