15 yr old son just diagnosed with dyslexia

My 15 yr old son will be starting 10th grade next week. Over the summer he was diagnosed with dyslexia. I am totally surprised by it. He is a very bright kid and does amazingly well on standardized tests but his grades at Albany High are totally average. He put off doing homework like mad-I assumed he was just lazy-but now I know that doing it is really harder for him than I thought. We have no dyslexia in the family and I have no idea what this means as far as next steps. What do we do now? Tell his teachers when school starts but what exactly will that mean as far as homework, expectations around reading assignments, testing etc? mom of two

Working with an experienced learning specialist could direct your family on the best study methods and resources for your son and guide him to work to his full potential. For example, having recorded textbooks that he can listen to could make a significant difference. The national educational therapy group www.aetonline.org and also the East Bay learning disability group www.eastbaylda.org have directories (along with other resources). I am a member of both organizations.

Regarding the school - the process is to work with the school counselor and/or psychologist - inform them that you had this assessment done and you would like to request a meeting with them to discuss the appropriate services for your son. It is a legal process and the school may or may not determine that your son has a disability. There is a difference between having dyslexia and determining that the dyslexia significantly interferes with the education to a degree that it becomes a legal disability. This can be a complex issue, the law involved is IDEA (Individual with Disabilities in Education Act). A good starting point to become familiar with this law is at www.ldonline.org

I hope this starts you on the road to incorporating this new information. S.U., Educational Therapist

How to get assessment for 10-year-old?

I've recently begun to suspect that our brilliant 10 year old son may have at least a mild form of dyslexia. It's been easy to miss because he's been otherwise at such a high level in most areas but there are some consistent difficulties with spelling and new word attack that he's been having since 1st grade (and difficulty solving problems involving pattern-matching in preschool) and now I'm suspecting more is going on. He's currently in a private school without dyslexia assessment, so I'm wondering where I can go to have him assessed? We live in Oakland - will the OUSD assess him? Does insurance usually cover this type of assessment? Parents with mildly dyslexic children, does his difficulty profile sound familiar to you?

How to get teenager diagnosed for dyslexia?

How does one get their teenager diagnosed for dyslexia? My 16 year old son is a good student, well rounded and smart. However, he also has a problem that when he reads something, he doesn't always see the entire question. Consequentially, he sometimes misreads the question, thereby ensuring an incorrect answer.

This recently came up when going over questions that he got wrong on the PSAT test. When he tried to redo a question that he missed, it became clear that he would repeatedly misread the question. He would do this even when I told him to take his time and be careful. Only upon reading the question aloud would he correctly read it. This only happens periodically, not all of the time, but I am concerned that he might have a learning disability that needs to be addressed.

I, too, posess this problem, although I have hidden it all my life. I transpose numbers in a telephone address even though I am telling myself to be careful when writing it down. It is like a ''skip'' that I just can't help and it is not all of the time. I am worried for my son and wondering if there is anything I can do to help him. Any suggestions out there? Distressed Mom

I thought college would be easier, but I was wrong. Dyslexia evaluations are only good for about 3-4 years and then require retesting. By law they cannot be accepted when considered outdated. Unfortunately we were not informed about this, so that when she started college they did not want to give her accommodations at first, even though I had sent them her past tests several months before she started. I had her retested at Alliant (510 628-9065) because they were affordable and did not have as long a waiting period to get tested as UCB. (Although it took them time to actually get the report done. Note that with both testing places that she was tested by a graduate student with professional oversight by a licensed professional.)

The UC she attends has given her time and a half on tests, and a host of other accommodations if she needs them. You do have to be a strong advocate for your child or teen if you feel they need intervention. I do want you to know that my child was a slow reader, didn't pick up a book that was more than a dozen pages until she was 14, was (and is) a terrible speller, yet was accepted into several UCs and private schools. Dyslexia means she has to work twice as hard, but it doesn't mean she cannot do the work. Accommodations gave her the ability to succeed. Parents can model for their student requesting, at times insisting, on what is needed for them to succeed. Thriving with Dyslexia

Reading for pleasure is a good measure of comprehension -- if he does read for pleasure, other than comix or car magazines, he's probably OK on comprehension.

If he doesn't read for pleasure, then you have a red flag: what could have been minor weakness triggered once in a while by fatigue might be something more. Since it sometimes shows up in a test situation, you're probably concerned that he may not be able to show what he can really do if the weakness sets in while he's doing it.

Getting a diagnosis could be useful: a) simply to know more about how his brain's working; and, b) to get accomodations, such as extra time, for tests.

You've noted, however, that more time doesn't help. He may just need a break, say 20 minutes, and then to come back to the task -- which could conceivably be an accomodation -- although an unusal one.

Psychoeducational testing is not inexpensive, so if the problem is irritating, but not hugely in the way of performance, it may be worth just accepting it and living with it.

If you choose testing, the Ann Martin Center in Oakland probably has the best rates. Corinne Gustafson of Reach for Learning in Albany may do this kind of assessment -- though she may not do the FULL psychoeducational assessment (which includes the services of a psychologist for the testing of IQ). The full assessment is required for official accomodations.

Jane McClure of McClure, Mallory, and Barron at 415 421 4177 may be a good contact both for testing and planning for college.

At the minimum, your son should aim to note and understand this problem, and be able to explain it clearly to himself and others as needed. The more he can do that, the more he can figure out his own ways around it or through it. Carolyn

Dyslexia assessment for 5-year-old

I would like to have my five year old son assessed for dyslexia, mainly because we have a family history of dyslexia and he may be showing possible signs. I would prefer to have this done by a private reading specialist (?) or other expert before we get the school district involved. Ideally, I am looking for a person who could diagnose him and if he is dyslexic, work with us on how best to approach our school district with the information (my husband is dyslexic and has very negative memories about how his elementary schools dealt with his reading problems). Does can anybody refer a specialist who may make this type of diagnosis? Are there any individuals/agencies who will act as an advocate for parents? We are hoping to have this done before he enters kindergarten in the fall). Thank you! Concerned mama

School battles included accommodations and extended time for testing. Without the Ed testing establishing the learning disability (difference) you don't have a claim to accom-modations. Oh, and these tests came in handy when getting accommodations they tested SAT and in College. Daughter #1, Marshall Scholar in Physics and now in PhD program in Physics. Daughter #2 completed Master degree at Columbia.

Their success is attributable to the early diagnosis and treatment, their hard work and advocacy/assistance by parents. Dad jimmy

Dyslexia Resources for 8-year-old

I'm wondering if there are parents out there whose kids have dyslexia who can help me figure out how to connect with resources, information, and support. My 8 year old has dyslexia, and it would be great to be in touch with other parents who are dealing with the same thing. I feel like we've been lucky so far in getting him diagnosed early, and getting hooked up with special ed. and other support. Thanks in advance!

Dyslexia in 11-year-old

Our son was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. He is 11 years old and his reading comprehension is very good, but he is a slow reader and he never chooses to read, except for comic books and magazines with lots of ads. We have read that dyslexics who are doing well in school early on may have trouble in high school and college. Does anyone with experience with this issue know what we could be doing to help our son (he doesn't want to do anything like tutoring or classes because he doen't feel he has a problem)? What happened with your child as they got older and the reading and writing demands got bigger? Thanks anon

When I went to grad school it all fell apart. I had to read and write a lot. And it was expected that I express myself clearly through writing. Through grad school I had to teach myself how to write a paper. There was just no way to avoid it. Finally facing this demand was very stressful but opened up so much to me. Looking back, if I would have learned how to read for pleasure and write when I was younger I think the opportunities that life offers would have been greater and more numerous.

I am very happy with the career I finally ended up in. It took a long time to get to this place and I would say it has not been an easy way to go about it.

As for your son, I am an Educational Therapist who specializes in working with people with dyslexia. It is common for dyslexics to have high scores with reading comprehension along with low fluency scores and poor decoding skills. As students progress through the grades, the readings are more and more difficult and of greater length. One aspect for students who avoid reading is that they do not build up an adequate vocabulary and thus struggle as academic demands become greater.

I have worked with several dyslexic adults who thought they reached a glass ceiling in their career because of their weak writing skills. Maybe your son will pursue a career path that will not require strong reading and writing skill's, even so, I personally think there are so many wonderful ideas and feelings and knowledge expressed only through the written word, that to avoid this way to enhance life is rather sad. I wish I had been open to that part of our world sooner in life Bill

Dyslexic? 1st Grader - How much to do?

My 6.5-year-old daughter is in 1st grade. She is having a hard time learning to read and write, and is at the bottom of her class. We've talked to her teachers, had a reading tutor, and some educational testing. Everyone's been hesitant to label it, but dyslexia has been mentioned. We've also been told that she is attentive, diligent and seems bright enough in other subjects, such as math and spoken language. She is making slow progress. We are willing to work with her ourselves, and get help for her from others people. We're about to start regular work with a learning specialist.

What bothers me is what learning specialists and testers tell us. They say that we have caught this at a good time, and with as little as a few months of intervention now, she will be fine. (This fairly short term estimate, coupled with the results of the testing, indicate she isn't far behind expectations for her age.) However, when I ask what would happen if we just wait, I am told dire consequences are in her future. The threatened consequences include ''She'll never be a good reader, and struggle with reading for the rest of her life'' and ''Fluent reading is required by third grade, and she will fall far behind her class,'' etc. I simply don't believe this, and it undermines my confidence in them and their conclusions. Of course, they report success stories, but I wonder if these children would have learned to read just fine in any case.

Why don't I believe them? First, I was a poor reader until 4th grade, had no intervention of any kind, and was an excellent reader by the time I was 12. Second, I have friends who report a diversity of early reading skills, from people who could read by the time they were 4 to people who struggled until they were 9, (Some of whom describe themselves as dyslexic) but all of whom read well now. In fact, no one I know (without obvious, significant cognitive disabilities) did not learn to read just fine. My friends may be a biased sample, but I went to an average public elementary school, and none of my classmates failed to learn to read.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? In particular, did anyone simple wait, and what happened? Intervention Skeptic

If you are doubtful, I would recommend that you remediate now and then request an evaluation at the beginning of 2nd grade if you don't see improvement. It might be that after a few months of ed therapy, your daughter begins reading at or near grade level. If not, you still have the option of getting her an assessment which will tell you how much of a gap there is between her intelligence and her reading speed and fluency. If the gap is a big one, then you need services and your public school is legally required to provide them.

It may take a few months or a few years because every child is different. You won't know until you try.

Trust me, early intervention is really the best approach. mom of third grader

In retrospect, LMB helped my child with her technical skills but did not convince her to WANT to read. Mom to dyslexic

Then, a child could be a little slow in certain areas but would catch up eventually.

Now, if a child can't read by third grade, teachers tend to treat them like their life is over. I think that if it were in a better situation, a child would learn to read at their own pace and way. However, in our schools, it does not work like that. If a child is behind, they tend to stay that way. Try to get her help without sending the message that she has done something wrong or that it' her fault she can't read. The standards and starting younger and younger now, and you don't want her to be tagged as a ''behind'' child. My Two Cents Anna

When I read your concerns about your daughter, these thoughts went through my head: 1) I wish I'd had intervention earlier. By the third grade, all my friends were reading but I was not and I felt stupid. It was hard work to learn, and just as hard to shake off the self image of being stupid. I'm using that harsh word because it was a reality for me. 2) I recently heard an elementary school teacher describe third grade as the point when kids are no longer learning to read, but instead reading to learn. It's a pretty critical turning point, and if you wait your daughter may be behind at that point. 3) If it's a reasonably short-term intervention and you can afford it, why not? Almost all of the kids are learning to read in first grade.

Your daughter will be learning in her own way, but at the same time. loves to read

If she is dyslexic and does not get the intervention early she will struggle her whole life (although even those who get late intervention can make improvements and be successful it is painful--also well documented by Yale). My daughter had a 9 month reading intervention in 2nd grade, and it was amazing. She now reads at a 6th grade level in 3rd grade and her whole personality changed. I understand. Good Luck

My limited experience as a volunteer in Albany public schools is that in first through third grade, English-speaking students vary widely in their ability to read and write, but pretty much everyone's reached at least the same level of basics by fourth grade. Some of the most fluent readers and writers in first grade don't stay so far ahead of the pack. And academic standards have gotten higher and harder recently. Your daughter may not really be far behind the average.

That said, don't give up the idea of using your school's reading specialists. They are likely to know a lot about norms, brain development, and different methods of teaching the brain different things. This could be very helpful. concerned mom

She is now in 7th grade and doing very well. She has just been through the IEP retest process. She no longer qualifies for IEP though she will get 504 accomodation (i.e., more time for taking tests).

I would take the help now. You could wait and your daughter could be just fine by the end of third grade. On the other hand, is getting extra help now going to hurt her? My daughter's story tells you the impact of waiting if it's not developmental. A possible middle ground would be to see how she's doing in December of her 2nd grade year. I would not wait longer than that. Mom who wishes she had pushed harder earlier

I'm so glad my parents addressed the problem then, instead of waiting. I doubt my reading comprehension problem would have reversed itself. I can't imagine what it would have been like getting that kind of intense after school/ in school help later on in life (pre teen/teen years) when kids label each other and your peers opinions are so important. As I got older (6/7th grade) I started to resist the after school program - I threatened to quit because I wanted to hang out with my friends. So, what I'm trying to say is take advantage of your child's developmental age. 6.5 is an easy age to work with (eager to learn).

Later, I had problems in college chemistry, physics (word problems!), statistic's, and advanced scientific journal articles. Luckily my learning disability was already acknowledged and I was able to get extended time on exams - which saved me - I was able to reread things and move methodically threw exams. Also, I learned how to take exams and read journals via special resource classes. It's hard to know what's best for your family, but I think I benefited from my parents swift action.

Anyway, what do you have too loose? You may just have to let go of your notions/ resistance and accept this for what it is and move forward. Your child will be better off for it. Good luck! nancy

Vision therapy for dyslexic child?

We are looking into getting an evaluation at UCB's Binocular Vision Clinic. We suspect our child may have dyslexia (mainly because of spelling), but are not looking to vision therapy as a ''cure'', just to confirm that eyes are working together, etc. Our child reads pretty well, but will sometimes leave out small words or leaves the plural or past tense endings off of words. There was a recent complaint about headaches when looking through binoculars or scopes. Does anyone have any experience with vision therapy at all or with dyslexic children? I know if one is going to consider this it is important that the test are ''near-point vision tests'', but there seems to be a big difference in the amount of therapy the university clinic suggests if the child needs it (six 45 minute sessions -more could be added), to 30 - 40 sessions on average and from the beginning with private developmental optometrists. Am I comparing apples to oranges? I recently read a report by the Academy of Pediatrics about vision therapy in relation to dyslexia. It essentially just said it was not a cure for it. Is it detrimental in any way for a dyslexic to undergo this type of therapy? Any experience with vision therapy and UCB's Binocular Vision Clinic/ suggestions helpful. Thanks. Concerned Parent

I took my dyslexic son to UCB's Vision center for 2-sessions. They noted that he did have some problems with binocular vision and we worked on the ''eye-excercises'' for awhile. It did not really have an effect, positive or negative, on his vision in general or help with any aspect of his dyslexia.

We have him at Raskob Day School for LD students in Oakland and he has made the most progress ever, there. We also pay for an educational therapist to help him with reading and writing. These two things alone have made a big difference and great improvement with his reading and writing. He is still somewhat behind, but enjoys reading and has progressed from building sentences and paragraphs to building reports. He still needs help with writing organization and continues to have problems with dysgraphia but it is getting better. We felt that it was important to keep his self-esteem intact so we worked with him as much as possible to find things he wanted to read: comic books, graphic novels, and since he is into video games-related magazines and books. He is happy and considers reading a hobby! Proud Mother of a Dyslexic

Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, decoding (sounding words out) and spelling. A person who has dyslexia has difficulty with phonological awareness - that's the awareness that a word is made up of different sounds. Like -cat- - its different sounds are C - A - and T. In order to sound out the word -cat,- you have to be able to break it down into its separate sounds and then put it back together as one sound (and then realize that the combined sounds form a word that has meaning - all that for such a simple 3 letter word!). Generally, people with dyslexia do not learn to read unless they have had training in phonological awareness and reading instruction that is multisensory.

Since you know that your child is omitting words and errors, I am assuming that s/he is reading aloud to you (which is GREAT and should be encouraged as much as possible). Reading itself is a complicated process of recognizing sounds or words and then assigning meaning to each word (and remembering the word you just read while you are reading another word and then ascertaining the meaning of a string of words?). In addition to all of that, reading ALOUD requires that the reader read the current word and say it out loud while simultaneously looking ahead to other words. The looking ahead often causes the reader to skip a word or a string of words, especially when the reader is still learning to read aloud. Having to say the word also impacts the reader's fluency.

The next time your child makes an omission while reading to you, gently offer a correction (and ask that it be reread correctly). Continue on this way until the reading is over, and then have a discussion about what kinds of things you notice about his/her reading. The discussion should be mostly positive but can also be constructive. You want to keep your child reading to you so avoid being overly critical. Also, try and ascertain if your child is aware of these omissions and if they interfere with comprehension.

If you still think your child has a reading disability, then discuss it with his/her teacher to determine if s/he should be evaluated. As for the vision therapy, you need first to determine if there really is a problem with your child's reading before you embark on anything corrective. shari