Yep.  Sarah broke her wrist last week.  It was already a rough couple of days for her; she had allergy testing on Tuesday, which showed that she is highly allergic to dust mites and a little less allergic to cats, trees, grass, ragweed, fish, and shellfish.  Then she broke out in fresh hives Wednesday morning (probably a combination of the previous day's allergy testing and getting into some dust mites that morning).  Wednesday afternoon, she was in Mom's basement playing.  Then there came that cry that all moms know--the one that you just know means it's serious.

She slipped on the floor and put her hand out to catch herself.  She has a buckle fracture of her right radius.  She got her cast on Monday; it is lime green!

The pain hasn't been too bad, so I'm very glad for that.

Anyway, here is where dyslexia is an advantage--she is having to write with her left hand, and it's not all that different than her writing with her right hand (a little less nice but still quite readable).    Most dyslexics are quite ambidextrous, and Sarah has proved that to be true in her case.  Just a little silver lining!

Not to ignore Katie, you know, but I was rereading parts of my blog and thought an update of sorts might be helpful to someone out there dealing with dyslexia.

My emotions have settled down a bit.    That's a good thing!  And we're settling into the routine of tutoring every week.  She works with my friend for an hour once a week (and usually gets to play with her daughter for a while as well, which is great), and then I work with her the rest of the week.  The Wilson Language System is working fine, though I incorporate a lot of what Loa uses in my lessons with Sarah, and I've since adapted the overall format, too.

Sometimes there are tears when I say it's time for school or tutoring.  I'm not sure that's anything out of the ordinary for any child; Katie often does the same thing.   (Katie is a whole different subject, actually.   I have become quite convinced that she has AD/HD.  I have always suspected that, pretty much from birth.  It was one of the reasons I chose to homeschool her, actually.  It had been better for a while, though, but it is getting worse again.  It's not so much the hyperactivity as it is the inattention and then the resultant emotional outbursts.  Anyway, I don't think she's bad enough for meds or anything like that.  I just want to research it a bit and find some parenting/coping techniques to help us both.  She did even say to me the other day during history, "I don't know why it's so hard for me to concentrate.  I'm trying to pay attention, but I just can't."    So add that to my list of homeschooling/parenting challenges!!!)

Anyway, there has been a blossoming of sorts in Sarah.  She is reading on her own a lot now; I see her trying to read everything she sees.  She recently read through one of the mini-American Girl books!  She put sticky note flags on words she didn't understand and asked me later.

She is also writing on her own!  A lot!  I get several poems a day usually.  She writes music and songs.  I'm just floored by this.  Now, I love to write and was hoping that one of my kids would also love it.  How ironic that it might be my daughter with dyslexia!

She came up with an alternative way of writing music; realizing that reading music is also very difficult for people with dyslexia (basically the same thing as reading words), I wasn't sure what she would do with this.  Well, she got out the lap harp, plunked out notes, and then wrote down on a separate sheet the note names.  Above the note names, she wrote "L" or "H" to denote whether it was the low note or the high note.  She also wrote in "R" for rests.   And she wrote her own song!

So those things have encouraged me recently.  I hope they might encourage anyone else out there with a child who is dyslexic.  If you get the proper help and even learn the things you can do as a homeschooling mom (or dad), what a difference you can make in your child's life!

So I am reading this book now (among several others).  The jury is still out, and I need to pursue more testing for Sarah, but, if I had to guess, I would say that she has a mild form of dyslexia.  This is not an easy thing to say or to come to grips with.  (Just ask anyone who was around me last Wednesday! )

On the other hand, I am a firm believer in the axiom "knowledge is power," so I view this as yet another step on the learning journey of "Sarah."  No, I can't say for sure yet that she does have dyslexia.  Maybe she does not.  If she does, like I said, I do think it's a mild form because she is slowly catching on to things.

I have been using the Orton-Gillingham method to teach her reading.  This has worked like nothing else I've tried!  And this method was developed for children with dyslexia.  I will begin using the Wilson Learning System soon, and I'm taking a seminar soon on Selmer Math.  (I think that's the name anyway.)  ETA: It's Shiller Math. 

As discouraging as this can be, I need to remember that the school would do nothing for her.  She would get lost in the shuffle for sure. Centerville labels children with dyslexia as having a "specific learning issue."   Then they shift them off to the side.  So there would be no advantage to putting her in the school system.  It'd only make things worse.

That is actually comforting in some ways, because it gives me the foundational reason I need to continue homeschooling her.  She would not be better served in the public school.  She is better served at home.

So there you go. That's the latest thing here.  I will pursue more testing for her soon.  Maybe I am wrong, but I haven't been so far about other educational issues related to her.