I withdrew my son from public school 3 years ago. He was in 2nd grade at the time and had been struggling for a LONG time. The school did testing on him when he was in 1st grade and while they said his IQ was on the low end of normal and that he would probably always struggle with learning, he didn't qualify for any special help. :( The school also did not have the funds to provide after school tutoring at the time. He was lost and quickly being left behind. After one particular visit to his class to volunteer, where I saw that he was not 'there' even though he was .... it was at that moment that I decided he needed to be brought home.
Fast forward 3 years, and he's still struggling! He's now 11 years old and even though there has been some progression over the last 3 years, it hasn't been enough. We recently decided to take him to a psychologist for testing. Last Friday I learned that his reading, writing, and word knowledge skills are on the 1st and 2nd grade level!!  I am his teacher, and I knew he was behind, but I thought he was reading on a closer to a 3rd grade level, so this just made the reality of it all that much worse. He needs help! I just don't know if I can give it to him. At least w/out instruction on what I can do that would help him. The psychologist also told me that he definitely does have a learning disability. He has one more testing date to go to, and after that, she'll go through all his testing and be able to pinpoint what it is. I actually have a feeling that she already knows and knew that day she talked to me that perhaps she didn't want to tell me yet, since she wasn't completely finished with his testing. From my own observations over the last 3 years and all the research I've done, I'm guessing he has a processing disorder along with dyslexia.
I have tried SOOOOOO many things with him. Nothing works. Sometimes something will work for a short while and I'll get so excited and then all of sudden it will stop working...he'll stop making progress. His psychologist said that something is not 'clicking' or 'connecting' in his brain to allow to go past the level he's been sitting at for years now.
I pray she can point us in the right direction and he can get the help that he so desperately needs. Although at times in the past I have felt like I am failing him as his homeschool teacher.....I KNOW that if he had been in school all this time, he would not have been given the help he needed AND his self esteem would be shot by now. Even though he knows he has a problem and he knows he's 'behind'....he doesn't have the daily stress of feeling like he has to catch up or stay up with his peers, like he would if he were in school every day.
If you have a child like mine...I would love to hear from you. I'd love to hear what has worked for you! I'm really desperate right now. I've just started the All About Spelling program with him and I'm about to start a program called A Reading Program to Overcome Dyslexia. He's also just started the Reading Upgrade program.
We appreciate your prayers during this time!! | 
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Posted by Anonymous
The reason I ask, is two of my kids learned to read mainly through video games when they were little. All three kids used the Abeka system per schooling, but Missy really learned to read through Nintendo 64 Mario. First Caylee (then 7) would read everything for her. In less then six weeks Missy (age 5) was reading most of the game for herself.
For George, I used Hooked on Phonics and the Blue book from Abeka. George really connected with the Hooked on Phonics computer games and his reading took off.
I realize that none of my kids had Dyslexia, but both my spouse and brother do. My brother was always treated as 'dumb' by the school system but he has gone on to be quite successful as a master craftsman building boats. He's an excellent engineer and can design anything. My point being, don't let stress take over, keep trying new ways and your son will be just fine.
Also, you could try taking the pressure off him for reading and introduce him to coding (George highly suggests dragonscript) just so he can play with other symbols. The encyclopedia is full of codes as one place to start and I think the Dangerous Book has a bunch.
Also, DS lite's are a favorite of boys. The beauty of these little hand held games, is they require lots of reading but in a fun way so boys read to get through the games without focusing on the fact they are reading. It's worth learning how to decode the letters as the games are fun to play!
I realize my suggestions don't respond to your son's direct issues but I hope they help a little. You did the right thing by removing him from the school system which would have beaten down his self-esteem. The system was working hard at beating down George and had him really depressed and even had him thinking self destructive thoughts by second grade! Since pulling him, he has returned to a happy little boy and his depression is gone and his self-esteem repaired.
You could always try unschooling as it would let your son excel at his strengths and get him motivated to try at his weaknesses. Many of the unschoolers I talk to have kids like your son. Here's a link to Joyce Fetteroll's site on unschooling: http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/
If you email her, she may know of many ideas or people who could give you some better help in dealing these issues.
Good luck and I'll keep you all in my prayers.
Vicki