Posted in Encouragement and Inspiration
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I've been observing some progress in my ds, Roboboy. Lately, he's been spending hours on end, drawing his own mini comic books. He really does show a good eye for drawing perspective and dimension. He's still very slim on writing the stories for these comics, only a few short speech bubbles throughout, but it is encouraging him to write some on his own.
And his reading is progressing too. It's something I always worry about, his lack of interest in reading. A fellow blogger, Lindafay of Higher Up and Further In, encouraged me to let him do all his own reading of school books. I worried that he would resist, but he has quietly and happily submitted to that. Sometimes he reads quietly on his own, and sometimes he asks to read aloud to me. So, at least I know he is reading some, even if, for now, it's mainly what he's assigned for school. (Thanks, Linda, for some great advice!)
But today, I picked out a few books from the adult section of the library about comics: a comic encyclopedia, a book about drawing, and a book about drawing comics, and he borrowed them all because they looked so interesting to him. So far as I can tell, he's only browsed the pictures so far, but who knows?
But as we were leaving the library, he picked up a free magazine published by our local science center, and as we were sitting at the bus stop waiting for our bus home, he began reading it aloud. He seemed to take great pride in every big, multi-syllable word he managed to sound out for himself.
I just finished reading a book called "Reading David" about a mother and son's journey with his dyslexia. At times it made me cry. I could so identify with that mother. It's painful having a child with a learning disability. You want so much for him to succeed that you inadvertently put additional pressure on him and make him feel even more like a failure when he can't do what he knows you long for him to do. And you never, EVER intended that!
Sometimes it seems like there's no right thing you can do. If you do one thing, you make him feel like a failure. If you do another, you're not addressing the problem or helping him learn how to cope with it.
And you worry that it reflects on you as a parent. Will his misbehavior due to his own feelings of insecurity and failure make other parents think you are a terrible parent? Will other parents quietly withdraw their children from playing with your child because they think he's stupid, or badly behaved, or worry that whatever is wrong with him will rub off or reflect badly on their child by association? Will other kids make fun of him? Will adults label him? Will that label follow him around for the rest of his life? The questions are endless!
The book did seem to end on an encouraging note, that as the child does eventually learn to read, and learns coping methods, he seems to outgrow the worst of it, and can go on to do well in school.
And all this for a child that I love so fiercely that I would do almost anything to protect him from harm. I sat reading this book at the library cafe today, with him sitting across from me working on the latest installment of his comics. As I looked up and watched this child of mine, I was almost overwhelmed with how much I love him.
Thank God that I have a hope that goes beyond my own human ability to help him deal with his "disability". Roboboy and I, we both have a loving heavenly Father who created Roboboy just the way he is, and He doesn't make mistakes.
Not only that, He loves Roboboy even more than I do (hard to imagine, but true nonetheless), and He promises that He will always "work all things for our good, to we who love Him and are called according to His purpose." I've found so far in my own journey into the world of dyslexia, that when I've reached the end of my understanding, when I have no idea how to proceed forward, He has NEVER failed to show me how to take the next step. For this I am truly grateful. |
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