Life's little moments
• Mar. 20, 2007 - Dyslexia
Dyslexia runs in my husbands family, up to this time none of our children have shown signs of it. We have been teaching Megan her letter sounds and just recently started trying to teach her to write the letters, she writes everything backward. I have taught 4 children to read and never had one like this yet, I knew there was a chance that we'd meet it face to face, and I think it may be with her. Her name is written nagem, her letters all exactly opposite. I fear that we'll have to learn a new way to teach. Does anyone out there have a good way to do this? Any curriculuum? I know that she is young(5) but since there seems to be a problem I would like to get prepared. Thanks for any help.
Gale |
Post A Comment! :: Send to a Friend!
|
|
|
|
|
• Mar. 20, 2007 - We have two...
My personal opinion is that dyslexic children are geniuses! They seem to be creative, each in their own way, and show gifts in other areas outside of language arts. My son is very good in math, but has problems keeping his numbers straight at times. My daughter switches letters, such as 'b' for 'd' or 'q' for 'p'. Those are not their only dyslexic symptoms, but the ones we deal with most.
Unfortunately, our children were in public schools before we decided to homeschool, so we had to start over with phonics. My son was taught to read using the 'whole word' method, which was the exact opposite of the way he should have been taught. He is still struggling with this concept four years later, but so is his father. They both read from the outside in, which means they read the first two letters and the last two letters of a word and guess the rest according to the remaining letters in the word. We are able to laugh about it, as the word combinations are sometimes hilarious, but having a sense of humor about reading is important. They already feel like they have failed because it is so much harder for them.
The best piece of advice I can give is to find other families in your area that are dealing with dyslexia, and ask them what methods, materials or tutors they are using. Every child is different, but there are some wonderful counselor/tutors out there that can help you learn the way your child can be taught. Each dyslexic has a different symptom set, so there is no 'one size fits all' solution. It can be more cost effective if you can find local homeschoolers that are using the various curriculums and programs that you can take a look at, instead of buying things that end up not being what your daughter needs.
Good luck! We are still learning here through trial and error. A lot of progress has been made, but it has been a learning curve for mom just as much as it has been for the kids.
Letetia