I write my blogs using a stream of consciousness approach. That means there are probably lots of grammar errors and spelling errors, but I’m giving you what’s in my heart. It’s ironic that I teach children to edit their writing; however, I intentionally avoid editing here. It seems to take away from the emotion I feel when getting my thoughts out.
As a professional who specializes in language-literacy disorder and works with children who have dyslexia on a daily basis, I\’ve been asked several times why I don\’t give presentations to the schools.
It\’s usually asked by parents who have seen they child improve with reading and spelling in just a few weeks after years of struggling in the schools. Other times, it\’s asked by peers in the professional world who I\’ve spoken to about my work.
The thing is, I’m not opposed to giving presentations to the school system. I just don’t think that\’s where my time and expertise would be best spent.
Let me explain…
I’d be happy to present to educators. However, but there is already a wealth of information available to them (much of it for free) on structured literacy and early signs of dyslexia. This is exactly why I’ve chosen to create resources for parents. Teachers have information available to them, but for whatever reason it’s not being utilized by the majority of educators. When a parent becomes knowledgeable and informed on the science of reading and the special education process, they are given the power to advocate and create the change needed for their child.
When my daughter, Amelia, started having trouble with reading and spelling, I began learning everything I could about dyslexia and how children need to be taught to read. I couldn’t believe the school was teaching her to read in a way that was not only ineffective, but harmful to her reading development as a child with dyslexia.
I gathered up my resources and asked for a meeting with Amelia’s second grade teacher. I figured she couldn’t possibly have the information I was reading because otherwise she’d be doing things differently, right? I mean, teachers devote their entire careers to helping kids and I truly believe that they want all the kids in their class to succeed.
Why then are teachers misinformed on dyslexia and how children actually learn to read?
Amelia’s teacher gratefully accepted my resources, she even reached out to a past president of the KY branch of the International Dyslexia Association that lived nearby. Amelia, myself, and her teacher were invited out to spend an evening talking to this woman. I brought all of Amelia’s testing results I had at that time. It was a relief to hear the IDA president telling the teacher all the things I had been saying. It felt like confirmation that I wasn’t just some crazy parent who was asking for the impossible.
I believe that the teacher\’s belief systems changed that night, but her teaching instruction didn’t.
Why?
Because classroom changes that significant have to come from an administrative level. She couldn’t just change her curriculum even if she wanted to. A little more research and multiple calls to our county’s department of education taught me that classroom curriculums are chosen by site-based council members. In our school this is a group of several people including parents, teachers, and the principal.
I\’ve spoken at the site-based board meetings multiple times, often reading my statement through tears as I presented information on how balanced literacy and whole language instruction is inappropriate. I also spoke about how structured literacy is crucial for children with dyslexia, but that it would also benefit ALL children in the school. After one meeting the principal turned to me and said, “I want you to know we hear you and we are working to make changes.”
But change happens slowly. Too slowly to help my daughter who was getting further and further behind her peers.
Legislature was passed earlier in 2022 to have schools begin screening for dyslexia and to implement use of reading and spelling curricula that aligns with the science of reading.
Legislation was also recently passed, to take the power of curriculum decisions away from site-based councils and put it back on the superintendent/ school board, so they can be more accountable for the reading performance of children in their district.
I guess my point is that unless teachers and their administrators WANT to change how they are teaching their students to read and spell, I feel like my efforts are better spent teaching parents how to know what to advocate for and how to get their children appropriate instruction through the special education process. That\’s the only way parents have any real influence over how their child is taught to read and spell; by getting appropriate goals and specially designed instruction on an IEP. Otherwise, you’re at the mercy of whatever curriculum the school already has in place. If you have a child with dyslexia (roughly 15% of the population), you should hope and pray that they are using a structured literacy program.
The misinformation and lack of knowledge regarding science of reading is the result of what teachers were taught in their teacher preparation program. Teachers are telling parents and teaching in classrooms exactly what they were taught to do. Only it’s often not in the best interest of the students. Although just recently, a teacher prep program in Colorado did not get full accreditation because it was not teaching future teachers about the science of reading.
I see advocacy meetings as a learning opportunity for all members of the IEP team. A chance to ask them LOTS of questions, present research, and ask them to present research supporting their methods of instruction. Slowly, painfully slowly, change is happening.
When I was trying to get accommodations and appropriate service for Amelia at school, it felt like a struggle at every turn. I was told she had trouble reading due to her vocabulary and attention. The school gave lots of reasons Amelia couldn’t read, but no one at the school level thought the problem was her poor understanding of the relationship between sounds and letters- even after I presented an evaluation completed by an outside professional that said exactly that!
When school testing was finally completed and the school team was together. It became clear to them that with a verbal IQ of 120, Amelia’s vocabulary was not the problem. Admittedly, she does struggle with ADHD, but that’s not the reason she randomly clicked through her computerized assessment, giving them reason to say her attention is the problem. It’s because she couldn’t read anything on the screen. I’d randomly click through a reading test written in Russian too because I’d have no idea what I was reading.
It was at this eligibility meeting that the school psychologist described Amelia’s difficulty with reading and writing as “heartbreaking.”
I’ll never forget those words.
Ameila’s struggle with letters and words had been breaking my heart since First grade and it took the school 3 years to recognize WHY she was struggling.
Parents cannot wait for teachers and the school to want to make changes. We have to fight what our child needs right now.
That’s why I wrote my ebook, that’s why I’ve created a program for parents to help with reading and spelling at home, that’s why my monthly support program is for parents.
We need a community of support and access to research-based information that helps get children appropriate support that will teach them the skills they need to be successful in a literate world.
I would love to help administrators and teachers revamp how they are teaching in the classroom, help them objectively look at current curriculums and determine if changes need to be made. They would need to be invested and really want the change. If it’s only the admin that wants the change and teachers aren’t on board, it won’t work. If teachers don’t have the support of administration, it won’t work.
They need their hearts in this effort.
That’s why a parent can make such a big difference as only one person. A parent’s heart is all-in. They know the struggle their child is going through and they want to ease that burden. They feel a heaviness in their hearts when their child tries and tries to read a word but can’t because they haven’t been given the skill set yet. They see the disappointment on their child’s face when words have been written, as instructed, 10 times each but they just can’t remember the words for Friday’s spelling test.
They cry because their hearts are full of love for their child. They cry because they love their child unconditionally and know their child\’s strengths cannot be measured by how well they read and spell. They cry because they know the world sees a child who struggles to read and spell and assumes it’s because they aren’t smart enough to learn.
They cry as they write about the struggle that was endured. They cry because it shouldn’t be so difficult to get your child appropriate help for reading and spelling at school
My entire professional career has changed because of my journey with Amelia. I don’t know how I would have gotten through without having the background of language disorders and access to continuing education courses, journal articles, and other professional training.
I know other parents are struggling also, I’ve spoken to many of them. Each story is unique, but the struggle is the same. I answered the same type of questions so many times that I put the information into an ebook.
If you are a parent of a child with dyslexia, I want you to know that you are not alone. I have a community of parents you can connect with through my Facebook group and I’ve written an ebook to help you get appropriate services through the public school system.
Here’s to your child’s success!
I hope to see you in the Facebook group and here\’s the link to the ebook:
