Outrunning Dyslexia

CHEERFUL DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH! 

Last year I invited my kiddos and their families to follow along with me as Jared Blank, a fellow dyslexic, ran the World Marathon: 7 Marathons, on 7 Continents, in 7 Days to raise dyslexia awareness. One of my Wild Roots mamas was so inspired by his triumph that she dared to invite him to come and speak. He said yes! We have worked together to create a free event for our whole community in Bend. All are welcome: dyslexics, the fantastically tenacious, diehard runners, wild adventurers, and the ever-persevering learning different.

Please share this with anyone you think would be interested. Since October is indeed Dyslexia Awareness Month it's a wonderful time for us to gather together and celebrate our victories. 

PLEASE come say hi if you attend to the event. I would absolutely love to see you. 

Outrunning Dyslexia:

October 20th, 2-3pm at COCC 

Wille Hall, Coats Campus Center

This is a FREE event

Let us know your coming: https://jared-blank.eventbrite.com

Spelling Errors From The Heart: The Perpetual Dilemma Of A Dyslexic Writer

Over winter break I decided to venture into my garage to do some much needed purging of old stuff.  I came across a huge box filled with all the letters I’d written to my grandparents throughout my life.  If the sheer volume of letters is any indication of my love and adoration for my grandparents, it is clear that I loved them a lot.  For their 50th wedding anniversary I wrote them a special note along with a colorful drawing (see below). I love seeing things like this because they truly exemplify the writing of a student with dyslexia.  I was 11 years old when I wrote this.  I obviously wrote it without supervision and what you can’t tell is that I printed it on paper that I had ripped out of my sketchpad and then fed into my printer.  I love these little details because they show my true desire to write something from the heart and on my own. 

If you explore my writing, you will notice that my use of punctuation is indicative that I had no understanding of grammar, my use of capitalization is random which is something I see all the time with my dyslexic students, and lastly, I spelled the majority of the words incorrectly (including my grandmother’s name) as I had zero knowledge of spelling rules or patterns or of how to decode and encode words.    And to top it all off, I asked them not to read it aloud.   I remember always feeling so embarrassed by my writing and the complete humiliation that followed when someone read something I’d written out loud.

Quite often, parents of my students send me examples of their child’s writing just like the card I wrote for my grandparents.  It is usually followed by comments of concern over how many words are misspelled or misused.  I’m posting this precious letter to my grandparents to show that it is quite common to see a lot of mistakes.  I will also say that with proper remediation, spelling improves, grammar improves and hopefully one’s confidence climbs; however, even with all of the proper steps taken to help someone with dyslexia, don’t expect perfection.  I’ve come a long way since writing this letter.  The biggest differences that I’ve noticed for myself are that I spell words correctly more often than I spell them incorrectly and I read at a much faster pace.  With that being said, I make spelling errors all the time and it isn’t that I don’t know the difference, it’s that my brain can’t detect them in the moment.  This is simply where people with dyslexia will need extra understanding, a lack of judgment, and someone to proofread.   

Bend Bulletin Mentions Dyslexia

My mentor has been working on the committee behind Oregon's improved support for dyslexics and I'm delighted to see it mentioned here in The Bulletin.  The more we talk about dyslexia, the more we can invite and integrate support into our schools and lives. 

NPR Dives Into Dyslexia: Part 3

In this segment on Dyslexia, NPR describes the three main things you can do for your dyslexic child. I'm elaborating on the three topics they discuss.  

1. It's never too early to start: This means not waiting to see how your child does in a few years; this means acting now.   The earlier you intervene, the more likely they are to maintain a sense of confidence and self-worth in school and out.  With proper support,  your child is also much more likely to become a reader and to maintain grade level results or close.  The longer you wait, the harder it becomes for your child. 

2. Find something your child is good at:  This is an item that is in my "action steps" as I believe it's an incredibly important component to caring for a dyslexic child.  School, reading, spelling, math science etc. may always be a challenge for the dyslexic student, and they may never feel as though they are excelling or able to keep up with their peers.  If you notice your child loves to play the guitar, to paint, to run, or theatre etc. then sign them up and help them to feel that sense of achievement in an area that they can easily thrive in.  This is essential.  So much of my work ends up being about building my student's confidence because all they've known is struggle.  Give them an opportunity to thrive.

3. Make a dyslexia budget:  Often I hear from parents that they really want to sign their child up for tutoring, however, they just can't afford it right now.  If a recession hits, it's often the first item to go because "it isn't essential".  Unfortunately, we are a long ways away from parents and schools getting the financial support they need.  There will undoubtedly be expenses to come.  Thankfully, more and more evidence is coming out that suggests that dyslexic children can thrive if they have intensive reading intervention.  This means committing to showing up for tutoring sessions just as your child shows up to school everyday.  The earlier you invest in tutoring for your child, the greater potential they have to succeed.  It is a great gift you can give them, even if you have to work the extra hours.