“I think I might be dyslexic”
September 23rd, 2007
My daughter – Kaitlin, is in year 12 and has 7 days of school left. Last week she said to me “I think I might be dsylexic”. I queried with her and it seems that a friend is dyslexic and she thinks she may have similar concerns. She struggled a little in primary school with reading and struggles with Maths, but then so do my other children. However, when the Harry Potter books came out she developed a love of reading and is often seen with a book in her hands. We had her eyes tested some 4 years ago and there were no concerns, in fact the optician suggested that having started high school she is probably feeling eye strain.
I went through the Senior Secondary or Student Screening Sheet with her last night and ticked almost all the boxes. I was quite horrified thinking that after 12 years of school no one has picked this up, me included. Kaitlin was crying at the realisation of many of her learning difficulties and that she may not be as “dumb” as she thought she was. She is an average student at school and I am thinking that she has been resourceful and has found a way of adapting.
Although as mentioned she is often seen to be reading, it does take her a very long time, she is easily distracted and stated that she finds it hard to remember what she has read. In copying things from the blackboard she often loses her way and resorts to copying from others work. This I only just discovered last night. Kaitlin just thought that she was a bit slow (her words).
Apart from feeling guilty for not picking this up earlier I am now at a loss as to where to from here. Kaitlin chose not to do TEE but I do not think that was due to the reading problems. She is well liked at school, has worked part time since she was 13 and has always been well respected. She has a number of sporting achievements. She was looking at taking a year off and then applying to go to TAFE to do a tourism course but stated last night that maybe she does not want to put herself through going back to study.
Entry Filed under: Dyslexia
4 Comments Add your own
1. admin | September 23rd, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hi – thanks for your email.
your daughters school experience sounds very similar to mine. i did not find out that i dyslexic until i was at art college in year 1 of a degree. i still recall this as one of the best days of my life. it was the day i found out that i was not stupid. in fact when given the full test i was found to have an IQ in the top 1%.
if Kaitlin is dyslexic she must be very bright also to have done so well.
from what you say if does sound as though she is dyslexic. there is further testing procedures in my book Dyslexia – how to win. true dyslexics cannot scan ahead when reading and when reading silently have to “say” every word in their heads. one of my tests is to merely see if the pupil reads faster when reading silently. many dyslexics actually read slower when reading silently because it is harder to remember what you have read when the words have not been spoken.
you absolutely have to buy my book dyslexic how to win and read the last chapter – the gift of dyslexia so that she starts to feel good about herself. the second last chapter is all about adults dyslexics and gives advice for students and for careers. if you can’t afford the book i’ll send you a free one.
however this week i assessed a 39 year mother of 2 with a degree in psychology as dyslexic and she was pretty emotional also.
Cheers
Dawn
2. Sharryn Dahlke | May 6th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I think my Son has Dyslexia too he is in year 12 and was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was in year 6. I have always disagreed with his teachers but they have argued that it is Aspergers. His writing is untidy and he spells most words how he hears them. He has always had a speech language difficulty but is getting better as he gets older. We’ve had all the tests done as he was growing up. But I feel all his frustrations at school are from his dyslexia which causes his bad behaviour at times and that makes them all think he has Aspergers.
3. Annoymous | June 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Can an adult have dyscalculia?
What if an adult knows how to solve the four basic maths operations but struggles with reading i.e prices of houses, reading the minutes on a time, knowing how far a kilometer is, is that considered to be dyscalculia?
Would that adult need to go back to basics? what assistance would they require?
Would appreciate if you could answer these. Thank you
4. Karen | September 22nd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Hi all,
My daughter is in year 2 and her teacher has just informed me that she thinks my daughter may have mild dyslexia. Things are now falling into place. I have to now try to find somewhere that gives some kind of test so that we can get to the bottom of this and find help for Ami. Can anyone point me in the direction where I can download a test of some sort to help me.
Thanks
Karen
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