Dyslexia

pollypierce

Just to let you know that the Offaly Branch of the Dyslexia Group of Ireland is starting up workshops for children with dyslexia at St Mary's Youth Centre.

If your child has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia and has a psycho-educational report to verify this there will be an introductory meeting for parents next Monday 6th Sept at 5pm. Please bring a copy with you.

Places are limited and eligability for the workshops is assessed by our programme co-ordinator based on each childs psych-ed report. Membership of the DAI is essential and a waiting list is in operation.

For help & advice please ring our advise line on 086 2309009 or visit our website at www.offalydyslexiagroup.org...

Dusty87

pollypierce wrote: »

Just to let you know that the Offaly Branch of the Dyslexia Group of Ireland is starting up workshops for children with dyslexia at St Mary's Youth Centre.

If your child has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia and has a psycho-educational report to verify this there will be an introductory meeting for parents next Monday 6th Sept at 5pm. Please bring a copy with you.

Places are limited and eligability for the workshops is assessed by our programme co-ordinator based on each childs psych-ed report. Membership of the DAI is essential and a waiting list is in operation.

For help & advice please ring our advise line on 086 2309009 or visit our website at www.offalydyslexiagroup.org...

The brother has dyslexia. From junior infants to 5th class he was cosidered 'stupid' and in a nicer way 'slow'. How can a stupid child, be the best player on a gaelic team, the fastest on a rugby team, name every player on the offaly, leinster, man utd, liverpool, ireland, irish jockeys etc. For years i knew he wasnt slow, it was the teachers opinion. Since he has had a special teacher for dyslexia he has come on great with reading. As he says himself, 'Dyslexia rules KO'.

pollypierce

You know what? He's dead right Dyslexia Does Rule!

It makes my blood boil when I think of how frustrating it is to be labelled as being high spirited or a day dreamer or simply disorganised by intelligent people who just don't recognize the signs. This said, it's not the teacher's fault, rather the system which relies too heavily on just one model of teaching that doesn't allow for different learning styles.

Literacy skills are so important, on a functional level these days and anything after that is a bonus! My own boy has taken off in leaps and bounds since he got his diagnosis and the help he needed, just to make him feel that actually he isn't thick, slow, stupid or bold!

For anyone else who might read this thread, it's important to get your child assessed at an early age, if possible. That said, it's better late than never! Without an official diagnosis though, it's very difficult if not impossible to get the resource teaching needed.

Help and support is out there, even down here in the Midlands... www.offalydyslexiagroup.org

Quazzie

My nephew was recently diagnosed with Dyslexia and my sister was worried about how to tell him. She was hysterical when she came to me, all worried as if it was a death sentence or something similar. I managed to rationalize it for her and she calmed down and actually done some research and done a really good job of explaining it to my nephew.

I've passed on that link to her and she said she'd be in touch. Its good for parents to realise its serious but with proper educational systems put in place they can develop at the same pace as 'normal' children.

I found that although my nephew sometimes struggled with reading he could take apart anything and put it back together quicker than anyone I know. He also has a real head for mechanics and engines and its good news since the diagnosis as now his lack of literacy skills hopefully hamper him in his future.

pollypierce

Hey Quassie!

Its good for parents to realise its serious but with proper educational systems put in place they can develop at the same pace as 'normal' children.

I love the way you've written 'normal' children in your post. That just about sums it up for the child with dyslexia, they don't feel normal because they can't do normal things as easily as normal kids, ie read and write!Dyslexia is an educational 'condition' which means that children with dyslexia learn differently from children without dyslexia or 'normal' children. Given the right opportunities and learning assistance, all of which are available privately once the child has their diagnosis, they can progress just as well as anybody else can...

The problem is that there still seems to be a stigma associated with dyslexia that people find hard to accept. This of course leads to upset and secrecy about learning difficulties which are otherwise surmountable, apart from the fact that people are afraid to be classified as 'not-normal'. Personally, I recognized dyslexia in my son at an early stage. It took a long, long time to persuade anyone to take me seriously.

Our NEPS (National Educational Psychology Service) psychologist was lovely, reassuring but didn't meet the child himself, preferring to rely on the Connor's Parent & Teacher Questionnaires. Unfortunately these didn't provide enough feed back for him to be able to diagnose dyslexia, or anything else for that matter. Apparently this form of assessment indicated that my child had some anti-social behaviour tendencies, but it was assumed that they were merely age related and that he would grow out of it. He didn't...

My feeling all along was that the child in question was being bold for a reason, which wasn't necessarily attention seeking. However I was reassured time and time again that his literacy difficulties were not bad enough to indicate dyslexia or to merit learning assistance. The reason for this, and his late diagnosis aged ten, was quite simply because he's quite bright, like so many people with dyslexia. Children with dyslexia are often highly intelligent and are good compensators, in so far as they are able to disguise their literacy difficulties.

Sadly, as in our case, this often results in the child being labelled as over active, naughty, day dreamer, disorganised, plain bold (yes, I too am guilty of this one) and generally disruptive in school. Despite reassurances to the contrary, I manipulated the system in such a way that it was forced to provide an adequate assessment regarding his 'anti-social tendencies' which he hadn't grown out of.

We were spectacularly lucky. The psychologist we attended in the health board offices was specialised in the area of dyslexia and literacy difficulties and soon recognized that my child was indeed affected by this condition. She performed a full psycho-educational assessment which took place over a course of five or so hours on several days. The results were astounding! She diagnosed dyslexia. She also advised me that in terms of cognitive function he is on the 97th percentile, meaning that there is only 3% of the population more intelligent than he is...

Luckily, because I had recognized so many of his frustrations we'd been talking about the possibility of dyslexia. He understood that some people just aren't too good with words, and some can't read at all. He knew that some of his mistakes, which were frustrating not silly, were similar to those of someone with dyslexia. We talked about dyslexia so much that to him, it wasn't anything hugely abnormal, rather pretty ordinary.

The day after he got his diagnosis he announced to his classmates that he has dyslexia. He said it with pride, as though it were a gold medal. He knew that there was a reason for his inability to see, read and write letters and words in the same way as everyone else. He knew that his teachers would finally understand him and be able to give him the help he needed.

For him it was a matter of being normal, just like everyone else. He now knows that he's not thick or stupid, and accepts that he learns things differently. By the end of the first week, having decided that he wasn't going to be beaten by his label he'd finished his first Darren Shan book and had moved onto the next. Admittedly it made more sense on the second time of reading...

My child's lucky. His dyslexia's not severe, but the problems he faced without a proper diagnosis were destined to become severe. His acting out was leading him down a path of self destructive behaviour which affects a huge percentage of undiagnosed dyslexics. He was lucky, so very, very lucky.

That's not to say things are easy, because they aren't. They're easier than they were, but this is because I've got a piece of paper which confirms his new label. I don't use it much, because he's mildly affected, but nevertheless I do have to draw my trump card every now and again! Recently he started secondary school and this has seen a brief resurrection of his old self, in the bad old dark days, before he got the help he needed...

Thankfully this was short lived and order has been restored. Peace reigns again and everyone's happy again!

Quazzie

A very touching story there Polly. You should be proud of the faith and belief you had in your child, and I sincerely hope that he gets the required assistance in Secondary school. The schools nowadays are a lot better than years ago but there is still room for improvement. Education for both sufferers and guardians of sufferers is definitely the way this issue needs to be addressed.

Best of luck to you and your child in the coming school year.

pollypierce

Quazzie, the truth is that my hand was forced by friends whose daughter had similar troubles. Together, with another lady that we know whose daughter also has dyslexia,we set up the Offaly Dyslexia Group, which has subsequently become the Offaly branch of the DAI. As such we set up workshops for children with dyslexia.

Originally none of us had envisaged that things would work so well, or indeed so quickly. We've been lucky, very lucky. The children who live in this area have been luckier. At present we've got over twenty children attending DAI approved workshops at St Mary's Youth Centre on Monday evenings and a waiting list in operation...

This has only been possible because of the determination and sheer will of the folk involved. We started off with three tutors, lost one, gained two. We now have a great set of tutors and have more than doubled in size. We offer help to children with dyslexia from counties Offaly, Laois & Westmeath and currently have in excess of twenty children enrolled and participating in the DAI workshops.

Like I said, we've been lucky. We just happened upon the scenario at the right time and hit all the right buttons. In addition to this, we've recently started workshops for children making the transition to secondary school. This is with a view to making the challenges this brings easier for them.

The best part of my being involved in the formation of this group is seeing the changes in the children. As each week goes by they become more confident and outgoing in themselves and yet conversely, the 'hyper-active' children seem to settle into themselves, secure in the knowledge that they are not alone! What they are, is in fact part of an exclusive club...

To avail of the workshops the children, or their families must be in possession of a current psycho-educational assessment which confirms their diagnosis as being dyslexia. In addition to this they must also be members of the Dyslexia Association of Ireland.

The bottom line is that the children in this area now have the help that they need, albeit privately. As resource teachers are now a rare commodity, and the numbers requiring their assistance seem to be rising rapidly, the dyslexia workshops are often the only help that these children can avail of. All I can say is that I am proud to be a part of this and that I pray that it will continue for many years to come...

Thanks for your kind words, it's nice to hear them every now and again!

Polly

brendanshortt

Hey guys sorry for jumping in here but im a 4th year student in IT Carlow and as part of my final year im making a documentary about dyslexia and what assistance there is for people. I am looking for someone who has dyslexia to give me an interview about it. If there's anyone interested please give me a shout.
Thanks.

Angron

Please don't bump threads that haven't been posted in in quite a few years with requests.

Locked.

pollypierce

News: Offaly Dyslexia is now meeting on Monday evenings in Tullamore Library, O'Connor Square. Please ring 086 2309009 for further details...