Doing Something About It

I am so thankful that we decided to return to Heritage Christian School. Even though it's summer time, I feel like I'm being listened to. I received the initial 2 levels for the Susan Barton Spelling and Reading Program. I just finished the tutor training. But, before we begin this, I have a few tests for Diane to do online. The school sent me links and passwords for some standardization tests so we can get a clearer picture of Diane's particular strengths and struggles.

I am being heard, I am being supported and my family is being cared about. There is help out there, sometimes you just have to be like a 'dog with a bone' to get it. I know that many people in todays world talk about how bad it can be to 'label' someone. But we all have labels, they are simply words to describe who we are. Mother, tall, young, old, patient, strict, compassionate, caring, nurse, fast-talker, smart... Obviously the list can go on forever, when we hear lables like Autistic, ADD, Dyslexic it conjures up different ideas for different people. But for the parents of those children it gives us a direction to go in. It's like suddenly we have a roadmap of our child. There are still a lot options and decisions, but there is a narrower focus than before. Knowing something is 'different' or 'wrong' doesn't help in any way. Having that label gives us the ability to say 'THIS is what it is!'

Someone not on this journey doesn't necessarily understand the necessity of the 'label'. Using the word 'Dyslexic' is much faster that, 'well...she has difficulty with phenomes, has a high compresension level, but nerologically her brain cannot recognize the symbols commonly known as the English alphabet to turn those symbols into words she can read. Because she see's everything so much finer than the rest of us, everything is a picture to her highly imaginative brain and therefore trying to create a picture of the symbols 'i t' becomes extremely stressful and difficult. At this point the words seem to float off the page as she retreats to her imagination world, also known as 'spacing out' or 'not focusing'...' No, I prefer to say 'she's Dyslexic'. If you know what that is then you instantly understand, if you don't than you can ask me what that really is, but please don't tell me not to use a label.

I don't mean to come accross in every blog entry as complaining or negative. I just hear from others with similar struggles about the frustration with the lack of understanding or knowledge in the people around them. So it tends to come out when I write. Maybe I should write more often and I won't have quite so much to say all at once.