College

My oldest child is now a senior in high school with less than 3 weeks left.  And I am pleased to announce that his going to a PAC 12 college. 

I recently told a mom who has an 11 year old daughter who was just diagnosed with dyslexia about his pending college career and she cried. 

She does not even know my son and she cried. 

She cried because it gave her hope.

I know what she felt like.  I remember being in that space.

Don't give up, focus on the whole person, not just their learning differences.

These kids have bright futures and exciting journeys!  Enjoy it!

Main Goal for Mom and Dad

If you are a mom or dad of a kid with dyslexia you need to make this your main goal:

Get this child to adulthood with their self confidence and self esteem in tact.

This is much more important to their overall success then the perfect spelling of any word.

Everything you do should have this end goal in mind.

Learning Ally

Learning Ally is a known great resource for audio books.  But I have been finding that they have been really great with Webinars on dyslexia - including diagnosis and accommodations.  I just recently attended a great session on accommodations specifically for dyslexics and it was presented in a very succinct and organized way.  Well worth the time of watching it.

Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley

Beyond the Bear is a book that adults or young people with dyslexia should read.  When they think life is tough, this guys life will put things into perspective.  A lot of it reminded me of the strategies that dyslexic students discover, test and use in their academic careers.

Here is my review on this book on Amazon:

I want to carry cases of these books around and hand them out to people who are negative and complain about their lives that are NOT hard.  This book is an easy to read, heart warming lesson on how to live your life - with humility, humor and love.  A nurse who worked with Dan shortly after the attack called him an inspiration -- she had no idea how truly inspirational he would become in the years following the mauling.  Thank you to Dan for telling this compelling and moving story.

Need an Ed Therapist

Here is a great resource to find an education therapist:

 http://aetonline.org/

Trying to explain the tip of the dyslexic iceberg

This is a great article which tries to give you and idea of some of the struggles of a dyslexic:  http://www.mamasagainstdrama.com/2013/03/its-more-than-a-twister-auntie-em/

Accomodations for SAT

For those who have kids starting to think about college, here are some tips:

Make sure you have up to date testing as you will need it to get accommodations for the SAT and/or ACT.

Consider which test - the SAT or the ACT is best for your child's learning differences

Consider what accommodations you want for SAT/ACT testing:

•  extra time

• a reader

• use of a computer

• use of a calculator 

• taking the test at your school with a counselor instead of in a giant auditorium with tons of other kids

Start early considering what you need and apply early as it take a little longer to apply and get the approval