WilsonFrostAcademy – yes, the trying to figure out the words to say thing is kind of frustrating. He has improved a lot as he got older, and it doesn’t exactly sound like stammering anymore – but it is still painful trying to hear him tell me something at times. It used to be more like he got stuck on the first word or two – repeating those…. now it is like he will start to say something, pause, rephrase it, pause, try to rephrase it again – and often give up.
So before it sounded more like “Mom, can, can, can, mom, can, can I play outside?” Now it is more like “Mom, do you think I could………… Would it be possible to……….., never mind”
Now my examples are more from memory – and I think I should probably tape him sometime – but I can’t know when it is going to happen – because it doesn’t happen quite as often as it did.
I think this is called either Aphasia or Disnomia – and is often seen with Dyslexics – but isn’t one of the more common symptoms.
Delta also has Dyscalcula – also common to Dyslexics – in that he seems to understand math concepts pretty well – but can’t seem to master those facts at all.
We recently experienced the getting to a point in his math…. hitting a wall…. and then suddenly it was almost like he had forgotten everything we ever did in math….
He also forgets things quickly (especially instructions….)
There are times that I read an article or something that says that Dyslexia isn’t real exactly, but is a product of faulty reading instruction. (Usually recommending that intense phonics should be used.) There is a part of me that wants to believe that (a part that doesn’t because then it is my fault – even though we started reading with a phonics program that is one that says that!) – but if dyslexia is caused by faulty reading instruction…. why would my son have all these dyslexia related symptoms (like the dysnomia) even before being taught to read at all?
Oh, and I know what you mean about not liking to label the child – yet it is kind of a relief to have a name for all these symptoms because it means that it really does exist, and it isn’t the child being lazy, or all in my head or something like that.
Although I did call my homeschool office to find out about testing, resources, etc (and there are none here provided for homeschoolers) – my home phone number is blocked, and I didn’t give my name – so he isn’t “labelled”. But if he had to return to PS for any reason, I’d almost assuredly have to have him labelled because – well – he is going into “5th grade” but reads at about an early 3rd grade level, spells at about a 1st grade level, Doesn’t have good handwriting unless he is doing copywork (ie, if he has to think about the words, forget the good andwriting happening) – Balks at writing more than a sentence or two – and doesn’t know most of his addition or subtraction facts, has been introduced to the concept of muliplication but hasn’t been taught it past skip counting, and hasn’t done any division except in daily life. If I had to put him in PS, they would know in a day that something is up (and would probably think something like “Stupid homeschooler”.) They wouldn’t care that he knows all sorts of history things (not much Canadian History – so he’d probably even be considered behind on that) and has been exposed to things like Shakespeare and Pilgrim’s Progress.
Anyway that is an essay! Oh, and it was his spelling that tipped me off to it – and the list of symptoms from “All About Spelling” that made me realize it – he has almost all the symptoms. The fact that he could read almost (but not quite) to grade level (at that point) had me fooled…. but even then his reading was just “not quite right” somehow….
