Help with Possible Dsylexia

My friend could help you. If she can't do it herself, I know she can point you in the right direction.

Good Luck!
C.

Michelle Saltamachia, C.A.L.T.
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____@____.com
Certified Academic Language Therapist
Dyslexia Therapist, 12 years Public Education Teacher in Wylie ISD and Allen ISD.
6 years Private Tutoring experience
Reading difficulties are my specialty, but I tutor all subjects.

your childs school should be able to have him assest most schools have it done in school or your own doctor can let you know where to go

T.,

You have already gotten some really good advice, and I just wanted to second much of it. I am a homeschooling mom and have a 9 yod who was just diagnosed this summer as dyslexic. Although she was slow to learn to learn to read, she has managed to stay reading on about her grade level (though I was warned that would not continue without getting her help). Our big tip-off was her spelling and the emotional struggles she was having. Like the other moms have mentioned, Scottish Rite does provide testing. I, too, was told by someone privately that the wait would be long. We wanted help ASAP so decided to pay for private testing. (Feel free to email me if you want the lady's information.) After getting the diagnosis, we set about finding an Academic Language Therapist. My daughter has only been receiving services for about 6 weeks now, but we have already seen a HUGE improvement in her self-esteem. I was told that some districts are better than others about offering help, but even children who receive good help from the school system take so much longer to catch up to where they need to be. One-on-one help is definitely the best. I also highly recommended Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz. It is an amazing book with such a wealth of information. I was even able to first check it out from our library before ordering my own copy. The type of help a dyslexic needs is so specific, so a general tutoring place like Sylvan will not be able to truly help your child. I will be praying for you as you continue to pursue help.

I don't know all of the details, but the region, by law, has to provide an advocate for you if you request one. This person will come in and speed things up. My best friend had to do that with her son, because the school was not being proactive enough. Check with the region...make phone calls...and request an advocate. It will move more quickly at that point.

Sylvan Learning Center can test him for Dylexia. Might be costly but well worth the test. Good luck.

T. J,

You are right to be frustrated and seeking answers NOW for your son. The more time that passes the harder this will be for him. As a child and family therapist I have had the opportunity to work with multiple psychologists who perform evaluations. Without question the best evaluations (as well as specific educational plans) for learning disorders come from Dr. Heather Stephens (in my experience). Dr. Stephens is also thoroughly versed in the law and can assist you in dealing with the schools. You can contact her at the following: e-mail: ____@____.com
web address: http://www.academicdiagnosis.com

Good Luck with this and I would love to hear the outcome.

D. H.

You should contact Scottish Rite Hospital and get on their waiting list for Dyslexia testing. That way when the results come back you have the ammo to take back to the school and skip throught the "interventions". However, the waiting list is long and could take a while. You should contact the head of the program in your school district and request to skip the intervention. However, I am told that 2nd grade is the beginning of the process and most kids are diagnosed in the 3rd grade. Good Luck.
FYI: The Wylie School District uses the same program that Scottish Rite uses. It is called Alpha Phonics. Students are given 45min-1hour instruction on a daily basis and it is through the school district and avialable at each campus. There is also a great website you can visit: dyslexiaadvocatesofwylie.com

T.,
I know you care deeply about your children. I'm not in your shoes, but I really think that Sylvan Learning Center could help.

http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/tutor/index.cfm?utm_so...

God bless!

My son is 8 and was just diagnosed in April with dsylexia. We live in Mesquite and it is my understanding that they try to wait until the second grade before making this diagnoses. They also do other testing to rule out other learning problems. The Shriners hospital in Dallas does testing. Get in touch with them they will send you paperwork to fill out and you will need to get your doctor to sign off on the paperwork. The wait is a few months and if the hospital says he is dsylexic then the school district will accept that diagnoses.

On a another note the testing done by the school district is very good and it is very costly to the school district, they are only trying to rule everything else out. It will work out you just need patiences and as a parent who has been in your shoes it is hard to sit back and watch, but it will work out.

Hi T.,
I think that the Garland School District (City of Rowlett) has testing available for children who might have dsylexia. Is your sons teacher suggesting testing in his school? You might call the counselor at the school and talk to her for guidance in what is available in the Garland School District.

Also, there are books in the Rowlett Library about children with dsylexia. It might be helpful to get some information from the library. The employees at Rowlett Library are very helpful and informative. I hope these ideas are helpful to you.
R.

T.,

I just went through the exact same thing with my son last year when he was 7 and in first grade. I don't want to "slam" public schools or anything as I understand their limitations with the numbers of students and issues they have to deal with, but I STRONGLY encourage you to take this matter into your own hands. I realize that it may cost you money up front, but time is of the essence when you are talking about possible dyslexia as it can cause HUGE emotional, self-esteem, behavioral and even physical problems. I know this for a fact. Early diagnosis and intervention is the key - don't wait!

We are in the PISD district and my son already fell under the umbrella of "special education" as he was receiving speech therapy services. So I was having regular and fairly frequent meetings with his IEP team (including the principal). Each time I told them I thought he might have dyslexia and that he should be tested and each time I was told he was receiving "interventions" and that he was too young to test and that he wasn't showing any signs of dyslexia. I refused to continue to fight with the school district to test him (I found out from other dyslexic students parents that most public schools won't test until 3rd grade which is TOO LATE in my opinion as the child has already sufferred for three years and taken a HUGE hit emotionally) and wait for them to act as my son was already suffering emotionally.

I first took my son to an Academic Language Therapist which I found through www.altaread.org. We chose Alice Redding as she is in Richardson where we live. I have heard such wonderful things about her and my son continues to use her services for private language therapy to this day (she teaches the most recent Take Flight curriculum developed by the Scottish Rite Hospital). She performed an initial screening on him and said she was sure he was dyslexic (it was about a 45 minute low-key evaluation). So I decided that he needed to be officially tested. This all occured the end of last year and I was wanting to get a diagnosis ASAP before school started this year so I had him tested over the summer at SMU at Legacy. It cost around $1,000 and was two mornings of diagnostic testing one on one with the tester. We received our report about 6 weeks later and I was right my son is dyslexia - he is a classic example of developmental dyslexia. So the public school was WRONG - he was neither too young to test nor was he not showing any signs of dyslexia.

[The Scottish Rite Hospital also does dyslexia testing and it is free. However, the wait is usually very long 6-9 months so the sooner you complete the paperwork the better. You will need a doctor referral for the Scottish Rite to test so if you are planning on going this route you should get in contact with your pediatrician to discuss your son's possible dyslexia.)

I was told by our public school that even if I came back with an official report of dyslexia he was already receiving all of the services (intervention services) that dyslexics receive. Those were not going to be enough. Dyslexics need a period (most programs are 2 years long) of intensive (at least an hour daily) instruction in a small group setting specifically developed for the way their brain works. Most public schools do not even come close to this type of help. So we moved our son to St. Paul the Apostle school in Richardson which has a program specifically for dyslexic children. He has been there for about two months now and I am starting to see some academic improvement. He will try to read on his own, but of course he still struggles but at least he is trying. It is his emotional health that has been helped the most. His self-esteem has done a 180 - he is starting to believe in himself and not be so negative about things. In his regular classroom they are very understanding and assist him with class assignments that require reading. It is a wonderfully caring and understanding place and I truly believe that my son would not be where he is today if I had left him in PISD.

Believe in yourself and your motherly instincts! If you think there is something wrong there most likely is. I wish someone had told me that last year. I knew there was something wrong, but I kept letting the school district fool me into believing that my son would eventually catch up. If my son had not started to have behavioral problems (acting out in class, getting very upset and crying when he couldn't read or write) he might still be suffering silently in a school system that wouldn't listen to me. I feel terrible that I allowed my son to suffer emotionally before believing in myself enough to take charge of his future.

Additionally, if your son is ultimately diagnosed with dyslexia there is a wonderful dyslexia book you should read titled "Overcoming Dyslexia” by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. It is so informative and will help you understand what is going on and why.

There is also a group called IDEAS – Impacting Dyslexia Education Awareness and Support (http://www.ideasplano.org). I have not attending an event as yet, but I have talked to some of the members. It looks like they offer some informative speakers.
Also search the internet about dyslexia and read about all the wonderfully brilliant people who have/had dyslexia. Some of the most creative people had dyslexia. Embrace the way your son is able to look view the world and the challenges he faces.

I am the director of D.A.S.A., Dyslexia Associates of San Antonio ( San Antonio Texas). We assess for dyslexia and our fees are reasonable, but we are a 6-hour drive from you; you are much closer to the Scottish Rite. Their assessments might require you to be on a waiting list and they can be a bit more expensive, but they do have scholarships for free evals available at the Dallas site if finances are an issue. Senate Bill 866 passed last Sept 2012 stipulates that school have to consider outside evaluations and this might be your avenue to 504/dyslexia services in the school.

The Texas Dyslexia Handbook states that " the earlier the better" is the time frame for testing a child, and children who are not diagnosed until grade 3 have a 76% chance of lagging behind up through middle school. Time is of the essence in getting help, since early diagnosis means early interventions. Please see the Texas Dyslexia Handbook ( there is a link for that at our site, dyslexia-sa.com)and contact us if we may assist you further in becoming an informed advocate for your young reader! R. Robinson, M. Ed

My friend went through the same thing last year with her kindergartner. She had her tested for free at Scottish Rite, though it was a LONG wait. You can pay to have the testing done privately and faster. Richardson ISD said the school district doesn't test kids so young. She was found to have dyslexia and ADD, and the school wnated to put her in Special Ed. Her parents chose a private school instead that has a good dyslexia program - but of course that is expensive!

Scottish Rite is the best bet. They look at the whole child. They test for all learning differences, not just one specific problem. The wait was about 3 months for us. It was well worth it. While we were waiting, the school tested my son and said he was not sever enough for them to help him. Scottish Rite had a different view. Get the book Overcoming Dyslexia. It is awesome and explains what Dyslexia is and why it is so hard to DX. As a parent, you can request your child be tested at any age.
I have not heard good things about Sylvan. They do not have a program for Dyslexia.
Henry Wrinkler (The Fonz)has written several books for kids. They are called Hank Zipzer. My son loved it, because he could relate to someone who had trouble spelling and remembering things. We would take turns reading. I would read a few chapters, then he would read one. it took a while, but as soon as we got finished with the first book, he was ready to start the second one. Good Luck and do not give up!!! I am Dyslexic and have a very successful career. I tell my son all the time, it teaches us to work harder for what we want and we usually get it!

My friend used nutritional supplement for her child . Her son is Ok right now. She is getting that supplement from her natural doctor.
If you want to learn more send me email ____@____.com
Good luck-W.