Thanks for sharing this! My oldest was received a dyslexia diagnosis (among other things) during Covid. I had long suspected it and fortunately our school district has been amazing with intervention (he’s made a lot of progress this year!). Still, it breaks my heart that reading will always be challenging for him-- books have been such a big part of our life that it was his first word! Love the idea of the Kindle, hadn’t thought about that but it might be a way to make books more accessible to him.
I am so happy to hear that your school district has been supportive and helpful for your son. Books are still a very big part of our life - just in a different way. Our 11 year old still loves getting read to and often pulls out books that we read to him when he was much younger. So much of this process for me and our family has been accepting what is and embracing new ways of doing things. The Epic app is another tool we use a lot too.
Thank you Sarah for sharing my words and this post with your community. I was so thrilled to connect with you last year and so grateful for the connection we made.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. It is so grounding and reassuring and emotionally resonant. Especially the part about giving up the beloved German school - the losses we grieve and the things we sometimes have to let go of, in our work to give our kids the support they truly need!
I can empathize so much with feeling like you are floundering when a kid's "journey into reading" doesn't look like you thought it would. In my case, it isn't dyslexia, but emotional issues like anxiety - my 8-year old struggles greatly to feel comfortable doing things on his own, and one of the smaller side effects of that is that I have had to grieve the time I thought he would have built into his day, to come to love reading on his own. I love reading to him and with him, but I also wanted him to have time to come to love reading for himself; and the reality is that he gets so anxious being alone that nothing he does in that time will feel very relaxing, let alone comforting, to him. In our case, finding a path forward has involved play therapy with a child psychologist and it does really feel like a light at the end of the tunnel, to have a professional just tell you that this is all going to be okay.
I get it, Ally. I do everything I can to protect my daughters’ privacy in this newsletter so I won’t say more, but that’s part of why Alex’s story resonated with me too.
Sending lots of reassurance your way — you’re doing a great job.
Ally thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your experience. I’m humbled that my words spoke to you. We have navigated kiddo anxiety too as part of this process and it is so hard as mom to see fear and uncertainty in these little beings. I am so glad you found professional support and that you can glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a path and a journey - you are not alone.
This was an incredible story, and thank you Alex, for sharing. I don't have kids, am not a mother, but am in the middle of my own challenging health battle and learning to advocate for myself as an adult. It's amazing to see you fighting for your kid and being able to find wins and succeed, and even though I am not a mother or close to anything like it, I genuinely feel touched by your story and am rooting for you and your family. I also love that there ARE people out there ready to embrace kids and people as they are and help them navigate this world.
Thank you Cassie for your kind words. I think learning to advocate for ourselves or someone else is part of the same superpower. And telling our truths and embracing what actually is instead of staying stuck in wishing things were different may be our greatest task. I wish you lots of grace for yourself on this journey.
This is such a good guest Sarah. Thanks for sharing. When kids don’t fit the prescribed narrative it can be a real challenge to try other things.
So true. (And it's really thanks to Alex for being willing to be so open about her experience.)
Thanks for sharing, Alex, and thanks, Sarah, for this platform.
😘😘
Thanks for sharing this! My oldest was received a dyslexia diagnosis (among other things) during Covid. I had long suspected it and fortunately our school district has been amazing with intervention (he’s made a lot of progress this year!). Still, it breaks my heart that reading will always be challenging for him-- books have been such a big part of our life that it was his first word! Love the idea of the Kindle, hadn’t thought about that but it might be a way to make books more accessible to him.
I'm so glad it was helpful, Julia!
I am so happy to hear that your school district has been supportive and helpful for your son. Books are still a very big part of our life - just in a different way. Our 11 year old still loves getting read to and often pulls out books that we read to him when he was much younger. So much of this process for me and our family has been accepting what is and embracing new ways of doing things. The Epic app is another tool we use a lot too.
Thank you Sarah for sharing my words and this post with your community. I was so thrilled to connect with you last year and so grateful for the connection we made.
Alex, thank YOU -- I'm honored to share your words and experience 💛💛
Thank you so much for sharing this story. It is so grounding and reassuring and emotionally resonant. Especially the part about giving up the beloved German school - the losses we grieve and the things we sometimes have to let go of, in our work to give our kids the support they truly need!
I can empathize so much with feeling like you are floundering when a kid's "journey into reading" doesn't look like you thought it would. In my case, it isn't dyslexia, but emotional issues like anxiety - my 8-year old struggles greatly to feel comfortable doing things on his own, and one of the smaller side effects of that is that I have had to grieve the time I thought he would have built into his day, to come to love reading on his own. I love reading to him and with him, but I also wanted him to have time to come to love reading for himself; and the reality is that he gets so anxious being alone that nothing he does in that time will feel very relaxing, let alone comforting, to him. In our case, finding a path forward has involved play therapy with a child psychologist and it does really feel like a light at the end of the tunnel, to have a professional just tell you that this is all going to be okay.
I get it, Ally. I do everything I can to protect my daughters’ privacy in this newsletter so I won’t say more, but that’s part of why Alex’s story resonated with me too.
Sending lots of reassurance your way — you’re doing a great job.
Ally thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your experience. I’m humbled that my words spoke to you. We have navigated kiddo anxiety too as part of this process and it is so hard as mom to see fear and uncertainty in these little beings. I am so glad you found professional support and that you can glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a path and a journey - you are not alone.
This was an incredible story, and thank you Alex, for sharing. I don't have kids, am not a mother, but am in the middle of my own challenging health battle and learning to advocate for myself as an adult. It's amazing to see you fighting for your kid and being able to find wins and succeed, and even though I am not a mother or close to anything like it, I genuinely feel touched by your story and am rooting for you and your family. I also love that there ARE people out there ready to embrace kids and people as they are and help them navigate this world.
Thank you Cassie for your kind words. I think learning to advocate for ourselves or someone else is part of the same superpower. And telling our truths and embracing what actually is instead of staying stuck in wishing things were different may be our greatest task. I wish you lots of grace for yourself on this journey.