It never ceases to amaze me how many people are dyslexic. There's a new ad campaign, a huge billboard looming over Times Square with that famous picture of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue. The tagline is something like, "Growing up, he was no Einstein." It's kind of heartening. Not that I want an Einstein, just a kid that can read at a serviceable level. David's smarty-pants enough. I don't need an E=MC2 genius cracking wise to me.
We were at a party upstate recently filled mostly with people we didn't know. I got into a conversation with a fellow who happened to live near us in Brooklyn. The dad of a two-year-old, Michael was curious about the quality of the local school, PS 107. I tried to explain in a "Reader's Digest" version that it was great if your child didn't have special needs, but not so great if your kid was dyslexic like mine. Michael's face softened a bit when he told me, "I'm dyslexic."
I was really interested to learn what growing-up was like for a dyslexic mildly successful freelance photographer. Basically, it sucked. No special schools, was basically socially promoted through his school career because he tried so hard. "But I still can't divide," he admitted.
Things like that warm my heart, how a virtual stranger is willing to open up to another virtual stranger solely by virtue of sharing (sort of) a learning disability. I don't have any outlandish expectations for David. I don't want him to grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer; I just want him to do something that makes him feel whole. And meeting Michael gave me hope.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
To be of some use
It's been so long since I blogged that I forgot how to blog. But it all came back to me. Sometimes I think I also have an LD, directionally dyslexic, mildly dyslexic, or whatever polite phrase I can come up with.
A friend just told me that she's used this site about 10 times in the past 2 days. Another e-mailed a few minutes later, asking for a neuropsychologist's name. While I'm very happy this has been helpful to others, my heart aches in a way, just knowing what they will go through, remembering what an awkward, helpless, limbo-like spot I was in last year at this time while I searched for the perfect school for David. Lucky like hell that I found it, much poorer in the pocket but worth every penny because he no longer thinks/says, "I'm the worst kid in the world."
I can't help but wonder if we are being diagnosed to death. Back in the dark ages, when I was a kid and dinosaurs roamed the earth, we didn't have all of these LD's and acronyms. Does it have to do with chemicals in the environment, society pushing our children too hard academically instead of letting them be kids? But we didn't have this stuff when I was a young whippersnapper and I can't help but wonder why. But maybe we did, they just didn't have fancy acronyms.
I come across so many adults, mostly in the arts, who say they are dyslexic when I open up about David. They share with me how hard it was, that they were just promoted socially because they "tried so hard," and how great it would have been to go to a school like Mary McDowell. It's kind of sad, they've done well but they've had such a hard road. And like one fellow said to me this weekend, "I still can't do division."
Another challenge is grandparents (and others) thinking we're making something out of nothing, just hold him back a grade and he'll catch up. But they just don't get is that there is no catching up, not for them. We have to give them the tools to figure out their own coping mechanisms. They might never learn to think like us but at least they'll learn to think like them. Whoever that happens to be.
Our attorney tells us that the Dept of Ed is launching a pilot program to reimburse parents sooner. We just have to provide proof of payment (make copies of those checks!) and a payment affidavit from the school. They will supposedly pay us in a more timely fashion, whatever that means. Three months instead of six? I'm just happy they have agreed to reimburse (though the figure has not been agreed upon as of this date) at all and that we don't have to go to court.
A friend just told me that she's used this site about 10 times in the past 2 days. Another e-mailed a few minutes later, asking for a neuropsychologist's name. While I'm very happy this has been helpful to others, my heart aches in a way, just knowing what they will go through, remembering what an awkward, helpless, limbo-like spot I was in last year at this time while I searched for the perfect school for David. Lucky like hell that I found it, much poorer in the pocket but worth every penny because he no longer thinks/says, "I'm the worst kid in the world."
I can't help but wonder if we are being diagnosed to death. Back in the dark ages, when I was a kid and dinosaurs roamed the earth, we didn't have all of these LD's and acronyms. Does it have to do with chemicals in the environment, society pushing our children too hard academically instead of letting them be kids? But we didn't have this stuff when I was a young whippersnapper and I can't help but wonder why. But maybe we did, they just didn't have fancy acronyms.
I come across so many adults, mostly in the arts, who say they are dyslexic when I open up about David. They share with me how hard it was, that they were just promoted socially because they "tried so hard," and how great it would have been to go to a school like Mary McDowell. It's kind of sad, they've done well but they've had such a hard road. And like one fellow said to me this weekend, "I still can't do division."
Another challenge is grandparents (and others) thinking we're making something out of nothing, just hold him back a grade and he'll catch up. But they just don't get is that there is no catching up, not for them. We have to give them the tools to figure out their own coping mechanisms. They might never learn to think like us but at least they'll learn to think like them. Whoever that happens to be.
Our attorney tells us that the Dept of Ed is launching a pilot program to reimburse parents sooner. We just have to provide proof of payment (make copies of those checks!) and a payment affidavit from the school. They will supposedly pay us in a more timely fashion, whatever that means. Three months instead of six? I'm just happy they have agreed to reimburse (though the figure has not been agreed upon as of this date) at all and that we don't have to go to court.
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