Dyslexic? What would have helped you as a child?

TequilaMockingBird

What do you wish had been done to help you as a child?

Is their anything you think would have made school/life easier?






@Mods I know it's AH. Please leave this here if at all possible, I would love to get some opinions about what/who helped other younger posters cope. Many thanks.

P.S. There's 7 billion other threads in AH to take the piss on, please don't do it on this one. Ignore if you're not interested.


Size in text gone from 1 to 4.

Fear Uladh

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

What do you wish had been done to help you as a child?

Is their anything you think would have made school/life easier?






@Mods I know it's AH. Please leave this here if at all possible, I would love to get some opinions about what/who helped other younger posters cope. Many thanks.

P.S. There's 7 billion other threads in AH to take the piss on, please don't do it on this one. Ignore if you're not interested.

Not having Dyslexia helped me.

Sharpshooter:

You should have gone to specsavers.

DO NOT EDIT THIS POST AGAIN.

YOU IGNORED WHAT THE OP ASKED TBH.

Danbo!

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

P.S. There's 7 billion other threads in AH to take the piss on, please don't do it on this one. Ignore if you're not interested.

God dammit, you had to go and put in a bloody dysclaimer, didnt you?!

spinandscribble

being tested instead of being called lazy. Funny how i was only deemed lazy in english/irish, not maths/everything else.

admiralofthefleet

Chillaxe wrote: »

Not having Dyslexia helped me.

mee two

TequilaMockingBird

Thanks guys. Nice.

Sharpshooter

Chillaxe wrote: »

Not having Dyslexia helped me.

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

mee two

Guys, the OP has asked for no piss taking.
Now run along and play somewhere else.

admiralofthefleet

apologies sharps

epgc3fyqirnbsx

After 7 years of child psychology and meetings with numerous experts they finally reached a consensus on what is wrong with me.

It turn out that I'm actually quite thick but at least we know now.

On a serious note though, PE that didn't involve having to be good at football would have been an advantage to a lot

TequilaMockingBird

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

apologies sharps

What am I? Ivibisle?

Biggins

A relative of mine was/is dyslexic.
Just by talking to him, he mentioned at one stage that it was very useful to know that he was not alone - nor feel alone.
That there was others out there that were willing to take the time, patience and have the understanding to be there when difficulties arose.

He learned to cope but his task at doing so would have been a thousand times harder he acknowledged, if someone hadn't have stopped at some point and said the equivalent of "here's a chap that wants to read, lets make it so and not leave him out in the cold".

TequilaMockingBird

Ariya Spoiled Pointless wrote: »

After 7 years of child psychology and meetings with numerous experts they finally reached a consensus on what is wrong with me.

It turn out that I'm actually quite thick but at least we know now.

On a serious note though, PE that didn't involve having to be good at football would have been an advantage to a lot

I'm with you on the being quite thick.

Yup. Footballs a no-no. Anything that has a structure in fact is a no-no..

tomhappens

Chillaxe wrote: »

Not having Dyslexia helped me.

Found that handy myself. Pain in the whole that I couldn't spell in generel.

admiralofthefleet

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

What am I? Ivibisle?

you too, sorry

phasers

What is this thread for? I don't like doing people's research for them...

On topic: My Dad had/has dyslexia and he got over it, in his own words, by "doing some bloody work and not whingeing about it like kids these days do"

:pac:

Sharpshooter

tomhappens wrote: »

Found that handy myself. Pain in the whole that I couldn't spell in generel.

Post in this thread like that again and I will ban you.

I have looked at your other posts btw.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

Are you mainly talking national school or secondary also?

National was fortunately fine for me, and secondary aswell. But I think social skills and public speaking etc would have been a help in second level

TequilaMockingBird

Biggins wrote: »

A relative of mine was/is dyslexic.
Just by talking to him, he mentioned at one stage that it was very useful to know that he was not alone - nor feel alone.
That there was others out there that were willing to take the time, patience and have the understanding to be there when difficulties arose.

He learned to cope but his task at doing so would have been a thousand times harder he acknowledged, if someone hadn't have stopped at some point and said the equivalent of "here's a chap that wants to read, lets make it so and not leave him out in the cold".

Psycholgist agreed with me today - "It's not the child that's wrong, it's the system". She is bright as a button, but the way the education system operates goes against logic for her.

Anyway, any of you crap spellers got any tips? God knows there's loads of you! What pissed you off most when you were trying to deal with it? What did your Mammy not "get"?

arybvtcw0eolkf

tomhappens wrote: »

Found that handy myself. Pain in the whole that I couldn't spell in generel.

Have a bit of cop on, this is a subject which will touch a raw nerve with a lot of people here (I include myself in this).

OP, good topic. I'm not going to go too in depth into it as I went to a Christian brother's school which was mentioned in the Ryan report and thats not something I'm going to dwell on at this hour.

However I never knew I was dyslexic until I was 40 and was only tested as my daughter was being assessed in the Irish Dyslexic Association in Suffolk St (Dublin).

My school days were so tainted by other stuff that I simply can not look back and think what might have made a difference to me, sorry.

**Edit. I just wanted to throw this in and let the OP know that we're out here.

cruiser178

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

What do you wish had been done to help you as a child?

Is their anything you think would have made school/life easier?






@Mods I know it's AH. Please leave this here if at all possible, I would love to get some opinions about what/who helped other younger posters cope. Many thanks.

P.S. There's 7 billion other threads in AH to take the piss on, please don't do it on this one. Ignore if you're not interested.

Ive suffered from dyslexia my whole life,its not something to be sniffed at.
Its hard to explain,i can start reading something at the top of a page,but i cant take in as fast as my eyes can read,there for i loose intrest and i sometimes feel stupid,this post and the responce is an example.

TequilaMockingBird

Ariya Spoiled Pointless wrote: »

Are you mainly talking national school or secondary also?

National was fortunately fine for me, and secondary aswell. But I think social skills and public speaking etc would have been a help in second level

Thanks. I've booked her into a drama thing for the summer. Hopefully it will help.

tomhappens

Sharpshooter wrote: »

Post in this thread like that again and I will ban you.

I have looked at your other posts btw.

Sorry? Did I do something wrong?

What is wrong with my other posts? Is there a problem with them or something? See here.. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=11036226


I think this is a cool thred! A subject close to my heart.

TequilaMockingBird

cruiser178 wrote: »

Ive suffered from dyslexia my whole life,its not something to be sniffed at.
Its hard to explain,i can start reading something at the top of a page,but i cant take in as fast as my eyes can read,there for i loose intrest and i sometimes feel stupid,this post and the responce is an example.

This is exactly the problem. (But.. I haven't opened your links, so if you're a looper, I take it back )

Sharpshooter

tomhappens wrote: »

Sorry? Did I do something wrong?

What is wrong with my other posts? Is there a problem with them or something? See here.. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=11036226


I think this is a cool thred! A subject close to my heart.

I did warn you to be fair.

There is nothing wrong with your other posts.
That's my point, you suddenly misspell words in a thread about dyslexia after a mod warning on thread.

cruiser178

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

This is exactly the problem. (But.. I haven't opened your links, so if you're a looper, I take it back )

then open the link.

TequilaMockingBird

Lylah Better Picnic wrote: »

Have a bit of cop on, this is a subject which will touch a raw nerve with a lot of people here (I include myself in this).

OP, good topic. I'm not going to go too in depth into it as I went to a Christian brother's school which was mentioned in the Ryan report and thats not something I'm going to dwell on at this hour.

However I never knew I was dyslexic until I was 40 and was only tested as my daughter was being assessed in the Irish Dyslexic Association in Suffolk St (Dublin).

My school days were so tainted by other stuff that I simply can not look back and think what might have made a difference to me, sorry.

Thanks for that. My dear mum was in a similar place. So much damage done. And not just to them...

nibtrix

Sharpshooter wrote: »

Guys, the OP has asked for no piss taking.
Now run along and play somewhere else.

So you can just ask that people take your post seriously, and don't post funny answers, and people have to adhere to that? In AH?!?


Serious answer, I'm lucky enough not to be dyslexic, but I know several people who are, and people who have ADHD or Asperger Syndrome. While it's still hard to have any of these issues in our overloaded school system, the difference in treatment (not medical treatment, I mean how teachers/parents/general public treat you) nowadays has come on so much. People generally seem to realise that you're not just lazy/stupid and they're willing to give you a chance and help you out.

Obviously there's still a long way to go for proper integration and acceptance but I don't think anyone can say there hasn't been a huge improvement recently.

tomhappens

Sharpshooter wrote: »

I did warn you to be fair.

There is nothing wrong with your other posts.
That's my point, you suddenly misspell words in a thread about dyslexia after a mod warning on thread.

Ah.. OK I see now. Sorry for any problems I caused.

If anything I have learned a good lesson. Post a thread here with rules... and the mods will do their best to make sure people keep to them. Nice to know!

Euro_Kraut

phasers wrote: »

On topic: My Dad had/has dyslexia and he got over it, in his own words, by "doing some bloody work and not whingeing about it like kids these days do"

You can't 'get over it' until you know you have it.

Once I was diagnosed (22) I was able to adapt my learning methods accordingly and things are much better now. Life was very confusing before that to be honest. I underperformed at school and college and was constanly told how lazy and 'careless' I was with my writing.

Your Dad was fortunate to have been diagnosed. Not many people of our parents generation were ever assessed. Do you know when he was assessed?

drunkmonkey

Sharpshooter wrote: »

you suddenly misspell words in a thread about dyslexia

Hang Him High!

arybvtcw0eolkf

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Thanks for that. My dear mum was in a similar place. So much damage done. And not just to them...

Its a different topic, but I hope your mother is ok.

I'll just add before getting back to the topic.

I posted about this before (I think, I might have went annon so I won't go into great detail). When I read the Ryan report I nearly got sick, that day I took a half day from work and went to the school.

Its not a Christian brother school these day, but its a school and thats all I'll say.

I drove in, parked up and went for a walk. It was during last summer (or on a break sometime last year) and the grounds were open for some sports day or something.

I went into the playground, and it was the weirdest thing ever - I caught my breath and couldn't breed.

I was in an army uniform so drew some attention, a lady came over and asked if I was looking for anything. I simply told her I wanted to see the school again, had read the Ryan report that morning and came back for a visit - she was more shocked and upset than I was.

Anyway, sorry for all that. Hope your mother is good.

Dyslexia.

TequilaMockingBird

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

You can't 'get over it' until you know you have it.

Once I was diagnosed (22) I was able to adapt my learning methods accordingly and things are much better now. Life was very confusing before that to be honest. I underperformed at school and college and was constanly told how lazy and 'careless' I was with my writing.

Your Dad was fortunate to have been diagnosed. Not many people of our parents generation were ever assessed. Do you know when he was assessed?

I think what she is saying is that you don't "get over it", you cope, and in our parents day that would have been more of a social norm.

pikachucheeks

Good idea for a thread, OP.

I'm not dyslexic, but a good friend of mine is. She had an awful time in school, being teased by one particular (Geography) teacher who would correct her homework and fix every single spelling error and openly discuss her "appalling spelling" in front of the whole class.

I think she could have benefited from a bit of sympathy - She was made to feel stupid and inferior to other "normal" people, through no fault of her own.
The teachers didn't seem to understand and made more of a joke about it than anything else.

When she moved to England for University, it was a whole other story - She was means-tested and received special help for her course, as well as a free laptop and equipment, to aid her learning and working environments.

I think the Irish education system is way behind, in terms of dealing with people suffering from Dyslexia. It's not accepted as seriously as it is in other parts of the world here - which causes many children a lot of hardship throughout their school years.

TequilaMockingBird

Lylah Better Picnic wrote: »

Its a different topic, but I hope your mother is ok.

I'll just add before getting back to the topic.

I posted about this before (I think, I might have went annon so I won't go into great detail). When I read the Ryan report I nearly got sick, that day I took a half day from work and went to the school.

Its not a Christian brother school these day, but its a school and thats all I'll say.

I drove in, parked up and went for a walk. It was during last summer (or on a break sometime last year) and the grounds were open for some sports day or something.

I went into the playground, and it was the weirdest thing ever - I caught my breath and couldn't breed.

I was in an army uniform so drew some attention, a lady came over and asked if I was looking for anything. I simply told her I wanted to see the school again, had read the Ryan report that morning and came back for a visit - she was more shocked and upset than I was.

Anyway, sorry for all that. Hope your mother is good.

Dyslexia.

Whole other thread indeed. The Ryan report fucked me up for awhile - I had to do it in sections - too hard. Mum is wonderful thank you. A stronger, kinder woman you will never meet.


/sorry mods

Sharpshooter

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

What do you wish had been done to help you as a child?

Is their anything you think would have made school/life easier?






@Mods I know it's AH. Please leave this here if at all possible, I would love to get some opinions about what/who helped other younger posters cope. Many thanks.

P.S. There's 7 billion other threads in AH to take the piss on, please don't do it on this one. Ignore if you're not interested.

nibtrix wrote: »

So you can just ask that people take your post seriously, and don't post funny answers, and people have to adhere to that? In AH?!?

No, the OP asked for people to ignore the thread if they are not interested in the topic and not to take the piss.

And yes, you can ask that in AHs.

tomhappens wrote: »

Ah.. OK I see now. Sorry for any problems I caused.

If anything I have learned a good lesson. Post a thread here with rules... and the mods will do their best to make sure people keep to them. Nice to know!

Serious threads that have a topic that affect a lot of people, yes.
I see your posting style is back to normal now.
Good.

dolliemix

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Psycholgist agreed with me today - "It's not the child that's wrong, it's the system". She is bright as a button, but the way the education system operates goes against logic for her.

Anyway, any of you crap spellers got any tips? God knows there's loads of you! What pissed you off most when you were trying to deal with it? What did your Mammy not "get"?

In fairness 'the system' were not aware in the past that dyslexia existed. Nowadays, I would find that 'the system' is bending over backwards for dyslexic students.

Is this thread going to turn into a 'the system failed me and my dyslexic condition'?

or it could be productive and people could suggest what might have helped them as the OP asked?

arybvtcw0eolkf

dolliemix wrote: »

In fairness 'the system' were not aware in the past that dyslexia existed. Nowadays, I would find that 'the system' is bending over backwards for dyslexic students.

Is this thread going to turn into a 'the system failed me and my dyslexic condition'?

or it could be productive and people could suggest what might have helped them as the OP asked?

Well I have to say my daughter is benefiting hugely in the present system, I simply can not believe how understanding her school and every one of her teachers are.

She love's her school & is the sweetest child, for the rest of my life I'll thank her teachers.

cruiser178

cruiser178 wrote: »

Ive suffered from dyslexia my whole life,its not something to be sniffed at.
Its hard to explain,i can start reading something at the top of a page,but i cant take in as fast as my eyes can read,there for i loose intrest and i sometimes feel stupid,this post and the responce is an example.

Im quoting myself here because i feel i did'nt say enough.
In the 80's when i went to school. kids with dyslexia,adhd,and kids from a depived areas did not get the attention they craved/badly needed, thank god now a days things are different.
I grew up with one thing in mind,,(from my school and experince of teachers back then),if you want your kids to get on in life make sure they come from good areas because from my experiance, teachers only cared more for kids they didnt have give too much attention too

pikachucheeks

Lylah Better Picnic wrote: »

Well I have to say my daughter is benefiting hugely in the present system, I simply can not believe how understanding her school and every one of her teachers are.

That's great! - and a sign things are definitely improving.

Out of interest, are all teachers given training to deal with children that have learning difficulties and / or special needs, or is that reserved just for people that specifically train to be special-needs teachers?

Burnt

Finding subjects I was interested in and then reading; properly with help, everything I could about them. Sitting down with my parents and going through issues of the National Geographic from cover to cover, was one of the best things I ever did. This taught me to look for the shape & sound of a word not the exact letter spelling.

TequilaMockingBird

dolliemix wrote: »

In fairness 'the system' were not aware in the past that dyslexia existed. Nowadays, I would find that 'the system' is bending over backwards for dyslexic students.

Is this thread going to turn into a 'the system failed me and my dyslexic condition'?

or it could be productive and people could suggest what might have helped them as the OP asked?

The system didn't bend over backwards for the last 5 years I've been trying to get my child help. They recommended "reading with the child". Well, my goodness, that never crossed my mind... :rolleyes:

She was tested twice, at my insistence begging, for dyslexia. "Ummm, she may be borderline, but she's GRAND". Finally got her assessed by a psychologist today (which is akin to a lotto win) and she has severe dyslexia. The psychologist said, if she was in a job where she had struggled every day for 5 years, she would have walked out.

But that my daughter couldn't. She just had to deal with it.

dolliemix

pikachucheeks wrote: »

Good idea for a thread, OP.

I'm not dyslexic, but a good friend of mine is. She had an awful time in school, being teased by one particular (Geography) teacher who would correct her homework and fix every single spelling error and openly discuss her "appalling spelling" in front of the whole class.

I think she could have benefited from a bit of sympathy - She was made to feel stupid and inferior to other "normal" people, through no fault of her own.
The teachers didn't seem to understand and made more of a joke about it than anything else.

When she moved to England for University, it was a whole other story - She was means-tested and received special help for her course, as well as a free laptop and equipment, to aid her learning and working environments.

I think the Irish education system is way behind, in terms of dealing with people suffering from Dyslexia. It's not accepted as seriously as it is in other parts of the world here - which causes many children a lot of hardship throughout their school years.

I would disagree with this. The Irish education system is most definitely up to date and sympathetic with the needs of dyslexic children.

arybvtcw0eolkf

pikachucheeks wrote: »

That's great! - and a sign things are definitely improving.

Out of interest, are all teachers given training to deal with children that have learning difficulties and / or special needs, or is that reserved just for people that specifically train to be special-needs teachers?

A teacher here would be better qualified to speak about that, but they've been on the receiving on of so much ignorant BS lately I couldn't blaim them for not speaking up.

Speaking only from personal experience, almost without exception all my daughters teachers are very aware of her needs and I'm surprised at the amount of research some have done in their own free time to learn more about dyslexia and how they can provide for her needs.

There are also private schools with specialize in dyslexia and other learning disabilities (if thats the right term to use). I paid for two school terms for my daughter, and while it was a lot of money it was the best money I've ever spent.

But her secondary school, while I'll sing its praises 'till the cows come home like everywhere else in the public sector its struggling with cut backs and poor moral, however you'd never guess it if you seen the sheer volume of work the staff put into children with needs.

Fear Uladh

Jesus lads I was just joking. To be honest from what I read in some or your threads or posts you all throw in a joke about something you don't understand.

On the topic, I had a GF who had bad dyslexia and it is a pretty awful thing to have, she had a sense a humour about it though .

pikachucheeks

dolliemix wrote: »

I would disagree with this. The Irish education system is most definitely up to date and sympathetic with the needs of dyslexic children.

Well, from my experience in my school, I wouldn't agree with that at all.
My friend was openly humiliated by one teacher, because she was dyslexic. It wasn't even accepted as being a learning difficulty, she was just goaded for being poor at spelling.
I can remember occasions where the teacher would read out paragraphs she'd written and laugh at her mistakes and mixing up of words.

Other teachers in the school just ignored the problem. The only solution given to Dyslexic pupils was to offer them an exemption from Irish, in their Leaving Certificates, if they were a severe case.

arybvtcw0eolkf

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

The system didn't bend over backwards for the last 5 years I've been trying to get my child help. They recommended "reading with the child". Well, my goodness, that never crossed my mind... :rolleyes:

She was tested twice, at my insistence begging, for dyslexia. "Ummm, she may be borderline, but she's GRAND". Finally got her assessed by a psychologist today (which is akin to a lotto win) and she has severe dyslexia. The psychologist said, if she was in a job where she had struggled every day for 5 years, she would have walked out.

But that my daughter couldn't. She just had to deal with it.

I'd recommend you have her assessed over in the Dyslexic Association in Suffolk St. Dublin.

The cost four years ago was €350 but it was money well spent.

My daughter went over an angry, fustrated and depressed children and it seemed once she could put a label on it the transformation in her was literally overnight.

Learning that she was dyslexic lifted a huge weight from her little shoulders.

Now I'd better get to bed

Great topic OP. SharpShooter well done on handling the hecklers.

TequilaMockingBird

pikachucheeks wrote: »

Well, from my experience in my school, I wouldn't agree with that at all.
My friend was openly humiliated by one teacher, because she was dyslexic. It wasn't even accepted as being a learning difficulty, she was just goaded for being poor at spelling.
I can remember occasions where the teacher would read out paragraphs she'd written and laugh at her mistakes and mixing up of words.

Other teachers in the school just ignored the problem. The only solution given to Dyslexic pupils was to offer them an exemption from Irish, in their Leaving Certificates, if they were a severe case.

@ dolliemix, I can't afford your rose tinted specs I'm afraid. With all due respect.

I think I might have got her out of Irish - when I told her she jumped on me and hugged me.

OutlawPete

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Ignore if you're not interested.

This should be added to the charter for all threads.

Was told I was Dyslexic in my 20's.

I was a nightmare at school, hating taking stuff down off the blackboard.

People used to be flying along writing it down and I'd getting physical pressure in my head trying to figure out each word.

Reading books took and still take me yonks to read, I'll often read a page five times and not understand a word of it.

Another issue with me is mixing up words while I'm typing and writing that sound the same like "Won" and "One", "Know" and No", "Wood" and "Would".

Only on a reread that I'll noticed it.

I'd be lost if not for Spellcheck (when I remember to use it)

Formal shorts

Just a note regarding the system - I see several extremely positives comments about the current set up. What you guys might not be aware of is that allocation of special needs assistants changed very recently. Severe dyslexia used to be reason enough for an SNA. Under new rules, if the child is not a danger, they get no SNA. Similarly, where SNAs used to be assigned to a child, they are now to be assigned to the class. 1 per class max.

You could have 6 kids in your class out of 30 with dyslexia - if they are not a danger there will be no allocation of an SNA.

It's going backwards.

arybvtcw0eolkf

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

I think I might have got her out of Irish - when I told her she jumped on me and hugged me.

Legally she's except Irish, and any other language.

However because the schools simply don't have the teacher hours to excuse her completely from class she might be asked to sit in, but she won't be tested.

The dysleix association will bring you up to speed on the laws in regards to her education, she'll also be provided with a read for exam's.

Seriously I can't stress enough how helpful it was bringing my daughter over to Suffolk St.

dolliemix

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

The system didn't bend over backwards for the last 5 years I've been trying to get my child help. They recommended "reading with the child". Well, my goodness, that never crossed my mind... :rolleyes:

She was tested twice, at my insistence begging, for dyslexia. "Ummm, she may be borderline, but she's GRAND". Finally got her assessed by a psychologist today (which is akin to a lotto win) and she has severe dyslexia. The psychologist said, if she was in a job where she had struggled every day for 5 years, she would have walked out.

But that my daughter couldn't. She just had to deal with it.

Thats unusual. I've been working in education for ten years and dyslexia has always been part and parcel of the job. There are many procedures in place to make the learner with dyslexia's learning experience easier.

Your child has been diagnosed with dyslexia. It's no big deal from an educators point of view. There are plenty of people out there who have various forms of dyslexia. There are policies in place to help her.

My question is: are you asking what can be done to help her from now on in......or do you want to fire shots at the education system who didn't recognise her dyslexia at first?