I am dyslexic AMA | Imamother

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:03 pm

Ask away.

Mommyg8

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:05 pm

How were you diagnosed?

And more important, how are you able to be on imamother ? (I have a dyslexic relative and I know there's zero chance that she's on here Sad

ecs

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:09 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

How were you diagnosed?

And more important, how are you able to be on imamother ? (I have a dyslexic relative and I know there's zero chance that she's on here Sad

My dyslexic daughter bh reads and writes very well! It was a tough long haul but the ortan-gillingham method was a lifesaver.

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:11 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

How were you diagnosed?

And more important, how are you able to be on imamother ? (I have a dyslexic relative and I know there's zero chance that she's on here Sad

As a child. Evaluation.

At this point it's what they call "functional dyslexia"
Spell check is my friend.
It is often extrmely frustrating irl, because dyslexia often comes with a sort of a 'apraxia'. And I can have a hard time articulating my thoughts and feelings.

My kids think it's hilarious when I tell them to get me the milk from the dryer. Confused

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:12 pm

ecs wrote:

My dyslexic daughter bh reads and writes very well! It was a tough long haul but the ortan-gillingham method was a lifesaver.

Good for her!! How old is she?

Mommyg8

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:12 pm

ecs wrote:

My dyslexic daughter bh reads and writes very well! It was a tough long haul but the ortan-gillingham method was a lifesaver.

It seems there are different levels of dyslexia.

What about spelling? I understand this to be a challenge with dyslexics.

groisamomma

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:13 pm

How in the world did you manage in a classroom for so many years?

Was school frustrating for you or did they give you support?

Do you see any of these traits in your own kids and if yes, does it scare you?

Did your dh know before you got married?

Can you work in a position where you need to be able to read and write? Does it affect your ability to work?

How does it affect your ability to interact with people irl? I would never have guessed it from your posts here.

Sorry so many questions. Feel free to skip any.

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:14 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

It seems there are different levels of dyslexia.

What about spelling? I understand this to be a challenge with dyslexics.

Spelling was a huge challange. I still ask my husband how to spell yiddish words. Hebrew, forget it. Lol.

My spelling for English is actually pretty good. I worked hard at it, read a lot and I'm actually a very very fast (english) reader these days.....
And with English there is always the trusted spell check!

ecs

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:15 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

It seems there are different levels of dyslexia.

What about spelling? I understand this to be a challenge with dyslexics.

There are absolutely levels of dyslexia. Spelling is a challenge.

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:30 pm

groisamomma wrote:

How in the world did you manage in a classroom for so many years?

I memorized a LOT. like my passuk in tehillim, I'd prepare in advance. My sister would read it to me and I'd memorize it.
Davening and other stuff I knew by heart.
Some simple words I could make out. Real testing (as in school work test not evaluation - testing) didn't start till around 4th grade and so Noone was the wiser.
I was always better in english. With lots of self practice and a good memory I could read, or more guess what the next sentence was supposed to be in English by making out one or two words but every single word was a huge struggle.
I knew my alef bais ok. But that's where it ended. Shin-siun, is still the same to me.

Was school frustrating for you or did they give you support?

It was beyond frustrating and humiliating. But I didn't tell anyone and refused to cooperate. So no one knew. Back in those days....

Do you see any of these traits in your own kids and if yes, does it scare you?

I don't. Bh. My husband is very good at languages and an avid reader in English yiddish and Hebrew. I'm hoping our kids take after him.
It honestly does scare me.
I'm very on top of my 5 yo. But she seams to be doing great.

Did your dh know before you got married?

No. He still doesn't.
I mean, he knows I struggle with tehilim and Hebrew and I keep asking him for spelling. But not like officially dyslexia. It never came up. It isn't really a "thing".

Can you work in a position where you need to be able to read and write? Does it affect your ability to work?

Bh it does not. I'm actually great at writing proffesional letters, emails and stuff.
poems. I'm the go to person in my family for creative writing. It does not affect my work. As it is all in english. What I'm missing is easily compensated these day with technology, an easy personality and a good memory bh. Also, when I worked full time, I needed a lot more poeples skills, and confidence than anything.

How does it affect your ability to interact with people irl? I would never have guessed it from your posts here.

At this point it doesn't affect me that much.
I'm weird sometimes with the things my mouth says, and they don't necessarily match what my brain was thinking of saying, but it makes for a good laugh.
But I do tend to ramble when asked to express myself (I often just keep things to myself and only share with those who get me with just a few words) because at times, it is hard to articulate my thoughts and feelings in a timely manner.

Sorry so many questions. Feel free to skip any.

No p. By posting I was opening myself up to all these questions. And I can always choose to ignore.

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:31 pm

ecs wrote:

There are absolutely levels of dyslexia. Spelling is a challenge.

Agree.

There is also different factors to it.

kiddo

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 7:47 pm

My 5 th grade daughter is dyslexic also diagnosed through an educational evaluation , and she has same issue with language as you describe as well, my heart breaks for her as I see her struggle through her hardships in school, she’s getting a lot of help And I keep on telling her not to take things too seriously, any tips how I could help her get through the school system from your experience?

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 8:06 pm

kiddo wrote:

5th grade is a tough age.
Give her as much support as as you can.
Work with her teachers to bring out her other talents. To boost her confidence. It'll help her push through.

There are some really good skills I probably wouldn't have had I not been dyslexic. Specifically out of the box problem solving. Every challange in life can be a stepping stone. (Saying this with a fall heart. Having had challenges much more difficult than dyslexia.) Try find the good within this challange.

Trying to find humor in her struggles in a sensitive way can be a great stress release.

Getting her art and music lessons or other nonverbal ways of expression can help with her emotions. And as a dyslexic with articulation and verbal self expression hardships, and starting puberty, there are LOTS of emotions to express.

Finally, reading and writing isn't the end all be all. It IS big. But who she is, it a lot more important.
Make sure she knows everyone comes out the other side eventually.

And lots of hugs, "I belive in you" and "outta girl!!"s

ecs

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 8:16 pm

Tzutzie wrote:

Good for her!! How old is she?

she is 13. 8th grade. A lot of what you are writing strikes close to home! I admire your willingness to open up about this deeply personal experience. I hope my daughter is comfortable enough to talk about it one day.

Tzutzie

Sun, Nov 04 2018, 8:26 pm

ecs wrote:

I hope so to. It took a long time.
Iyh one day she'll be comfortable and content with who she is. Warts and all. Lol.
She should be extremely proud of herself.

kiddo

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 3:45 am

Absolutely, your an example and I deeply appreciate your openness, it shows that there is total self acceptenace of who you are and your challenges.
Def, as you say the out of the box thinking and survival skills developed as a result of the challenge is amazing , she is my most dependable, street smart, helpful and humorous kid... challenge is to keep it this way as school is only getting tougher!
Spelling is a huge challenge and again affects so many other areas since note taking is very challenging and so it spills over into every area of academics! I wish I could give her lessons, but it’s sorta outta the question financially at this time... Sad

I admire and respect you tremendously , thanks for sharing! Give me chizzuk to continue!

kiddo

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 3:46 am

ecs wrote:

My dyslexic daughter bh reads and writes very well! It was a tough long haul but the ortan-gillingham method was a lifesaver.

It was already? And she’s in 8th grade only?? Good for you

cbsdbs

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 5:31 am

At what age did you know that you have dyslexia? What was your reaction to your diagnosis? Do you have dyslexia in just the English language?

Pooh

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 6:57 am

Ever heard of or tried the Davis method for dyslexia?
https://www.davismethod.org

Tzutzie

Mon, Nov 05 2018, 7:45 am

cbsdbs wrote:

At what age did you know that you have dyslexia? What was your reaction to your diagnosis? Do you have dyslexia in just the English language?

I honesty don't remember. Around grade 4 or 5.
Back in the day.... I wasn't very much part of the process. I heard the word thrown around and then spoken about my dyslexia but I was never formally informed, although I was formally diagnosed.

How I feel?
I felt different and questioned my "normality" all my years of school. Especially when I was sent to the recources room and there were kids with genetic / chromosome issues, including DS there together with me. It didn't help that I had a "unibrow" and some other interesting nontypical features. I did not look like he typical Ashkenazi/Sephardic girl. More like asian. So that added to not feeling "normal".

(Although I was the fastest and best at math in my class all throughout my school years. Somehow numbers made sense)

English is my best language actually. Yiddish is ok. Hebrew is terrible. I'mprobably at a second grade level.