Moms Success Stories
We had a real blessing Wednesday, thanks to Bonnie Jane Peterson and Kim Reisenwitz who shared their success stories with us about mothering dyslexic daughters. When their daughters were in elementary school they had no one to help them locally.
Bonnie Jane�s daughter Christine is a Bob Jones Senior and has been accepted at all the colleges where she has applied. Bonnie Jane asked Christine what worked for her and here are Christine�s answers for her mild dyslexia:
The eye exercises DIDN�T work
The best thing was the large white board hung in her room. Christine recorded her spelling words, paused and wrote the words on the white board.
Christine was retested for dyslexia for high school. Bonnie Jane said the �label� of dyslexia is very much needed for high school. High school counselors are concerned with �compensation and coping� and if your child is compensating and coping then you get no accommodations. The re-test results were identical to her elementary initial dyslexia results, a frustrating waste of time and money. Christine�s biggest problem is the final exam scantron card testing method. The light green bubbles on those standardized tests were too difficult. When Christine was retested, allowed to circle A,B,C, or D instead of using the scantron card, she did very well.
Bonnie said to gain control of the school night; their children were allowed to ask only two questions about homework, even Christine. They had to choose those two questions. This gave them their life back, made Christine be responsible for her own work, and allowed the parents to spend time with other children
Books recommended for parents of kids with dyslexia:
Colleges with Programs for Students with Learning Difficulties or Attention Deficit Disorders- 750 College Programs published by Peterson�s Thomason Learning
And
Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope
Kim Reisenwitz�s daughter Hillary is a sophomore at Sparkman High school and is severely dyslexic. Hillary attended the Huntsville Achievement School after failing to learn to read in first and second grade in public school. Kim took Hillary to California for training in the Davis Method (The Gift of Dyslexia) and found that program and the Huntsville Achievement School worked for her daughter. Hillary returned to public school in the seventh grade.
Kim encouraged us to advocate for our children, but said she faced the decision of making enemies of the public school teachers who would work with her child (by filing a law suit) or choosing to have the people working with Hillary to be JUST apathetic instead of hostile. The move to private school was in Hillary�s best interests. Kim says dyslexia is really NOT a disability, it is ability. She told the story of Hillary�s �thinking outside the box�, when her school ballfield was wet before a game and Hillary suggested getting a child�s father, a local helicopter pilot, to bring his helicopter and sit on the field to blow it dry. It worked!
Both mothers said we need to emphasize our children�s strengths, and not dwell on the weaknesses. Both girls are very talented in creativity and their directional abilities are exception. Celebrate those kinds of strengths in your own children, they told us.
We thank Kim and Bonnie for their very candid sharing of their stories. It is encouraging to hear that our kids can make it to high school and to college, and that we have more resources now that can help us in our efforts to advocate for our children.
Our meeting went on an extra half hour and we thank them for giving of their time so generously.