What to Look Out For
An excerpt from the article in Heralds Pictorial Coloroto Magazine, November 9, 1975, “Dyslexia: what can be done if your child suffers from it,” by Warren R. Young
The parents of a child who is suspected of having some of the symptoms of dyslexia, particularly if relatives have similar problems, should seek professional help. Look out for: persistent spelling errors, reading failure or difficulty, reversal or inversion of letters or reversed sequence of letters in words, continued uncertainty as to right or left handedness, badly cramped or illegible handwriting, confusion about directions in time or space, delayed or inadequate spoken language, inadequate written composition and personal disorganization.
If a child seems to fit the category, parents should talk to his teacher, school psychologist and learning disabilities specialist. A child definitely diagnosed as a dyslexic will probably need careful one-to-one tutoring for at least one hour a day for up to three years. Helpful summer camps for dyslexics also exist. But parents should avoid signing up for any remedial help -- especially any non-tutoring scheme -- without getting trustworthy expert advice.
The best encouragement of all is sometimes that given by one dyslexic to another. Mrs. Gail Duane, now the wife of a Mayo Clinic neurologist, and herself Consultant Planner for Rochester, Normandale and Metropolitan Community Colleges in Minnesota (which means she works with dyslexics) is a dyslexic who has overcome most of her difficulties through training (she still cannot balance a checkbook or drive to the supermarket without getting lost). As a college student, she recalls, she was taking a mathematics course from a well-known teacher: Professor Albert Einstein, After struggling through a particularly tough lecture, she went up to Einstein after class with shame-faced shyness and told him she had better drop the course. “Oh, don’t let all those things worry you,” he reassured her with the understanding that only another dyslexic can truly have, as he indicated the blackboard which his assistants had covered with high-flown formulas. “You see, I don’t understand them either.”
If you suspect dyslexia may be what’s hindering you child’s progress in school -- or that it threatens the future success of a preschooler -- talk with your child’s teacher, school psychologist and learning -- disabilities specialist (if your school has one) -- or kindergarten teacher and pediatrician -- as soon as possible.
Request them to give your child a full battery of the tests that will make sure. The earlier the diagnosis, the easier and more effective will be the required remedial tutoring. If your school cannot help, private tests can be arranged. A complete initial test series may cost up to $175 (sometimes less if available at a hospital or clinic).
If your child is definitely diagnosed as a dyslexic, he or she will probably need careful one-to-one tutoring for at least one hour a day for one to three years. If your school does not have such a remedial program, private tutoring will be required.
The parents of a child who is suspected of having some of the symptoms of dyslexia, particularly if relatives have similar problems, should seek professional help. Look out for: persistent spelling errors, reading failure or difficulty, reversal or inversion of letters or reversed sequence of letters in words, continued uncertainty as to right or left handedness, badly cramped or illegible handwriting, confusion about directions in time or space, delayed or inadequate spoken language, inadequate written composition and personal disorganization.
If a child seems to fit the category, parents should talk to his teacher, school psychologist and learning disabilities specialist. A child definitely diagnosed as a dyslexic will probably need careful one-to-one tutoring for at least one hour a day for up to three years. Helpful summer camps for dyslexics also exist. But parents should avoid signing up for any remedial help -- especially any non-tutoring scheme -- without getting trustworthy expert advice.
The best encouragement of all is sometimes that given by one dyslexic to another. Mrs. Gail Duane, now the wife of a Mayo Clinic neurologist, and herself Consultant Planner for Rochester, Normandale and Metropolitan Community Colleges in Minnesota (which means she works with dyslexics) is a dyslexic who has overcome most of her difficulties through training (she still cannot balance a checkbook or drive to the supermarket without getting lost). As a college student, she recalls, she was taking a mathematics course from a well-known teacher: Professor Albert Einstein, After struggling through a particularly tough lecture, she went up to Einstein after class with shame-faced shyness and told him she had better drop the course. “Oh, don’t let all those things worry you,” he reassured her with the understanding that only another dyslexic can truly have, as he indicated the blackboard which his assistants had covered with high-flown formulas. “You see, I don’t understand them either.”
If you suspect dyslexia may be what’s hindering you child’s progress in school -- or that it threatens the future success of a preschooler -- talk with your child’s teacher, school psychologist and learning -- disabilities specialist (if your school has one) -- or kindergarten teacher and pediatrician -- as soon as possible.
Request them to give your child a full battery of the tests that will make sure. The earlier the diagnosis, the easier and more effective will be the required remedial tutoring. If your school cannot help, private tests can be arranged. A complete initial test series may cost up to $175 (sometimes less if available at a hospital or clinic).
If your child is definitely diagnosed as a dyslexic, he or she will probably need careful one-to-one tutoring for at least one hour a day for one to three years. If your school does not have such a remedial program, private tutoring will be required.