Mohave Edu

I’ll try and keep this to the point.
Im from Ireland and 3 years ago my son was diagnosed with "Severe Dyslexia". I got to grips with it and myself and the school gave him a lot of support, encouraging him and supporting him through his work. I didnt tell him until a short while ago he was dyslexic, it was my choice and i stand by it. Now yesterday he had a review. I was told he was now "Mild Dyslexic", he had jumped up by 2 whole levels. Yes this is great news but im sceptical, i dont doubt my son is very very clever and good, the teacher tells me he’s very giddy in class. But my son knew he was having this assessment yesterday and outdid himself on purpose. I dont know if its a true reflection of his achievements or just trying extremely hard, now one of the things with having dyslexia in Ireland is he can be exempt from learning the Irish language. Its a very tough language and no we’re not fluent in it, its like learning french to us cos we speak English. Everytime in the last 3 years i asked the teacher about him giving Irish up she said we’ll just keep it going for another while. Now with yesterdays report he’s still dyslexic but now TOO GOOD to give it up. I feel cheated now, as i know for a fact he is going to struggle with this language and now he wont be exempt from doing other languages either. Its a catch 22 for me. Do you think i would be able to get a private test done on him or a second opinion. I really want him exempt from Irish now and he really does himself. I feel we kept to our side of the bargain by not dropping it too hastily but always felt i was led to believe he could some day. Now his 1st report is obselete and yesterdays report stands. If we wanted to be exempt last year there wouldnt have been a problem. I spoke to the principle yesterday but got nowhere, She kinda smiled and said "sorry but he’s too good to give up Irish but he’s dyslexic". I feel tricked and like my back is up against the wall. The worst part is the principle openly admitted to me before he had his assessment yesterday she told the assessor "you’ll probably think he great, cos he’s good on one to one but in class its a different story" NOT FAIR!!!! And not very nice if you ask me.

You must feel betrayed, and are a bit. I doubt they did it on purpose, but you never know.

Learning another language is very good for people, especially when they are young, the younger the better. It will slow progress in the languages being learned but they are overall learning more language.We’ve got a lof of children here who speak Spanish and are learning English. It’s a struggle but in the end they are better off. Spanish and English are a lot more closely related than English and Irish are, so it’s not as much of a stretch and I’m talking about children with no special learning challenges. Still, on the bright side, it is good for his brain to be learning Irish and that may actually have something to do with why his Dyslexia is improving. It’s all neurology and programming the brain. Learning multiple languages forces the brain to think more deeply about the structure of language, it can’t just rule out all non-first language as wrong, it has to integrate two sets of right and wrong.

All that said, by 10 the neurological benefits of learnig multiple languages are a lot less than they were when he was 4. He’s had the bulk of the rewiring help he’s going to have, though another year wouldn’t be bad. I wonder if an Neurologist would be able to write a letter to your school explaining that it’s in your son’s best interst to now drop the Irish?

Now that he’s having to learn more and more complex things and school is getting a lot more challenging that kind of complexity is probably a distraction and is interferring. The thing that probably helped him overcome some of his dyslexia is now becoming a problem that will hold him back. The school knows this, they just aren’t thinking clearly. Kids go through a major developmental shift at around 9. That’s why education in the UK is traditionally so different before that age. Charlotte Mason developed a lot of the philosophy still being followed and she advocated for a lot of freedom and natural experience before 9, then buckling down and working hard after that. Dropping Irish now for your son fits very well into this model of education, and they should know this. You might just have to remind them.

I do think a private opinion would be your best option. See the Pediatric Neurologist and the Developmental Psychologist if you can. I wish we had public health care here! Here in the US it’s only the lucky few who have insurance that’ll pay for that kind of thing.

When you do talk to them, remind them how things change at this age. Let them know, you know. Help them think through the timing of this in those terms. I bet they’ll come around.

when a student has need for specialized instruction – the expectation is that with support, instruction on strategies they will improve.They are not ‘cured’ they just are at a level where they have learned to cope or work around their disability more functionally.

This is a VERY GOOD thing for his future – strategies work.It may make things a bit more inconvenient right now for you but in the end it is better for him.

BTW I agree with telling a student if they have a disability.Many time parents hide it but the child knows there is something not right – so you can only imagine what they think it might be – far better to tell them so they know that it’s fine – they’ll live – they’ll get help.

Good luck to you.