As many of you know my daughter Kitten2 has severe dyslexia. We aren't talking switching a few words around. We are talking inability to read and write. At all.
Her father and I have paid for private tutors for her since 2nd grade. We have had specialists, perhaps the best in the world since Landmark College (the only college for students with learning disabilities, and the most expensive college in the US) is nearby. Working together Kitten2 and her tutors have done wonders, but she still can't read well - yet she is reading (this was declared an impossibility by some of the people that tested her early on). Writing has proven the hardest nut to crack. She just never been able to write anything.
Along the way we have insisted that she be treated like any other student. We had her in a private school that exposed the children to wonderful literature at an early age. By middle school the pace of reading was quite fast, but I read and read and read to her. Books on tape were ok for some work, but reading out loud is still the best (for note taking and explainations). She would spend much more time on homework than the other kids, but she never slacked.
All this is leading up to what a woo would claim is a miracle.
She can now write.
Not just write a sentence.
She can WRITE.
This Fall, such a short time ago, we hired a tutor that is a college professor at Landmark College. She started to train Kitten2 intensively on DragonSpeak and other computer technology. Before when we tried Dragonspeak it would not work with Kitten2's accent. But now, thank you once again technology geeks, it works much better.
It should be noted that once a week we do tutoring at Landmark college so that Kitten2 will be in an environment with learning disabled kids going to college. The rest of the tutorials are at our home.
Last Friday the tutor called me into her office at the college at the end of the tutorial. She had Kitten2 read me a short paragraph she had written in 15 mintues.
She can write.
In fact, the tutor (and I agree) said "She can not only write, she is a gifted writer."
It was good, no it was excellent. It was entertaining, it was descriptive, it had just that little something that made you go, "wow, that was good, I wish there was more."
Imagine that you never had the ability to do those "Our Friend the Sun" or "If I were at the First Thanksgiving" types of writing that first and second graders do. Imagine you had only dictated reports to your mother or tutor, a slow process that does not encourage creativity. She is at step one in writing on her own. But now she can write. And to our shock and amazement, she can not only write, she is a writer.
I want to go personally to thank every computer person that developed the equipment and programs that have enabled so many people that had no voice before to now have one. To be able to function in our very literate world. For Kitten2, and for all of us, it is as amazing as if she had stood up from a wheelchair and began to walk.
It isn't a miracle. It's what MANKIND can do! When we as a species put our brains to good use, it's wonderful the good that follows.
She's not cured. She will never be cured. But now she has shown us a voice that was inside of her, that no one ever knew was there.
Her father and I have paid for private tutors for her since 2nd grade. We have had specialists, perhaps the best in the world since Landmark College (the only college for students with learning disabilities, and the most expensive college in the US) is nearby. Working together Kitten2 and her tutors have done wonders, but she still can't read well - yet she is reading (this was declared an impossibility by some of the people that tested her early on). Writing has proven the hardest nut to crack. She just never been able to write anything.
Along the way we have insisted that she be treated like any other student. We had her in a private school that exposed the children to wonderful literature at an early age. By middle school the pace of reading was quite fast, but I read and read and read to her. Books on tape were ok for some work, but reading out loud is still the best (for note taking and explainations). She would spend much more time on homework than the other kids, but she never slacked.
All this is leading up to what a woo would claim is a miracle.
She can now write.
Not just write a sentence.
She can WRITE.
This Fall, such a short time ago, we hired a tutor that is a college professor at Landmark College. She started to train Kitten2 intensively on DragonSpeak and other computer technology. Before when we tried Dragonspeak it would not work with Kitten2's accent. But now, thank you once again technology geeks, it works much better.
It should be noted that once a week we do tutoring at Landmark college so that Kitten2 will be in an environment with learning disabled kids going to college. The rest of the tutorials are at our home.
Last Friday the tutor called me into her office at the college at the end of the tutorial. She had Kitten2 read me a short paragraph she had written in 15 mintues.
She can write.
In fact, the tutor (and I agree) said "She can not only write, she is a gifted writer."
It was good, no it was excellent. It was entertaining, it was descriptive, it had just that little something that made you go, "wow, that was good, I wish there was more."
Imagine that you never had the ability to do those "Our Friend the Sun" or "If I were at the First Thanksgiving" types of writing that first and second graders do. Imagine you had only dictated reports to your mother or tutor, a slow process that does not encourage creativity. She is at step one in writing on her own. But now she can write. And to our shock and amazement, she can not only write, she is a writer.
I want to go personally to thank every computer person that developed the equipment and programs that have enabled so many people that had no voice before to now have one. To be able to function in our very literate world. For Kitten2, and for all of us, it is as amazing as if she had stood up from a wheelchair and began to walk.
It isn't a miracle. It's what MANKIND can do! When we as a species put our brains to good use, it's wonderful the good that follows.
She's not cured. She will never be cured. But now she has shown us a voice that was inside of her, that no one ever knew was there.
At the end of this year I'll have my M.Ed in special needs. And your story is why people need to know about kids like Kitten2.
