Have you ever wondered what it is that makes learning to read difficult for some children? I mean really sat down and had a good hard think about it?
I know I have.
As I write, I think back to the days my child spent at school struggling in the classroom, unable to learn and the valuable time lost in education. The moments of pure frustration of his situation and the way it made him feel. The impact that learning difficulties had on him and the rest of the family – could it have all be prevented?.
At that time, it was not something I had answers for.
The prognosis that he may never learn to read, weighed heavily on my mind. I challenged the very thought of it with every ounce of my being. I stood firm in my belief that just because it was said, didn’t mean it was true.
In saying that I wasn’t challenging my son’s teachers or specialists. I held them all in the highest regard and am so thankful for their involvement in our journey. I respected the years of training and wisdom they could bring to the table. We were all in this together and moving toward a common goal.
I spent a lot of time, sitting with him and patiently working with him. Thinking about his difficulties and trying in earnest to bridge the elusive gaps in his learning. Doing my own research to try and make sense of it all.
If you asked my family, they’d likely say I’d become obsessed with finding the answer. I like to think of it as the power of hyper-focused intention. You see for me the need to change became far greater than the comfort of staying the same. After all, my son’s future depended on it.
At first it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I questioned, observed and documented what I saw to try and make sense of why it was so hard for him.
With every new moment of understanding came the question ‘But why?.’
As I began to peel back the layers, I came to realise the break in the learning chain was far deeper than what I understood learning difficulties to be. Perhaps the problem was not so much a learning to read problem, but had more to do with the way his mind processes and transfers information to the long term memory.
This was our turning point and it changed everything!
