The dog is happy. His friends are back in the farmers field. And yes I still haven’t moved the shovel from last months gardening. And yes I still haven’t removed the two old Catherine Wheel fireworks from the fence. Wonder what the Guinness Book of Records listing is for the most old Catherine Wheels on a Yorkshire Garden Fence is.

Last night we had been talking football. Namely clubs which go out of business. Son was struggling with the economics of the process.

Dad. Basically with the billions and billions of pounds generated by football how can a great club like Bury be allowed to go out of business. It’s the economics of the madhouse. The rich get richer the poor get poorer.

Can’t disagree with him. Football is just a reflection of our society. Someone bleeds an asset dry then discards it. The person with money moves on leaving a scene of desolation behind for others to live with.

Dad which other clubs have gone out of business. Don’t worry Dad I will google it. How do you spell business.

Within a couple of minutes son is doing a pretty awesome job of reading out an article. Yes he was getting some of the words wrong. He had to ask me to read some words like ‘Maidstone’ and ‘Aldershot’. But I understood fully what was in the article.

He’s found a way of getting by. He can now read pretty accurately about a third of the words. Another third he can get part of the word correct which allows him to guess the rest of the word. And as long as he understands what the subject of the text is then he can guess the remaining words – fill in the blanks. It works. In his eyes he’s moved from can’t read to can ‘sorta’ read.

I fully realise that he is unlikely to have enough trust in the people around him in the classroom to demonstrate this at school. The teachers won’t have the flexibility to exploit this educational opening. But at least now rather than just guessing what text means he can have an educated guess. Even that will help his self esteem. It’s progress. Self achieved progress.

62 thoughts on “Dyslexia we are on your case”

  2. The biggest motivator for learning (to read) is what your some has in abundance. He is keen to find answers to things he is wondering about. I would say he reads better than “sort of” because he’s able to find answers to his questions. As a dad just keep watering his curiousity.

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  5. If he can read well enough to get the meaning then he’s doing better than “sorta”, he’s reading!
    How many of us skim over articles, skipping words, just going for the gist?
    His curiosity and your encouragement are all that’s needed.
    Awesome!👍

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  6. It just struck me, with all the discussion and pondering about homeschooling, you’re actually doing it! The trips, the discussions, the reading together, the movies, even the concerts – they’re not just activities your son has to navigate by himself; you’re right there with him, more than many parents. You’re engaging him, guiding him, yet giving him all the space he needs to learn and to develop himself.

    That’s why you’re so tired. You’re actually homeschooling your boy.

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  8. Gary, I see this as absolutely fantastic. And I agree with the others. It’s more than “sorta.” He’s reading. He can look at the text and see what it is saying, and read it out and make himself understood. That is GREAT. And YOU are great too. So tiring, I know, but it’s working. Thinking of you Gary at this very difficult time of the year. Hugs. Xxxx

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      1. Yes. I completely understand that. It can be a hard balancing act but you seem to be dling admirably. Your son is jyst one great kid and you are just one great Dad. It’s cal,ed live. Real love xxxx

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  11. I had yet more proof (as if any were still needed) of the insanity of this world’s economic mis-management when i read this week that Rory McIlroy made US$15,000,000 for playing just 4 consecutive rounds of golf over 4 days at the Fed Ex Cup. Even the 10th place getter made $250,000 per DAY!?

    Poor Lewis Hamilton only gets $57,000,000 for 18 weekends of high speed driving in his Mercedes F1 car, plus the odd bit of sponsor’s promotional appearances. Let’s not think about the sponsorship fees he commands on top of that, huh?

    Has your son’s I-pad been tailored so as to show dyslexic-friendly fonts? And does he have any reading apps that can help him with spelling and/or word recognition? There must be many about these days and might benefit him greatly, although what the two of you have already achieved and overcome is outstanding! 🙂

    Sadly though, this world definitely favours those with great hand-to eye co-ordination at the moment – which probably explains why Bury are closing down?? 😉

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      1. Yeah – i had a look myself and the trend is strongly towards those just beginning in school. 😦

        There are some though – and i’m certain more will come as awareness spreads. It can make life awkward for adults as well as for kids. 🙂

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      7. Quite correct – they were both saying those complaining they had it tough just needed to work (more) to get what they want.

        They’re hardly leading by example are they?

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  12. Wonderful. He’s way too smart a boy NOT to get there. As for ‘The rich get richer the poor get poorer.’? Bojo will be hiring him for his own ‘sincere’ taglines which will be seized upon and touted as brilliant by the Daily Express. Seriously this is good to read today.

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  16. Congrats to your son!!! Also apparently (I read it I am a great reader of things) our brains actually do not read a whole word. We predict based on subject and letters. Some words all we see are the first and last and somehow our brains makes sense of that. Personally I think that is pretty cool. Brain decides which is important and which is not. (And yes I am personalizing Brain into a happy go lucky person lol) It also explains why sometimes though sentences I have read make no sense until I go back and read again. (Read is a really complex word isn’t it?) 🙂

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  19. Print this post, stick it to your fridge door because you just unlocked the secret!
    Your son made progress using discovery learning and self-directed learning, because he was in the driving seat, in charge of what and how he wanted to learn. Now find another question or topic he loves and repeat. Oh, most of all, focus on any words he gets right, let some mistakes slide, positive focus = progress and keep doing what you do with every post…make it a fun time!

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