The Gift of Dyslexia

On Tuesday evening we sat down with Lilia's former kindergarten teacher as we went over the test results. As she talked through page after page of her findings she read her conclusion, "Lilia has dyslexia." Mrs. Sanchez gently held my hand as the tears flooded my eyes. She had walked through this twice already with both of her sons. She told me that this evening was part of the healing process for her. She then talked through what incredible changes would happen in the classroom for Lilia, and how cared for she will be. She added that if Lilia had not gone through the
"fundations" program at The City School (a way to teach phonics and reading) then she would be far worse off.

Dyslexia is a language processing problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with your IQ. It's hereditary. Most people's brains have one side that is 10% smaller than the other. For someone with dyslexia, both sides of the brain are the same size. They are also right-side dominant. They learn best through concrete things that use the five-senses. They have a difficult time with abstract concepts.
Lilia is very gifted verbally. She can have an adult conversation with you very easily. However the disconnect comes with writing that down on paper. She has trouble with spelling, writing and sequencing. Her testing showed she is still unsure of the order of the days of the week and does not know the months of the year, let alone in order. She has a very difficult time copying thing off the board too. However, give her a book about animals and she can retain so much of that information and tell you (very passionately) all about sharks, or whatever she is reading.

Since we moved to Philadelphia in September of 2009 I had been praying where Lilia should go to school. God made it abundantly clear that He wanted her at The City School. As I look back over His perfect Sovereignty I am blown away. If she had not been through the "fundations" program she would have been far worse. Even the story of how we learned about her dyslexia can only point to an incredible God who cares so deeply for my daughter. Here's the story...
At the end of 1st grade a letter went home that Lilia would be re-enrolled in Phonics help. Being an elementary-ed major and a natural teacher I called the school to see what I could do to help over the summer. I never got a call back (not typical, but all part of God's plan).
Sometime in July we were all at the King of Prussia mall (largest mall in the country) and we ran into a teacher from Lilia's school, Miss Evans. Miss Evans' new role at the school is to be a bridge between teachers and kids with learning disabilities. She gave me her number and we later got together to discuss Lilia's trouble with phonics. She gave me some invaluable tips to help Lilia with phonics. She also told me how Mrs. Sanchez had just finished a dyslexia grad class. My interest was peaked because Lilia still had trouble with the direction of "b,d,p,q, and 9". We met with Mrs. Sanchez and she did some testing on Lilia.
Now - what are the odds of us running into Miss Evan at the KOP mall? What are the odds of the timing of Mrs. Sanchez taking this class? Very, very, very slim! God is so good! He is always in control!
I recently learned (about a week after I wrote this story) that The City School uses the Wilson Program to teach  reading, writing and phonics. "Fundations" is one of the pieces under the umbrella of Wilson. They are the ONLY school in Philly to use this program. (Most schools only use it as an intervention.) What's even more amazing is that the Wilson Program was made for kids with dyslexia! Now read that again. Can you believe it! God made it abundantly clear that He wanted her at the City School. Wow. Wow.

Today we explained to Lilia (I think we did a good job) about her dyslexia. She is excited about it. We watched a video explaining it a bit and talking about famous people with dyslexia - Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Piccaso, John Lennon, etc. A full list can be found here. Lilia wants to tell everyone about her dyslexia! Praise God that she sees it as a gift, because it is! People with dyslexia are gifted. One young girl gave a Ted talk. She said, "Find out what your strengths are and pursue them." Many CEO's are dyslexic.
I'm so thankful that we found out early. I see dyslexia as a gift for her. If she wants to go to vet school, she's going to have to work really, really hard. She's going to need grit. Dyslexia will give her the grit she needs to pursue whatever it is God has for her. Here's a short Ted talk about why grit is so important to succeed. I love the ways God has gifted her! Plus, who needs to know how to spell now-a-days? Every piece of technology has spell check!