Dyslexia resources?

Question

My son has recently been dx'ed with dyslexia. His school has provided him a 504, but that's it. I'm wondering why they shouldn't pay for his tutoring, or provide an appropriate tutor for him at school. We're spending tons of money on tutors, and of course I will do it for my son, but I know that schools provide services for other kids, why not mine?

Answer 1

If you are paying for tutoring be sure it is Orton-Gillingham based, such as the Herman Method.   Those programs are excellent for dyslexia.  I've seen amazing results.  Was he tested for special education at school?  If not, he should receive a full assessment even if he was tested outside of school.  If he was tested by the school district, they should give you any information you want on why he did not qualify for pull out help in a small group or for classroom support to his teacher.  Call another meeting and ask questions until you understand.  Bring someone else with you who can be impartial and support you.   These things are legal your rights as a parent and as your child's best advocate.  As the last person said, they are not going to give you a private tutor, but federal law state that he should receive a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and you can do your best to make sure that he gets it!

Answer 2

Orton Gillingham relies on a multisensory approach without a research base to support it.  (Example: tracing letters in sand or making clay letters. )  They don't recognize the critical link between spelling (encoding) and reading (decoding).  Without a doubt, people with dyslexia are poor spellers.  They don't rely on the code and need to be taught it in a very memorable way.  They rely on contextual guessing for their reading, and memorization.  Reversals are a sign of inattention to text, not a perception problem.  If they don't see trees or the sky inverted, neither do they see letters inverted.  There is much disagreement among professionals on causes and cures so just be skeptical!  

Phonics develops the understanding that English relies on an alphabetic code system where letters and combinations of letters represent the sounds embedded in the meaningful units of sound we call "words."

If your child has dyslexia, he should have an IEP.  Kids with dyslexia require accommodations to demonstrate their abilities (time extensions, tests read aloud, oral response).  They also need intensive intervention with a qualified specialist.

Answer 3

Well, I'm dyslexic and a teacher, so perhaps I can help explain. Schools are generally underfunded, they can't afford to pay for private tutoring.  Usually in schools individual tutors are only assigned to students with more severe problems like Downs syndrome or Autism. Depending on the age and severity of your son's learning disability different steps are taken.  For years I went to special classes, but was mostly (later entirely) mainstreamed.  With dyslexia many times just having the teachers understand your son's difficulty goes a long way in helping him. You'll most likely find his ability to compensate will increase and his need for additional help and tutors will decrease or disappear. It is normal for your son to be frustrated and to need additional time to complete his work. The people in his life to understand his frustrations and encourage him to continue to work hard, I promise it will pay off!