How Do I Talk to My 8 Year Old Son About Dyslexia?

I think the way to put it is "sometimes your brain doesnt see words right and this special class will help you teach your brain what to do with the letters on the paper in front of you." Everyone is different. There is noting WRONG with people with blue eyes, even thought most have brown. You cannot help it, it is nothing you did wrong, but we need to help your brain understand things better. The teacher of that class or a counselor or the reading specialist may have suggestions on this too.
Good luck! I am glad he is getting help so early

Hi C., just tell him he learns differently, his brain interprets letters and numbers differently. Just like the other poster said, there's nothing wrong with him, he just sees things differently. It's great that you found out so early so he can be taught the best way for him to learn.

I have sons 24, 20 and 8 with Dyslexia. Explain to him about dyslexia and always be possitive. This class is very important and will help him to re-learn in a way that he will become successful with reading and writing.

He will probably always have questions or comments about his being dyslexic even thru high school, mine did. They each had to learn how to study in a way that would help each of them and always had to study even more than their friends to retain information... My older sons had accommodations in college also which they needed.

Your son can become successful with reading and it will be much easier for him with this special class. He must always remember what he was taught and put these rules into place when learning though. Our children are so lucky that we have great teachers and testing for them to make their lives easier. They will be dyslexic the rest of their lives so with this diagnosis and help they will do much better than not.

Good luck and always stay possitive for him.

We told him something similar to the below. Most peoples brains are wired similar but some peoples brains are wired a little differently. Kinda like lefties and righties. Most of us are righties but there are a few who are lefties. They can still write it just takes a bit longer to learn. And the world is pretty much for righties with books, etc. So they sometimes have to have some special things to help them get along in a righty world. SInce his brother is a lefty it made since, because he can see that we sometimes do things a little different for him to accomodate his lefti-ness with spiral notebooks facing the opposite way etc.
We also told him that it is like traveling. There are so many ways to get to Dallas. Most people go, say, along I-20 or I-30, but his brain is wired to take all the back country roads. Most learning styles are for the people that take the main routes. Now that we know he takes the back roads we have made learning to suit his style. It may take a little longer to get there but you end up at the same place. The scenery may be better also, and taking the main routes you may miss some things along the way.
We have stressed that it is genetics and hereditary, that there is nothing wrong, simply different. He is strong in other areas that his brother isn't. That book work is great but common sense and mechanical ability are also important. That many great thinkers were dyslexic, and that caused them to see issues and problems in a new way that regular thinkers could not, because they took a different route along the map. I think it is in how you approach the subject. We expect him to do the same amount of work in school and to try his best no matter the subject or grade. But he understands that some things don't come easy that others seem to whiz through. He is 13 and doing great! We also wait for him to mature before handling some subjects, until his brain can handle them. But we also home-school so can do those types of things. He has made great leaps in reading in the past 3 years and is on grade level in everything except Math but is only a little behind to the high-end of the grade behind to the low end of the current grade. He does excel in geometry and algebra because of his unique way of seeing things. And is extremely mechanically inclined. He can fiddle and fix everything around the house when dad isn't here.
Good luck,
L.

Hi C.,

I know you posted this some time ago - but I was hoping I could still help.

I own The Cerebellum Center which offers the DORE program. DORE was developed for dyslexic children and also treats ADHD and other learning difficulties as well! It is a remarkable program and I have seen so many children thrive after being on the program.

DORE does not tutor or teach coping strategies. It treats the root cause of so many of these issues by allowing greater control over the eyes so that proper focus can be maintained, it improved memory so that phonetic rules can be properly stored and retrieved when needed and it does so much more.

Please go to Youtube and search DORE to watch testimonial from children who have completed the program. Then go to www.dore.co.uk to learn more and answer questions to find out if this program can help your child.

Please contact me with any questions you have www.cerebellumcenter.com ###-###-####.

Best wishes!
S.

I just thought I would give you this little information that might help a little to talk to your child when explaining dyslexic

With accurate diagnosis and appropriate help, a dyslexic person can live a rewarding life and enjoy a successful career. There are thousands of examples of well-known dyslexic people who have achieved this, including

1.Tom Cruise
2. Cher
3. Walter Elias (Mr. Walt Disney)
4.Thomas Edison (Inventor and Business Man)
5. Nelson Rockefellor (41st Vice President)
6.Pablo Picasso
7. Winston Churchill
8.Alexander Graham Bell ( founder of the telephone)
9. Henry Ford
10. Whoopi Goldberg
11. Thomas Jefferson (3rd President)
12. John F Kennedy
13. George Washington

Ok I might have gone way out there with this. But maybe when he is feeling down when he understands about this more you can tell him

Hey look at all these presidents ,,, If they can do it you can too!!!!

Take Care

C.,
Your son will probably be relieved to know that there's a reason he can't read like other kids and there's a way to correct the problem. He's old enough to have noticed and I'm sure he's thought about it.

So do like the other posters said and just tell him what it is, explain the plan and tell him it will help him read like everyone else.

If you make a big deal out of it or feel bad or keep back information from him, he'll figure it out and it'll backfire on you.

However, no kid likes to be "special", I know I have one with Asperger's and he did not like being pulled out of class,.... so try to put it in a positive light and tell him he won't have to go forever. No one will know why he's being pulled out... no one will care and he won't miss any of the fun stuff in class.