When we found out our daughter’s diagnosis, we didn’t think it would change much. We thought school things would change and obviously reading would be harder, but that would be it. We soon realized we were wrong.
I immediately started reading and researching all I could about dyslexia. I really didn’t know a lot about it. I thought it was only switching numbers and letters around. Switching twenty-one to twelve and b and d. I was very wrong.
We, as parents, had to learn to let some things go. Spelling was no longer something we were going to push for her. She was going to have to rely on spellcheck for the rest of her life probably and that’s ok. We learned that reading isn’t just with your eyes. She wasn’t going to get the most from audiobooks. That way she could hear the story and not have to worry as much about the letters and words on the page.
For my husband, it also meant that he would start to see similar issues he had and that maybe he was dyslexic as well. He has always struggled with reading and spelling. He made his way through school but always have someone else read anything he writes. This was difficult for him to accept at first. He had gone his whole life without knowing and now was seeing the same struggles.
We are still learning what battles we will have to let go. What things will make life easier for her. Where this journey will take her and us. That is why this blog was started…to share our journey and the mountains and valleys along the way.