Diagnosing SLD/Dyslexia
Parenting is a challenge. Many, many, sleepless nights. Getting your kid evaluated for a learning disability comes with a mixed bag of feelings but is absolutely necessary. The dyslexia diagnosis is the “D,” word. Actually it is two words that begin with the letter d. Both words dyslexia and diagnosis are equally scary and equally confusing to parents. I remember thinking with my son… “Why do we need either one of them?”
It’s like walking the halls with a screaming infant. At that moment, you are searching for answers. Wracking your brain, looking for answers, medicine, anything that will help. You bring your baby to the doctors and find out they have gastroesophageal reflux disease. If you are anything like me you freak out! They have a disease! No, not exactly-they have a set of symptoms that are easily treated. These symptoms come together and are Acid Reflux. A name, a diagnosis gives this set of symptoms a plan of treatment.
Take the dyslexia scenario. Your kid may struggle with language acquisition (learning to talk). Maybe they struggle to name common nouns like dog, cat, cup. Then they struggle with the acquisition of literacy skills. Then you notice symptoms. Perhaps, the teacher recommends extra support. You are alerted to the fact that they are falling behind and then the gap grows despite receiving help. The sleepless nights and worrying begins. A diagnosis will help. Giving this set of symptoms a name, a diagnosis of Dyslexia/SLD helps the prognosis. You can increase your kid’s educational outcome with this clear information.
I am not minimizing the impact of Dyslexia/ SLD by comparing it to Acid Reflux or vice versa. I am making an analogy because they both get better with a plan of care. The diagnosis of dyslexia will lead to a care plan that will give you, as a parent, more support. With a clear diagnosis you can seek experts, educators, other parents, and the appropriate resources.
As each school year begins, a name, a clear diagnosis of dyslexia will lead to a clear action plan. You can look at your kid’s performance to get services, programs, and support.
Melissa Saliva is a Reading Consultant and founder of Beacon Valley Literacy Services. She helps parents help kids with dyslexia.
If you need support as a parent please reach out!