Friends of Quinn

“I HATE READING!” These words of horror spewed from my son’s mouth so many times I eventually became numb to the rant. The first time he shouted it, however, my entire being crumbled. How could I possibly have a child that hated to read when it was such a huge part of my life?

Personally, I had always found such wonderful joy the second I started reading. Professionally, I was surrounded by books as a library media specialist in an elementary school. Hating was for miserable tasks like cleaning, or grocery shopping or cooking after a long day of work. Books were joy, escape and wonder. It wasn’t until my son was diagnosed with dyslexia that I began to understand what he meant.

Reading WASN’T a pleasure to him it was a chore of the worst kind. Then adding fuel to the fire, reading at his age was usually accompanied by writing, terror times two. The fact that he detested both of these tasks was a formula for failure in the standard learning environment in public school education. To top it off I was already dealing with one child who was diagnosed with dyslexia, my daughter, who is 4 years older then my son.

How could I possible have TWO children with learning differences? How would I ever be able to have enough energy to give both of them the help they needed? Once my son was also diagnosed, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I had to have done wrong during pregnancy. Was it the caffeinated beverage or the small glass of wine or the unending list of other things I figured must have caused this to happen to both of my children? OK, so pity party over, its ok to feel bad, to place blame, etc., but eventually it is your reality and you have to put on your big girl panties and deal with it.

I was an educator and had lots of resources available to read and research. I did enough to be informed but not so much that I became obsessed. I learned to listen to my kids. Try different things to see what worked best. My daughter had to do her homework as soon as she got home while she was still in work mode. My son had to go out and play and blow off steam and then do homework later in the evening. Every time I would discover something that worked it was like the heavens opened an the angels were singing hallelujah right there on our kitchen table.

There were good times and bad times, but they all made my children who they are today, successful young adults. My daughter is going to be a mommy in 60 days (let the grandma spoiling begin) she is a Headstart teacher and loves teaching these children who haven’t had the greatest beginning to their lives. My son is a successful Web designer who has lived far away from home for 4 years (***sigh, the hardest thing EVER for this mom). I couldn’t be prouder of the people they are.

Nothing about raising children is easy, add a learning disability on top of it and sometimes it feels like Mt. Everest. (cue Miley Cyrus singing Its the Climb). You can do it, one foot in front of another, one step at a time. I’m happy to share my experiences with you as both a parent and an educator. I don’t have all the answers but love to chat and share. I also promise to be honest and give my real opinion, warts and all, maybe you will like it maybe you won’t but at least we will keep it real. Have a question, concern? Ask away and let’s have a discussion.