Lochie's girlfriend, Rebecca, is currently at university studying speech pathology. They are the cutest little couple.
Lochie came to me quite seriously and asked for a chat.
"So Mum, Bec wants to have kids one day...", he said.
"Yes, thats pretty much a normal thing", I replied.
"What if my kid is retarded like me?" he asked.
As much as Lochie spends most of his days floating around, working, chatting, smiling, the impact of his dyslexia must still weigh heavily.
We spoke for a while about how dyslexic doesnt make him retarded, his brain just works differently.
At the end of our discussion, he said "Mum, I understand what you are saying, but, I never want to have kids if they have to go through what I have to".
I wish that dyslexia was better understood by society. I wish that Lochie didnt have to be put through being called retarded, especially in the workplace.
Oh, I so wish you lived where I live! So many people are dealing with dyslexia and so many other "issues" that THEY are the norm, it seems. You sound very alone in dealing with Lochie's problems- are you?
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of Brain Integration Therapy? Check out a book by that title by Dianne Craft. I have been using it with my son for the past few months and it has helped make huge leaps in his reading ability (6 grade levels in 3 weeks- can read anything now!), and we are now starting to concentrate more on his writing ability, which is a major issue because he is at the age where written expression has become important. He at least has dysgraphia, and maybe dyslexia, and we just started seeing a chiropractic neurologist, who has many therapies that he says should be able to help as well. They focus on connecting the R and L sides of the brain. The assessment he did today was very interesting, as were the few therapies that he showed us. One of them was metronome therapy and others that he mentioned were spin therapy- and jumping on a mini-trampoline. These are all in an effort to improve coordination. He said that he will also have my son working on exercises to strengthen his core, which (he explained) will help a lot, too.
I hope Lochie can learn enough about treatments for his dyslexia to both help him in ways that he hasn't been helped AND to help him feel better about having children. He sounds like a really special soul, with a LOT to offer a child.
Yours,
Tina