Q&A with Dr. Pierson

  • I am emailing from work. I am interested in as much information as possible regarding Dyslexia. My 14 year old son was diagnosed when he was 7 and my 22 year old daughter was diagnosed when she was 15. Please direct me to as many websites as possible regarding Dyslexia. My son will be attending high school in Delaware next year and I am worried sick because public schools here and most private school are not equipped for teaching him. He is in a private school now but only because of financial aid and it looks like we may not be getting enough financial aid for him to attend a private high school. Public school is so not equipped for learning disabilities in Delaware. Anything you could refer me to would be great. I’ve tried searching but I want legitimate websites. Many thanks.

     

  • Please send information for young adults testing for dyslexia as well as providers, if possible. The evaluation is for my 25 year old son. When he was younger, he had several evaluations. School, for him, was always a struggle. After high school, he's been drifting and is wanting to complete college. We need to have a current testing composite for him. I'd prefer a comprehensive program like Boston Children's Hospital only for 25 + yrs. My son lives in Houston. Is there a specialist you recommend in Houston? Or, is there a comprehensive program in another city you highly recommend? Thanks.

     

  • My 12-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with a learning disability yesterday in the IEP meeting at my daughter’s school. My daughter is very bright and very self confident with the things she does. I really just need some information on tutoring and self motivated programs that will assist my child in becoming better In her school curriculum and a life changing aspect for herself along with her parents’ moral support. If you can help me with any type of information regarding my Child’s learning disability, I will really appreciate the support. Thank you.

     

  • I came across some of your information through the Internet, but was wondering how to find a recommended person to do some testing on our child in the Los Angeles area—can you help??

     

  • This email is for Dr. Michael Ryan. I am writing on behalf of my sister who has a strongly dyslexic 8-year-old son. All that I have read on your website seems to make so much sense both in reasoning why he behaves has he does, what my sister has been trying so hard to do for him and what you recommend. It's literally been a revelation what you've said!

    I must say he is an only child so he does have a lot of focus from my sister, but ever since he has been at school he has found doing 'fun' things such as performing in school plays, class parties, etc. very upsetting, getting anxious and then his parents having a terrible time getting him into school. He has developed a 'tic' but have to say does not get naughty, he is a very nice young man, it's just his parents that see the upset at home.

    The very sad fact of the matter he is very behind his academic peers, so this and the fact that the school is not helping very much with all the development that surrounds a dyslexic child has led my sister to seek out a 'special' dyslexic school. However, we are very worried that the change of school which is also going to mean the family moving house is in itself going to upset him, although it seems in the long run the best for him. They are wondering if a behavioral or clinical psychologist would be worth pursuing to help him deal with this transition?

    I expect you have gathered we are from England (supposedly with an excellent education system). I cannot believe how bad it is for dyslexic children here, since knowing of my nephews' dyslexia it has really opened my eyes to how difficult it is and how the education system lets them down. I am a nurse and I am constantly trying to learn and put into practice better ways for my patients it doesn't seem that many teachers want to do the same for a fair percentage of children that are dyslexic.

    I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this situation.

     

  • My son is now 25 and a college graduate. He was diagnosed with dyslexia in the 3rd grade. We were under the impression that it just affected reading/writing/spelling. But he has also struggled with language expression. When someone asks him a question, he has a pause time—so he can think through the question and form an answer. We found out that this is also a part of dyslexia.

    Our question is: Is there anything that can be done to help the pause time? So that it doesn't take as long for him to form his answers?

    While he was in school, I took classes and read many books. Then I tutored him and we had a 504 plan. Now, we are just interested if there is something or someone that may help him.

    Thank you for you time.

     

  • Can you please direct me to a place in Michigan that diagnoses dyslexia free of charge? We have spent so much money getting my nine year old daughter tested. We have always suspected that she may be dyslexic, but it was dismissed by the psychologist we hired to do educational testing for our child. Finally, I took her to The Michigan Dyslexia Institute where they looked at all her tests and did their own evaluation. They determined that she has characteristics of dyslexia and they can help her but they cannot diagnose her. They said it was not necessary. What concerns me is that in order to have more information on our side to do battle with our daughter's school to get services that she needs, she should have a diagnosis. We cannot afford to keep paying to take her to professionals that charge a fortune. Are there any affordable options that you are aware of?

     

  • I teach English Language Development to English language learners in Colorado. This year I began teaching morphology and I found your website and recommendations helpful. I plan to use the activities found on your morphological awareness page as an assessment to show student growth from now through the end of the school year. I realize it was not intended as an assessment so I'm wondering if you have an assessment recommendation or advice on where to find one that is broken into proficiency levels. I want to show that my students gain awareness and improve their morphological awareness throughout the year. The administrators at my school would like to see students move from one proficiency level to another, so if the assessment is already broken into levels that would be ideal for my purposes.

     

  • I’m a caseworker in Michigan who works with a student that just started the 9th grade. She has been getting special education services and has been placed on a certificate track for high school graduation instead of a diploma. Her parent doesn’t agree with this, but the school expresses that because she is reading at a second grade level in the 9th grade she will not be able to get a diploma. What type of resources are out there in Michigan for a student like this who has a least four years to improve, and can this decision by the school be forced on the parent and student?

     

  • I am from Massachusetts, and I come from a family of dyslexics. All four of my siblings have the disability. We all struggled through school but managed. Now my three boys struggle with dyslexia and reading issues.They have never really been labeled through a physician, but they show the classic symptoms. They are on an IEP and receive support. However, I am extremely concerned for my third-grader. He has been receiving support in the school system but he is still reading at the first grade level (barely). I feel he needs more support, and I believe he would benefit from a language-based program. Unfortunately, such private schools are just too expensive, and I cannot afford tutors. I guess I'm writing this today in hopes someone will guide me in the right direction.

     

 

In addition to providing the leadership to DyslexiaHelp, Dr. Pierson is a founding partner in the Literacy, Language, and Learning Institute (3LI) www.3-li.org.