Every child is unique, was born to fulfill a purpose, and has intrinsic value.

People tend to judge children’s abilities by the way they look.

Some children have a physical impairment and learn in traditional ways of teaching but are treated like they can’t.

On the other hand, there are the one-in-five children who appear physically able but learn differently and are treated like they should learn like the majority.

Joni Eareckson Tada put it beautifully while speaking to someone who lived with debilitating fatigue. She said, “People have such high expectations of folks like you [with invisible disabilities], like, ‘come on, get your act together.’ But they have such low expectations of folks like me in wheelchairs, as though the thought is that we can’t do much.”

The common labels given to children with dyslexia include, “lazy,” “unmotivated,” “needs to work harder,” and “must apply himself more.”

Dyslexia primarily affects a child’s skills that are involved in accurate and fluent reading and spelling. Other areas, like short-term memory and information processing, are frequently impaired as well.

“Invisible dyslexics” are defined as children whose academic futures are ruined because their problems in learning to read are identified too late and addressed too little or not identified or addressed at all.

In many school systems, children have to fail miserably before they receive appropriate help for their learning difficulties.

Parents must be their children’s first teachers. When you are, you will then be the first to notice the difficulties your children experience while learning certain skills and executing various tasks.

At every developmental stage, there are red flags to alert you that all is not well.

• At the preschool level, look for these.
• During the kindergarten through grade two years, there are signs to alert you, as well.
• Grades 3-5 are crucial. If you observe these signals, request dyslexia testing for your child.

Once you notice disparities in your child’s performance, be proactive.

Do not accept the “he’ll grow out of it” band-aid.

The brain has a managing system called executive functioning skills. Examine your child’s mastery of those skills. If you find any deficiency, begin there.

You can help your child build his deficient skills at home, so when he goes to school, his difficulties will be consistently lessened.

Be his best advocate, while teaching him to advocate for himself. Whatever accommodations or modifications you know he needs, ask for them. Here are a few to get you thinking:

• Extended time for timed assignments and tests.
• Questions read to him.
• A scribe if his handwriting is problematic.
• Testing in a small group, in a separate location.

Over time, he will discover how he learns best and be able to advocate for himself.

Ralph Ellison, in his book Invisible Man, said, “I am invisible… simply because people refuse to see me.”

May this never be the belief of your child.