Have you ever seen a letter "b" with a circle on either side of it? Or what about a "d" that could go either way because it's so blurred? Now imagine trying to learn to read or write whenever you can't distinguish between letters because they run together...makes it a little hard, huh? And then imagine your teacher losing patience with you several times and not understanding why it was so hard to distinguish between a ball/bat (for b) or a doughnut (for d). Oh, how I wish I knew that is exactly what my child was seeing last year! How I wish I knew that was at the root of his reading, writing and spelling issues. But, I had no clue and often had more frustration than anything else because we could not get past the whole "b" and "d" dilemma.
I did a lot of research on dyslexia and processing disorders thinking maybe NoNut was headed in that direction except he just didn't line up with the typical characteristics and symptoms. Despite that, we experimented with techniques and methods used to help children with dyslexia. It wasn't until May that I began seeing that NoNut struggled with any letter and number with a circle and stem yet he could read any word that didn't contain a circle and stem combo perfectly. I was hoping summer break and time would increase his comprehension and reading readiness, but I never expected a pair of glasses to solve the problem!
At my annual eye doctor appointment, my eye doctor recommended I bring in NoNut for an exam since astigmatisms are usually hereditary. My first reaction to his suggestion was that it wasn't necessary because NoNut has passed all of his annual eye exams at the pediatrician and doesn't show any signs of struggling with his vision. However, within moments of NoNut's eye exam, I saw that he was really was struggling to read anything with a curve, circle and stem. He did fine with the larger letters which reassured me that he knows his letters, but the smaller they got, the more he could not distinguish between letters. My eye doctor was right and unfortunately, NoNut is following in my footsteps...glasses will be a part of his childhood as much as they were a part of mine.
Today was the first day we put NoNut's glasses to the test with our first day of school. Everything went well until it came to reading, spelling and writing. I caught NoNut struggling with all three subjects, but all three times he didn't have his glasses on. Once he put his glasses on, he would make comments about how he could see the letters or how the letters didn't have extra circles to them or how everything was so clear. His reading took off because he wasn't having to decipher what the letters were. His handwriting was neater because he could see the handwriting chart and could form and copy his ABC's correctly. He found the right spelling tiles on the first try since he could tell the difference between b and d.
I did an experiment with NoNut and saw that the reason why he could tell the difference between b and d in certain situations was because of bigger, clearer or more spaced out print in a book. Everything just clicked in that moment. Here I was wondering if my child had a learning disability when in reality, he needed an eye exam and glasses! It will take time to undo some of the reading habits that were formed as he struggled to decipher between the letters, but to know that we will jump over this hurdle with a little more time is exciting!
With my son's severe allergies, I feel like I'm very aware of his body and what is normal and what is not for him. But when you teach your child something from scratch and they aren't getting it and there is nothing to compare it to, it is easy to miss the obvious while fearing over all the other things that it could be. And when your child is passing all of his annual eye exams at the pediatrician, not putting a book up to his nose or showing any outward signs of visual issues, an eye exam is the last thing I would ever think of especially at such a young age.
I'm so thankful that our eye doctor was blunt with me about the real possibility of NoNut acquiring my eyes and reminding me of what it was like to go for so long with undetected vision problems when I was a child. The difference that a pair of glasses makes is night and day!
The point of this is to encourage those of you with vision issues to consider taking your child to the eye doctor rather than rely on the pediatrician alone. If your child isn't catching on to reading, it could be a readiness issue, developmental issue or a vision issue. Don't discount the helpfulness of an eye doctor when it comes to your child's education.
After today, I feel like a whole new world has been opened to NoNut as we witnessed his confidence soar after one morning of reading and writing without much effort once he put his glasses on!
btw, after our experience, I will no longer think it's really weird to have an eye doctor set up shop at a homeschool convention!! It makes perfect sense and hopefully helps a child from silently struggling!
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