I recently did a screening for a young student just starting out in college. Her mum had always known something was wrong but successive schools had told her that her daughter was fine, that she would "go far". Once at college, it became clear that she was struggling. She couldn't keep up with her peer group, not because she didn't understand the work but because she didn't have the literacy and organisational skills to complete the written work effectively.
I did the screening - it revealed that she had a number of dyslexic tendencies - and when I gave them the results, it was very emotional. For the mum, there was guilt that she hadn't done something sooner mixed with relief that at last they had some kind of explanation as to why her obviously intelligent daughter had struggled so much. For the student herself, there was relief. After years of being told to "try harder" and being called lazy - something she had started to believe - she finally understood why she found reading and writing difficult.
They took the screening results to the college and at last the student got the support and help she deserved. It would be wonderful if all dyslexics were identified early (see my previous blog) but, when it comes to dyslexia, the old adage of "better late than never" applies...
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