Mental Health & Learning Disabilities
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Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia & Anxiety
Phew, three big words for one little guy.
My son has always struggled at School, specifically when it came to Math and Grammar. In fact, he’s struggled from the beginning, so allow me to start there.
When Soren was a toddler, he didn’t really mingle with the other kids. This was at the first Pre-School he was at. This caused a delay in his speech, which we addressed with Speech Therapy. He also had some issues with core strength, which was aided with Play Therapy. These were implemented after we had him assessed by an Educational Psychologist.
The above was just the beginning.
As he progressed through the years, he was perfectly socially apt. In fact, he has a tiny little heart absolutely made of gold. He would stand up for his friends if a bully was giving them a hard time, and he would always try to disarm rather than enable volatility. It’s just the way he is.
Academically though, Soren struggled with Math and Language. When he was about 10 years old, we realized the poor child could hardly see anything. No one picked it up earlier and that’s a reminder to rather do those checks early on. His sight was so bad, that 9 months after his first subscription glasses, he had to upgrade since his sight deteriorated another 30%.
Therefore, our thoughts were that due to his poor sight, he fell behind. Last year, he had a Tutor, who helped him, yet Math and Grammar remained excruciatingly challenging. Our poor child had already fallen 2 years behind, which didn’t help things at all either. He felt incompetent and anxious since he was now being labeled and teased by some kids.
The decision was made that he had to go for another assessment since he was old enough now for a professional to pick up if there’s something else wrong. His Teachers specifically mentioned Dyscalculia.
Prior to all this, I’d never even heard of Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia. To me, it was foreign and I just thought that he was simply being resistant since he fell behind earlier, which the Educational Psychologist will confirm. Sure, I thought, perhaps some mild ADD and Anxiety, but nothing that will require extensive intervention.
Boy, was I wrong! He was diagnosed with Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Anxiety and possibly mild ADD. GOOD GOSH!
Dysgraphia means that he WILL STRUGGLE TO WRITE. In fact, the Psychologist said that physical writing shouldn’t be his main priority. He requires a writing aid like a tablet or keyboard.
Dyscalculia means that he is exempt from having to pass Math. EXEMPT! Someone with Dyscalculia really struggles with mathematical concepts. Whether it’s basic or more complex, their brains struggle to process it. Soren is fine with visual explanations, like a video or pictures. When it comes to word sums, it’s LITERALLY IN THE ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER. Their brains are just wired differently. I can see it looking back. The tears when we sat down with him to try and do basic sums. How he’d count on his fingers for something simple like 9 + 5.
What does this mean for us?
Soren’s best option would be a Therapeutic School where they understand these learning disabilities and know how to deal with them, still providing him with a solid education.
It’s quite fascinating. This intelligent boy, in so many senses, has been Clinically Diagnosed with Learning Disabilities. I would never have thought it. He’s curious, loves facts, always has a dad joke up his sleeve and is such an empathetic little soul.
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Now let’s quickly backtrack to the Anxiety side. There’s still more about this later, but for now, I’ll leave you with this.
There are some Mental Health issues in our family. I must admit though, more so on my wife’s side than mine……………………………………… should I say that, haha. My wife struggles with Severe Anxiety, which I addressed in part 1. Her mother and sister also have an array of issues, ranging from Anxiety, Depression, Addiction and so on. I never paid much attention to these things, until my wife’s breakdown.
The first time it properly displayed itself with my son, was after my ‘Accident’ during this Pandemic. I ended up being away from home for about 2 weeks. When I returned, we noticed that whenever I had to go to the shop, he’d be Anxious about it. I’d be gone for 2 minutes, then he’d start sending me messages asking when I’m coming back. This went on for quite some time and after lots of discussions telling him, “I’m not going anywhere,” it eventually seemed to get better. As per the Educational Psychologist though, he still struggles with Anxiety when it comes to me, which will require some additional Therapy. I do believe that he’s better than he was, however, he also seems to be hiding or burying those feelings a bit ‘better’.
At the end of the day, it’s important to discuss any sort of Disability. Physical Disabilities may be easier for people to comprehend since they can physically see it. Mental and Learning require more attention and understanding.
I do feel that a small disclaimer is required at the end of this post just to clarify a point or two.
Disclaimer: Due to the structure of the school and the way they teach the kids, it was very difficult for us as parents to really understand how much he struggled with Math and Grammar. Homework was never really a focus. It was only implemented incrementally, however mostly not part of how they operate. We also struggled to comprehend their Teaching Methods, since we were taught very differently, which also created some issues with comprehension.
Next ‘Reality’ Check-In:
A Fire After Covid
The ‘Accident’
Oreo, The Staffie
Thanks for stopping by :)
Cheers!
