Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional "Do you think I may have Dyslexia?"

Just sitting here watching Disney channel with DD and an interesting PSA/commercial came on. A young actress from one of their shows came on to discuss her dyslexia - how hard first grade was for her because she realized she couldn't read as well as everyone else, how she can't tell "b" from "d", etc. She talked about how dyslexia makes reading hard for her but by working hard at it, and having her family help her, she now reads a year ahead of grade level. I've never seen anything quite like this but applaud Disney channel for it.

After the commercial DD looked at me wide eyed as said "Do you think I may have Dyslexia?" Wouldn't it be great if this could help kids - both with and without ld's - understand why it is harder for some to learn to read? Personally I am grateful for anything that will demystify it and make DD feel a bit more "normal".

Wow

Do you know the name of the actress - we don't have Disney Channel but I'd like to google and see if I can find either the video or something about her online. I think it's wonderful that Disney aired it - really most kids are so accepting when things are just "things" and they know about it, rather than things being not explained. I'm sure that didn't make sense - I'm in the middle of trying to help my 9 year old research for a school project so my brain's a bit fogged and my words aren't exactly flowing!

Anyway, my ds12 is going through the stage of really wanting to have the words to explain his dysgraphia and dyspraxia to his friends but not quite having the guts to do so. So we've been working together a little bit just learning more about LD in general and about how to talk to others about them etc. I'm sure he'd really appreciate getting to see the video.

polarbear

Here it is (I think) - Her name is Bella Thorne.

Made perfect sense.

We were scared to death to have the third grade classroom teacher tell the whole class about DS's Asperger's; but it made all the difference in the world. The kids are accepting him the way he is. It is stunning.

Kids need to know the right names and explanations for disabilities-- disabled kids need it, and non-disabled kids need it.

Yay Disney.

DeeDee

Thanks Amy!!!

I love it - especially where she says dyslexia makes things hard, not impossible

polarbear

You're right, Dee Dee. When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in second grade, we were very transparent with him and the school. When he went for pullouts for speech or OT or to the special Ed classroom while they did reading, spelling, etc., he wasn't ashamed of it because it was just a fact about his learning, not a stigma. When he finished pullouts at the beginning of fifth grade, he walked into his regular class and announced he'd graduated from special ed. The class cheered. (the teacher conveyed this to me afterwards.)

Making it factual and straightforward helped tremendously for all of us.

Oh, lovely!!!

DeeDee

It may be silly but I wrote Disney a message thanking them for airing this and asking them to run it frequently. I am picturing kids who have not been identified recognizing themselves the same way dd did. Maybe I'm naive but I can't help thinking this could make a big difference for a lot of kids!

Not silly. That's advocacy.

DeeDee