she could answer "I am dyslexic; I have a harder time than most kids with spelling, but it doesn't mean I'm not smart" - or whatever she wants to tell them
My caution with this is that I have a graduate student who explains all his struggles by starting off with his dyslexia. At some point the explanation has become an excuse.
I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't advocating using dyslexia as an excuse. However, I do think that being up front about the cause behind a challenge can be freeing to children (and adults) when they are in a situation like this - basically playing/working with a small group of friends/peers. My ds12 does compare himself to other kids - most kids do. He's not thrilled about having messy handwriting or having his spelling break down during the act of writing (ds can ace spelling tests, it's the act of handwriting which impacts working memory which impacts spelling when he's writing a sentence for example), and the solution isn't as simple as work harder at learning to spell. In a situation like in the OP (playing with friends) there isn't going to be time to go back and check spelling. Telling them his spelling is impacted by dysgraphia isn't an excuse, it's a straightforward explanation.
polarbear
