I get comments like
"Who cares if he is dyslexic. It isn't like he'll be illiterate. He'll figure it all out without any greedy therapists involved in his little five year old life. He'll figure out what works for him and be fine. He is an engineering type. There are worse things than being an engineer you know...(cough)...lawyer...(cough)"
And
"I am pretty sure the gifted program at my school was cancelled to provide new carpet for the football locker room. I turned out fine. Just pick a house you like. It isn't like you are trying to choose between the school district where they might be maimed and the one where they might become drug addicts."
Everyone means well and I know they are trying to help by minimizing the stress of our parenting decisions. It still makes me feel crazy.
To a certain extent they are right ... most kids with high IQ's eventually figure out how to overcome the obstacles in front of them or how to go around them. My husband kept telling me that when our youngest hit midschool, things would start to kick in and he'd catch up. And they have started to kick in, and his isn't just catching up, he is now excelling and starting to show more of his Giftedness instead of just his learning disabilities. So, the been there, done that, and don't make your kid feel awful because of overreacting is coming from their own experience and a good thing to keep in mind. His voice of reason is what helped me make decisions like not making my son study for hours for a spelling test he was going to fail anyway. It is just a good thing to keep in the back of our minds that it is all a balance.
That being said, it in no way changes the fact that if your child is 2e that early intervention and therapy would be a huge help and give your kiddo more tools to really succeed. My huge regret is that I didn't listen to my gut and get him tested earlier than second grade, he went through years if speech therapy, occupational therapy and is in special Ed where his education has focused on remediation not acceleration. Had we started earlier, maybe he wouldn't have had to struggle so hard, but I'll never know because I didn't push.
Recently my husband made the comment that while he has certainly done well in life, he often watches how hard I fight for changes at school for my son and how much I've worked to find the right help and he wonders just what more might have been possible if someone had fought like that for him,
