#MyDyslexiaStory: Zachary
Tuesday 7 March 2023
My son Zachary was diagnosed with dyslexia in December 2021, when he was 7 years old. I noticed during lockdown that he struggled with reading and got upset every time we asked him to read. Also, when writing he was getting letters back to front. After speaking to his school, we decided to get an independent assessment done.
Before his diagnosis I think he was getting very frustrated at school and couldn’t understand why he was seemingly behind compared to his classmates. Once we got the diagnosis, and we explained it to him as a family, he was a different child. It’s like knowing the reason why helped him to understand himself better.
Zachary says
"Some people don’t care
about other people, and I think that’s mean. You shouldn’t judge people without
understanding them.”
“He’s massively creative and his teachers say he always comes up with excellent ideas in class.”
He has support at school from a teaching assistant thank goodness, and we’re currently in the system to apply for an EHC to support him going up to high school. We also found a tutor through the BDA whom he had for a year or so which was also invaluable.
He blows us away on a daily basis with his enthusiasm, personality, perseverance and creativity (and our shared love of Star Wars!!). We are so very proud of him!
Our advice for someone who has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia:
Believe in yourself. You are more amazing than you know.
It is not a disability, it’s a different way of learning that should be recognised quicker in school. Anna Bourne