What needs to happen next

Sorry to have been away for awhile. 

When one's own child is in the care of the right sort of professionals and starts to learn, well, one can relax a bit.

Still,  part of my energy goes to thinking about the needs of all the (millions) of children who are still caught in the educational traps that have been laid for them across the country.

As a friend pointed out the other day,  it's amazing that dyslexia has been know about for 130 years and, as a society we are still here, not dealing with it very well.

The person who said this is a grassroots organizer who has tried to get folks in her school district organized in order to see some changes (at least hopefully getting the district to adopt the Wilson program).  She told me it isnt going well right now which I was sorry to hear.  I've been tossing that around in my head for awhile now.  I believe there is a solution but it has yet to be found.

Not everyone is willing to drop everything and put their child into a expensive private school which teaches an Orton-Gillingham based curriculum. 

Not everyone can pay for that in the first place and not everyone can make the sort of changes required by such a need.  I understand.

Additionally, in relation to this IEP meetings themselves require time and energy.  A parent has to take off work, get babysitters and (in my case) hire a Child Advocate to translate all the alphabet soup mumbo jumbo so that they (the parent) can have a decently clear understanding of what is really being offered and a sense of trust that their child's rights arent still being trampled on (it's difficult to trust people who once sat across the table trying to get me to sign a paper which essentially screwed my child out of anything they had to offer).

So here we are.  My kid is getting what she needs.  We are fully prepared to make the financial sacrifices in order for her to get the education I believe she deserves. 

Now my son is diagnosed too (and it didnt cost as much as the first time around because of something called an IEE that my advocate gently lead me to).

On a good day I think I see dyslexia coming to the forefront of society.  Movie stars are talking about it.  Famous people and successful people are admitting they are dyslexic and all of this is helpful.  Still,  like my friend said,  school districts dont want to change.  They dont want to or cant offer the help that is truly needed at this point.  A very few districts are making changes faster than others but overall there need to be more changes, more and better educated teachers. 

There is still a very loud cry for help and no help in site for the near future.