Learning Disabilities

Dee has learning disabilities.  We don't have names for all of them, but they are there.  I'm sure she is dyslexic, though no one will diagnose her.  Mom has diagnosed her.

When she first moved in, our house number is 4725.  I sent her outside to learn her address.  She came back and said it right.  One minute later she said 4752.  That's when my suspicion began.   It shows itself in many ways. 

Yesterday, our devotion had the word "forbidden" in it.  She read "forbibben."  (I know it doesn't make sense, but she must not know the actual word.)  So, I said, "No, it's a "d."  She read, "fordibben."  I tried to get her to switch, but she couldn't.  It happens all of the time.  She is guessing words, so she doesn't remember what she came up with.  She will read "tried" correctly in sentence one, and in sentence two she may read it "tired" or "tied" or "tree". 

It's frustrating for us both, but she has no idea what words she is getting wrong.  I realize that she is working two to three times as hard to read, but it's so hard to hear.

She also has a difficult time with math.  But today she showed she misses the concept all together.  I'm counting calories, so I said, "It was 30 calories per ounce, and I had six ounces."  30 x 6 is 180.  Dee said, "Multiplication and division do not have 30.  You cannot go that high."

In a few weeks, school will start.  I will hold her to a similar standard as other 10-year olds, but I will probably be asking too much.  It's sort of sad.