Dyslexia

Caleb's problems started in first grade. That's when he first felt that he was different from his classmates. Other kids found it easy to learn. They could spell and read and do math. It was fun for them. But Caleb wasn't able to do those things.

He had trouble looking at letters and words. He didn't see them the way other children did. When Caleb saw the letter “b,” it looked like a “d.” When he saw a “p,” it looked like a “q.” The letters seemed to flip and jump around the page.

Letters were only one problem. Soon the teacher was writing whole words on the board. She wrote the word “saw,” but to Caleb it looked like “was.” The word “mop” looked like “nob.” “Now” looked like “new.” The letters kept moving and jumping around.

Reading aloud was very hard for Caleb. His teacher would point to a word and say it aloud. Caleb would look at the word and repeat it. But when he saw the same word later, he couldn't remember how to say it. He wasn't sure how to sound out the letters.

Caleb found it hard to write letters and words. He often made letters backwards. Instead of writ ing “c,” he'd write a backward “c.” Instead of “s,” he'd write a backward “s.”

Caleb did poorly on spelling tests. As the teacher said each word, Caleb listened for its sounds. But he wasn't sure which letter made which sound. So his spelling was often wrong.

Caleb also had trouble seeing numbers. Like letters, they seemed to flip around. The number “12” looked like “21.” If Caleb tried to write “35,” it came out “53.”

Even Caleb's speech was poor. Sometimes he forgot words he wanted to use. Once he meant to tell his teacher that he had lost his book. Instead he said, “I can't find, you know, the thing we read from.”

Caleb's first-grade teacher was very concerned. She thought Caleb was not paying attention. She told him he had to work harder. Caleb felt that he couldn't. He began thinking that he was stupid.

Some days the teacher spent extra time with Caleb after school He practiced writing letters and words. But despite his efforts, his writing was still poor.

The teacher spoke with Caleb's parents. She said that Caleb wasn't trying hard enough. That surprised his parents. At home, he was never a problem. Sometimes he had trouble following directions, but his parents couldn't see why Caleb would be lazy in class.

Caleb's parents spoke with him. He wanted to tell them about his reading problems but he was confused and ashamed. He didn't want them to know that he was different. So instead, he promised to try harder in class.

Caleb's parents tried to help him at home. They coached him in writing and math. Sometimes Caleb's father would get angry. He'd yell, “Caleb, pay attention! You're not trying!” Caleb knew it wasn't true. It made him cry.

Finally, his parents decided that Caleb needed to be in a special class in school. There was a class for students thought to be slow learners. But Caleb became very upset when his parents men tioned it. He didn't want to be different from his classmates. He refused to go.