When a dyslexic child acts out, shuts down, or calls everything stupid it is easy to mistake it for attitude. It almost never is. Dyslexia behavior problems are almost always frustration in disguise. For example a kid who has been failing at the same tasks in front of everyone for years and has run out of ways to cope with it gracefully. These posts cover the emotional and behavioral side of dyslexia that parents deal with every single day. The defiance, the meltdowns, the I do not care shrug, and what is actually underneath all of it.
My youngest son graduated from high school this year. I’m going to let that sit for a second, because for a long time I wasn’t sure I’d get to write that sentence. There were years when getting through one week of school felt like climbing a mountain, and getting a dyslexic son through twelve years
If your son is getting defiant, joking his way out of schoolwork, or telling you everything is “stupid,” you may be wondering where this attitude came from. I wondered the same thing for years. We were getting told it’s a ‘boy thing’. Here’s what I learned. In our house, the attitude was never the real
