What’s the easiest way to make a mountain out of a mole hill? Allow the imagination of a loving mother to run wild concerning anything that could be remotely wrong with one of her children. This is one such account. And a lesson to always trust your mom instincts. ~Lisa of Tales of a Homeschool Family
In this day and age of learning labels, it can be easy to get carried away! Don’t get me wrong, there are children who really do fit a certain diagnosis and receive the appropriate help afterwards. But, in that, it’s also easy to over jump the problem and arrive at a hasty decision. Case in point – my 8 year old daughter….
Her reading was delayed. Reading was a laborious undertaking which she dreaded. In addition, her handwriting and spelling were atrocious! She had all the signs of her brain not working in sync and needing Brain Integration Therapy.
Visions of $$$$$ signs danced before my eyes. A good friend of mine suggested having her eyes checked. I dismissed the idea as I thought if that was all it was, it would have been suggested right off the bat.
Finally, one day while we were having book time, I spied my daughter with her nose literally in a book. I thought she was fooling around. Pulling the book back to a reasonable distance, I remarked that she couldn’t possibly read a book so close to her face. Then she told me she could not see the words UNLESS the page was right up to her face.
*facepalm*
The pieces clicked. She really couldn’t S-E-E the words! Could the answer to her reading problems be THAT easy?
A few days later at the eye doctor we got the news. She was suffering from Hyperopia. I was aghast! Was that fatal? Would she need surgery? What did this mean? Fearing the absolute worst, I was floored to learn that she was farsighted and an inexpensive pair of over-the-counter reading glasses would solve the problem! I was speechless and a bit taken aback at how far I had allowed the ‘solution’ to become!
Now I’m happy to report that she’s progressing in leaps and bounds in her reading ability (and likeability), handwriting and spelling. Even now, I’m still amazed at how I overlooked a simple answer in search of a bigger problem!
In a world of googling everything, searching WebMD, and asking for second opinions everywhere, sometimes it’s the answer really is the obvious one. Note. to. self.
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Lisa wears the many hats of: wife, mother, teacher, taxi-driver, cafeteria lady, nurse, counselor, and friend. It’s possible to catch a glimpse of her on Facebook, Twitter or at her blog, Tales of a Homeschool Family starting its’ 12th year.
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