Dyslexia - In My Own Words

This post is very close to my heart as it is the work of Miss Kai.

Miss Kai has Dyslexia, but we didn't know this until 6 months ago. She has struggled through 6 years of schooling thinking she was not good enough, she was stupid and constantly being told to try harder. I have even been guilty in the past of thinking she was just being lazy, or not trying hard enough. It breaks my heart to know she felt this way for so long.

I knew something was not right from Grade 1, I did bring Dyslexia up then but got laughed at and treated like a neurotic mother. I forged ahead anyway as I knew something was up. I had this incredibly bright little girl, but she was struggling to learn her sight words and reading was not progressing. This is also when her anxiety kicked in, at first I thought it was just separation anxiety as her Dad went away for work a lot and I was her only constant. I soon worked out it was more than that, she was lashing out at me at home but refusing to let me go at school. The fear was real, she was petrified of letting me go. Then she started saying how much better off we would all be if she just disappeared, she was constantly talking about falling off bridges or not waking up again. I was really scared, this was my beautiful, vibrant, sweet, smart little 6 year old, something was seriously wrong. This is when I found a Peadiatrician that specialised in behavioral disorders and mental health. He did cognitive testing which showed she was above average to superior in some areas but average in others. Her performance testing was 2 to 3 years below where she should be according to cognitive test results. With this he diagnosed her with ADD Inattentive Type, he also diagnosed her with General Anxiety Disorder/Depression. We had already been seeing a Psych for 4 months by this stage who agreed and they both felt Anxiety medication was necessary. I agreed as I felt my baby was slipping away. The medication helped with her anxiety immensely, we also used dietary changes (removed additives/preservatives) and behavioral therapy. I thought OK we know whats going on now, we can move forward.

However she really didn't improve a lot with her schooling and her anxiety was always at it's worst when school was involved. We got to Grade 2 and had the most amazing teacher, she seemed to just get Miss Kai. She allowed her extra time for spelling tests and reading tasks, she was very compassionate and always focused on her strengths. When Miss Kai's anxiety got to a point she was refusing school she would meet us at the school gate and walk Miss Kai in distracting her with photos or music on her phone. I could not have got through that year without this teacher, she went above and beyond and it showed in her work.

We got to Year 3 at new school and new town and things seemed to start really well but it didn't last long. Her anxiety got significantly worse, her grades slumped and she lost all of her confidence. This teacher was the polar opposite of the previous years teacher, She had zero understanding or compassion. During this year we trialed Ritalin as her new Pediatrician guilt tripped me into it, making me feel like a horrible parent. After 2 weeks and zero sleep even on the lowest dose of slow release Ritalin I decided to trust my gut and stop. The Pediatrician  just wanted to give her sleeping pills on top of Ritalin, and some Anti-Depressants on top of the Anxiety medications, I just felt no-one was seeing the real issue. She couldn't read effectively, if I read to her she knew exactly what was going on and could answer any questions. But as soon as she had to read it all fell apart. Her fluency was also well behind where she should be, she would stumble on the basic words but have no trouble with long and difficult words, it just didn't make sense. She was also saying she couldn't understand what was being said in class. We had been seeing an Educational Pysch all year and when I brought up Dyslexia again as it just seemed so obvious to me I was once again ridiculed. I was told Dyslexia no longer exists (not that some people now refer to it as Specific Learning Disorder - Reading, but that it flat out does not exist). 

I was getting desperate and trying to find help, that led me to an Audiologist to see if something was going on with her hearing as she kept telling me the teacher aide always said the wrong words in spelling tests so she got it wrong. Her hearing was perfect but this led us down the Auditory Processing Disorder path. After a few months she was diagnosed with APD - Distorted Speech being her biggest issue. I took all this to her teacher with methods and accommodations for teaching her. I was met with disdain, and basically ignored. She decided the best way to help Miss Kai was to put her with an aide with a very strong accent in the outdoor area near the mower and constant foot traffic for literacy intervention. She told my daughter to cut this Anxiety nonsense out as it was making life hard for everyone around her and much more. My complaints to the school were a waste of time. I got promised the world but it was never delivered. I still hold a lot of anger for this teacher and school, they truly broke my daughters spirit that year. The next year was a little better, we got a teacher that actually cared and worked with us. But her reading, spelling and writing just didn't improve. This is the year that she started running away from school, and school refusal was extreme. 

We moved again and found a new school. This school is amazing, the teachers worked with me and were open to my thoughts and techniques. They built Miss Kai up and used teaching methods that worked for her. There has been some hurdles along the way but they have dealt with it openly and quickly always making sure Miss Kai has the support she needs. We also found an amazing support group online for Dyslexia, they helped me find specialists who actually knew what they were talking about and we got an assessment done. The diagnosis came back that Miss Kai has moderate Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. Her teacher this year has been so supportive and understanding, she has been doing everything she can to help build her up. Her new psych and I have been working really hard on helping her find acceptance of who she is, good and bad. 

Last term her class had to write a report on a topic of their choice and present it to class. She took this opportunity to write about Dyslexia. I am insanely proud of her for stepping so far out of her comfort zone and allowing herself to be vulnerable. She pre-recorded the audio as she was determined it would be in her own words, but knew she would not be able to get up and read it out in front of the class. Pre-recording it meant she could read it in small lots and re-do it when she made a mistake without the anxiety and pressure of being in front of a group of people. She spent about 2 hours recording and re-recording this audio but she never gave up. That is such a positive step forward for her. 

This is a copy of her presentation

Dyslexia - In My Own Words

From Drab to Fab - Tasmanian Oak Floors

So we are finally in our new home, talk about real life tetris!!! We are nearly fully unpacked, it is just all those bits and pieces you can never work out what to do with.

Today's post is about before we moved in though. One of the things we absolutely loved about the house was that under the drab worn out cream carpet was fabulous virgin Tasmanian Oak Floors through out. We knew if we wanted to take advantage of these gorgeous (and much more practical) hardwood floors we would need to do it before we moved in. As much as I couldn't wait to move in the thought of all that dust and constantly moving furniture around afterwards was not appealing (and lets be honest, it would have been constantly put off and probably never done). So we planned the move for a week after we got possession.

We decided to do it ourselves as really how hard could it be and it would save us a fortune, something we needed to do where possible. We figured it would only take 3 days, and then we could maybe paint and do a few other things like the dividing wall in the shed. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, we were so naive!!!

So we got the Keys at 4pm on the Friday, by 7pm on the Friday all the carpet & underlay was ripped out and about a quarter of the carpet edging (from here on referred to as Devil Spikes). I was so smug about how easy this had been, and very confident we would be finished in no time!!! It was already looking so much better, we were all very excited to get started in the morning on the prepping.

When we ripped out the carpet we found some termite damaged floor boards in one of the back rooms (we'd known this was a possibility and were very thankful it only ended up being four boards). We completely underestimated this job, Mr KaiLey started on this first thing in the morning and it took the better part of the day to finish. Nothing went smoothly...

I was in charge of removing all the Devil Spikes!!!! Arrrggghhhh Why had it been so easy the day before? I then realised the carpet in the living area had been there the longest so the Devil Spikes fell apart... Apparently they had re-done the bedrooms at some point and had double layered the damn things. Oh well, I had to crack on. It didn't take long for me to work out the best tools for the job, a wonder bar & a rubber mallet!!!

After all the Devil Spikes were gone, it was time to remove all the remaining nails, and ALL the underlay staples! Someone had obviously been very trigger happy with the staple gun, and didn't seem to follow any logical pattern. In one of the cupboards I pulled out over 60 staples from one corner! The tools for this job were a set of pliers, flat head screwdriver and claw hammer.

Then we had to nail punch every nail. This was a job for Mr KaiLey, I simply didn't have the arm strength. Now to put wood putty in all the holes.... fun fun fun. A few hours later we had the first room done and ready for sanding. ARRRGGGHHHH This really wasn't going to be as quick as we thought.

So at about 8pm we decided to finish for the day before we annoyed the neighbours too much, we still had to prep the whole living room.... We were completely exhausted but figured we would be able to get going quickly the next day, and the sanding couldn't be as hard as the prep had been.... HAHAHA We still hadn't learnt...

Mr KaiLey had already quoted and researched everything he needed, so early Sunday morning off he went to Bunnings to hire the Drum Sander & Edge Sander. Whilst he did that I organised Miss Ley (Miss Kai had escaped to a friends house overnight), made a hearty breakfast to give us the energy for the day. We had this! We were so organised and ready to go by 8am.... We were just about to get in the car to go to the house and get started when we get a call from Bunnings.... Mr KaiLey had inadvertently left the sanding disks on the counter, hmmmm we weren't going to get much done without them. So we went back to Bunnings (20 minutes in the wrong direction) to get the disks. OK no problem only a minor setback, by 10am we were at the house. We unloaded everything (OMG those drum sanders are heavy, so thankful Mr Kailey had some wood we could turn into ramps).

Mr KaiLey was in charge of the drum sander and I was to follow with the edge sander once I had finished prepping the Living Room. Can I just say the edge sander is bloody evil!!! It really didn't do a great job either (even when Mr KaiLey tried to take over and show me the correct way to do it :-P)

At 7pm that night the girls and I headed home, it was a school night and they needed to get some dinner and get to bed. We had to return the sanders by 8am the next morning to avoid paying an extra days hire, so Mr KaiLey kept going until 9pm. He managed to get everything done except some of the edges & corners. We figured we would finish off with the orbital sanders. So it was 2.5 days later and we hadn't even finished prepping the floors, OMG I am glad we gave ourselves a full week!

Mr KaiLey had to finish the rest himself as I had to work and the girls were at school. He spent Monday finishing the edges, the orbital sander worked so much better, and was a lot easier to control. By Monday afternoon he got the first coat of varnish down, WOW... It was looking amazing! All that was left was a light hand sand in between coats (ALL that was left, I am so funny) So he got another coat done on Tuesday and the final coat done on Wednesday!!! Hallelujah we were finished and just in time for the packers to come in on Thursday!!!

I can honestly say I NEVER want to do that again. My arthritis flared and I could barely walk for over a week. My hat goes off to anyone that does this as a job, you deserve every single cent you earn!!!

We don't regret a second of it though, as look at our absolutely beautiful Tasmanian Oak hardwood floors. It is a great feeling to know you did it yourself too, I definitely appreciate the beauty a lot more knowing how much blood sweat and tears went into it.

Only 1 more sleep!!!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!

Last month we put an offer on a house and in 1 more sleep we will get the keys!!! It has been a crazy few weeks with lots of cleaning, appointments, getting back into the school routine and the everyday grind. But come tomorrow it will get even crazier and I can't wait!!!

The house is a fixer upper (just our style) and we have big plans for it!!! Those plans start on Friday as soon as we get the keys. We will be ripping out all the old disgusting carpet and polishing the gorgeous Tasmanian Oak floors underneath. I can't wait to get started, I just love turning something old and worn out into something gorgeous and new. Just imagine how lovely this room will look once we have gorgeous hardwood floors!

The house is a lot smaller than what we are in now (like half the size) so it is going to be interesting to adjust to the closer quarters. I think the hardest part is going to be going back to a single bathroom and toilet. Unlike our current house though it has a massive yard with an equally massive shed. One of my conditions of buying the house was getting a quarter of that shed for my sewing/craft space. So the dividing wall in the shed will be the next project on the list.

The thing we loved the most wasn't the large block and awesome potential this little house has, though it was a huge part of us falling in love with it. The thing we loved most was the views, we've always wanted mountain views, and now we have them!!! We have to do some landscaping to make the most of them, but I am really looking forward to waking up to this every day.

OK only 17 hours to go!!! Just a little bit excited!!!