Our Reading Angel - Part I

Have you ever had someone come into your life... and then you have to let them go... like an angel?  We have.  For those of you who may be new to my blog, or may just not know, our youngest son, J, is severely dyslexic.  For more on this, I wrote this post last year. But I'll give you a little background anyway...

We had a feeling something was wrong four years ago when J's 4K teacher said he didn't know all of his letters by the end of the year.  I was teaching in a private school that catered to children with dyslexia, so I was able to recognize some signs.  By December of 5K, J knew only five letters.  He said they moved around on the page.  He said they were the color red.  In talking with his sweet teacher, we learned that she was worried. If he didn't progress faster, he would not be ready for first grade. I felt a pit in my stomach.  I knew this cognitively.  I really did.  But it's not until you internalize it and it hits your heart that it becomes a reality.  You wake up in the middle of the night and tiptoe out of your bed so that your husband does not hear you weep uncontrollably. 

But I God to thank for the blessing that I work where I do.  There are perks when you teach where your children go to school.  I'm sorry, but that's the reality.  My wonderful and supportive principal got the ball rolling to get J tested.  It took about two weeks to go through the process and get the results.  Testing showed a large gap between his cognitive ability and his performance.  A BIG RED FLAG for a learning disability.  To get more information, we then had him evaluated at a private learning center.  Confirmation:  DYSLEXIA.

And this is where our angel, Mrs. Coats appears....