could he have dyslexia?

[2bestkidseva]

my child is 11 and has always struggles in school. my hubby and i always said it was laziness.and now he's in middle school and he's failing. he's misspelling easy words and after being told he still does it. even if its off the black board. ii talked to his guidance counslor and she said to look into it and if we wanted we could have him tested. but i dont want him labeled at school for taking the test even if it comes back he doesnt have it. he got tested in 2nd grade becasue his teacher said he had a learning disability, but everything came back grest, he passed. so now i'm now torn between is it still laziness or dyslexia? should i get him a tutor? (which are extremly expensive, like $50-60 an hour min. of 3 days.) i dont want him to get left back but i want him to not feel so lost.
any advice?

[motherduck83]

I was diagnosed as dyslexic at age 8, thanks to a very caring teacher. Before she helped me I was thought of as lazy and at times stupid. I understand you not wanting your child to be labelled, but there are worse things. Dyslexia is not a medicated disorder, like some others. In truth your son will only benefit from being tested. I was given extra time for tests and went to a learning difficulty class twice a week, where we played memory and word games most of the time. I am lucky in the fact that my family was able to afford any help that I might need, but what it really took was time with family and a little extra attention. I played a lot of word games with my mother, to help focus my memory and she always checked my work. I also had to train myself to read a book the right way up since I found it easier to read the book upside down. I had problems differentiating from B and D, but a little trick that I was taught was to think of a ‘bed’, where a man can sleep and not a ‘deb’, where he will not be able to rest.
I have had to fight very hard in my studies, but have come out with flying colours. My cousin an Oxford university graduate, had a more sever case of dyslexia then I. But thanks to different government programs was also given help, from time in class to tutoring to new computer programs that help re-arrange written thought. Very useful when it came to writing essays.
I do hope that you will consider having your child checked. He can only benefit from it really. And if he is diagnosed as negative, it just means a little more focus on his studies is needed. I use to teach primary school and I found that the older the child got the less interested in studies they got, socialising became more important. We just need to get our children to focus a little, and reach a workable balance. Good luck

[cbs62]

As a former Special Ed. teacher, I would advise you to have him tested.  A "label" may get him the help he needs without you all having to pay so much for tutors.  If he really does have a learning disability, he can get accomodations in his mainstream classes to assist him in the area of success.  Just because a child (or adult) has an LD doesn't mean they can't be successful.  He can even learn some methods to help him with whatever he needs.  Good Luck.