During European Dyslexia Week, a mother of three dyslexic children – whose father has the same condition – tells Simonne Pace that encouragement is key to overcoming the difficulties.

When Jane (name changed) met her husband 26 years ago, she suspected he was dyslexic straightaway.

He was 19 at the time. “I could see that he was extremely intelligent but could not put what he knew into reading and writing. His handwriting was erratic and his writing full of spelling mistakes,” she recalls.

“Reading was so frustrating for him. It took him ages to read a single paragraph.”

Yet, he refused to get diagnosed. At the time, the subject was still rather taboo, the word ‘dyslexia’ not heard too much.

“One fine day, however, his late brother called to tell us that he had been diagnosed with dyslexia in the Netherlands, where he lived. This rang a bell and my husband agreed to see a registered education psychologist.”

The diagnosis was dyslexia. Jane’s husband scored a high IQ test but showed poor reading and writing skills.

Dyslexia being a hereditary condition, the psychologist also advised them to keep an eye on their two boys, aged three and one, when they started school.

“Both my sons showed signs of hyperactivity growing up. I wanted to make sure that they would receive help if needed,” Jane says.

Sure enough, both boys were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and dyslexia. In the meantime, her daughter was born – only to receive the same diagnosis.

“It was very difficult for me to bring up three children with these conditions as well as support my self-employed husband at the start of his business. At times, I felt very lonely, even though there were five of us. I made a big effort to spend the little free time we had doing fun things with my children.

“Although there is a lot of awareness about dyslexia today, things can turn out to be quite difficult at times, especially when exams are around the corner. Asking my children to study was like giving them a death sentence. They hated reading and it required a lot of effort.”

Dyslexia comes in different ways.

“My eldest son does not see spaces between words, so it takes him a very long time to read sentences as he needs to figure out where each and every word starts and finishes. He suffers from a severe form of dyslexia.

“My middle son, who is now 19, sees words ‘flying away’ in the air. He is affected by medium-to-severe dyslexia.

Asking my children to study was like giving them a death sentence

“My daughter, 15, who has the mildest form of dyslexia, swaps letters in a word, so she would easily write an essay on ‘God’ instead of a ‘dog’. “On the other hand, she is very artistic and loves crafts and paintings.”

Her sons got a lot of help at De La Salle College. They were assigned a dyslexia specialist with five other pupils for Maltese and English, giving them a very good basis in both languages.

“My daughter was also supported tremendously. The teachers at St Francis School went out of their way to help her.”

For a number of years, a learning difficulty specialist also went to their home twice a week to help the children with studies.

“This turned out to be quite expensive, costing about Lm4,000 (€9,320) yearly – which meant both my husband and I had to work extra hard,” Jane, who teaches religion in a private school, notes.

Unfortunately, she adds, many schools still lack awareness about dyslexia.

“It would be beneficial to teach other students what dyslexia is all about and ask them to help their peers with their learning difficulty. Sometimes, schoolchildren affected by dyslexia are bullied, simply because their friends think they do not know how to read and write properly. This can be both hurtful and discouraging.”

Encouragement, she feels, is key for success. “I have always pushed my children to do their utmost, told them they need to accept themselves as they are and to carry their ‘baggage’. We always harp on about their father’s success as an entrepreneur even though he too has dyslexia,” Jane says.

“My eldest son, an Mcast graduate in electrical installations, now works as a qualified electrician. My other son is a science engineering student at the University while my daughter will be sitting for her Matsec exams next year.

“I believe that my husband and children are a clear example of how every difficulty can be overcome. Yet, this is only possible when you accept yourself the way you are and if you believe nothing can define you.”

Many famous people have dyslexia: Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Steven Spielberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Aniston... “Who knows, maybe one day there will be the name of one of our children on the list. Together with other teachers, I go out of my way to help children with learning difficulties succeed. Their success is our success,” the mother says.

Shining a light

October 10 is World Dyslexia Day. The Malta Dyslexia Association will be joining Europe in a show of solidarity by holding a week of activities which kicks off today.

This year’s events will focus on schools and businesses empowering people who have dyslexia.

The association will be holding its first scholastic year meeting on October 25 at 6.40pm at the Catholic Institute, Floriana.

For more information call the MDA on 9949 8841 or send an e-mail to secretarymdamalta@gmail.com.

Did you know?

• More than one in 10 people worldwide are dyslexic.

• Dyslexia is a neurologically-based condition which is often hereditary. It results in problems with reading, writing and spelling and is usually associated with difficulties in concentration, short-term memory and organisation.

• Dyslexia is not the result of stupidity, nor caused by poor schooling, poor home background, poor motivation or learning or poor sight, hearing or muscle control – although it may occur with these conditions.

Signs of dyslexia

A person with dyslexia may:

• read and write very slowly;

• confuse the order of letters in words;

• put letters the wrong way around (such as writing ‘b’ instead of ‘d’);

• have poor or inconsistent spelling;

• have difficulty with written information;

• find it hard to carry out a sequence of directions;

• struggle with planning and organisation.

People with dyslexia are often good at creative thinking and problem solving.

Getting help

If you think your child may have dyslexia, speak to their teacher or special educational needs coordinator.

If your child continues to have problems despite extra support, you may want to consider a more in-depth assessment from a specialist dyslexia teacher or an educational psychologist.

This can be arranged through the school or privately. Help can also be found through the local dyslexia association.