SIMON

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

SIMON

“I Hope”

Words have never come easily for me, and they still don’t. I have been in speech therapy since age two. I also have Dyslexia.

When I was in fourth grade, I wasn’t able to read. I was bullied a lot. I had a hard time making friends. This caused me to have meltdowns and act out in class. It got so bad, my mom had to quit her job of 17 years to homeschool me through 5 grade. My mom and I looked very hard for a homeschool group. Reading for me is not easy, it is quite hard, but I have improved a lot over the years. The homeschool group we finally found was a book club at the library. My reading tutor introduced me to Dyslexia books written by Henry Winkler. They have a special dyslexic font.

Learning to read has helped me with self-confidence. My mom once said that when you learn how to read it opens the gate to a whole new world. In some people it might create little movies in their minds. I hope to get to that point someday soon!

A Mom's Perspective

Simon has always struggled with words. Reading has NEVER been easy for him. He began speech therapy at the advice of his Pediatrician when he was only two-years-old. This is the beginning of his journey. When you stop and think about it, if you can’t speak, how could you possibly read?

By the time Simon got into 4th grade, his struggles grew. Kids would not pick him as a partner in class, or at PE. He would sit alone on the “buddy bench” during recess. This led him to make two comments about “Not wanting to live” and he was “tired of trying to find friends”. As his parents, we knew there was no other option, but to take him out of public school and homeschool. It was in 2019 that I made the decision to quit my job as a Dental Hygienist of seventeen years. Although this was not an easy road to travel, it is something I will NEVER regret. As a family, we decided to homeschool until Simon was ready for 6th grade. We spent our days learning, focusing on reading and writing. We would incorporate science & history in the books we chose to read. Simon worked very hard during our two years together and I'd like to believe he is forever changed. Today Simon is in 7th grade and a MUCH happier kid. When we put words into sounds, and sounds into meanings, that is when we begin to read!

Without the ability to read, life is so complicated. Every day I pray that Simon knows the power behind words and will choose his words wisely for the rest of his life. Hopefully he’ll learn to love to read as much as I do.