The other day I wrote about how positive it can be (The Beautiful Impact a Dyslexia Diagnosis Can Have) when someone finds out there is a name and a reason for their unexpected struggle with reading and spelling. I described the relief some people can find when, though an educational evaluation, they get a good description of their learning profile that includes a diagnosis of dyslexia.
There’s a flip and dark side to learning disabilities, which unfortunately is much more common. Without clarity of diagnosis, without an understanding of what’s needed, and with the low or high level of constant stress that can and often does accompany being misunderstood and unsupported at school, and sometimes at home, a child slowly loses hope, resilience and a sense of their own capacity.