Opinion: Dyslexia needs improved treatment

To the editor: As a social work student, I reached out to our community through a Facebook page to discover a pressing issue that was felt and experienced by many of the community members. 

It quickly came to my attention that the identification and treatment of dyslexia in the Middleboro public school system is lacking and insufficient. Dyslexia could cause increased difficulty regarding children’s school lives, in ways such as, following directions, reading, writing, and completing assignments. However, it is also important to address that their emotional wellbeing is also impacted. They are exposed to increased statistics of struggling with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and social isolation.

It is difficult to imagine going through today’s schooling experience with an unidentified barrier to learning. The truth of the matter is the pressure that schooling places on our children is challenging without further complications. Although my children are not of school age now, I would trust that the public school system would be diligent enough to recognize problems such as these that I am unable to recognize on my own.                

I also believe that caregivers are their child’s best advocate, however they should be met with assistance rather than push back when seeking help. 

I encourage the school system to reevaluate their protocols for identifying if dyslexia could be a potential reason for difficulties, for caretakers to continue to advocate for their children, and for both systems to work together in a way that is best for the children. Although the schools are unable to officially diagnose, they should also have the resources readily available to provide to caregivers to ensure the best possible outcome for the child.

Leah Ferguson

Middleboro 

Student, Bridgewater State University