Exceptional and Dyslexic

Thank you for your interesting opinion piece in the Independent about what is going on in the dyslexia world. What isn’t clear is how things stand in Santa Barbara and furthermore in Santa Barbara County.

My grandson (now 24 years old), who lives in Ventura, was not diagnosed with dyslexia until the sixth grade, and only then because his parents had him privately tested. The school district refused to believe the test results and consequently refused him special ed, saying he had to be two grades behind in order to receive help. Rather than spend money on attorneys, his parents enrolled him in a private middle school and sent him to Lindamood Bell, a learning center here in Santa Barbara, for help. He was lucky his family had some wherewithal to do this. He went to public high school in Ventura and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from a small liberal arts college . This August he will begin medical school at Harvard.

Maybe not all dyslexic children will enter Harvard, but they and their parents need to know that there is hope. It is really outrageous they are not getting the help they need in their public education.