Dyslexia and the Gift

This poem is in gratitude for the Book of Mormon and how it is helping my seven-year-old learn to read.

Dyslexia and the Gift

Two years trying to learn to read

He still stumbles over “and” and “the”

“p”, “b”, and “d” are mirrors of the

same shape but different sounds

Slowly, bit by bit, sounding out

moving letters. He asks,

“just half a lesson today?”

We make it to lesson 60 in the 100 lessons.

Halted at the same place as last year,

when we took a summer break before trying again.

How to learn past this mountain?

He's not my first child, nor this the first

“tried and true” method to teach reading.

He's smart. He can read out loud a

twelve digit number with its proper

“billions”, “millions”, and “thousands”

as well as translate it onto an abacus.

He's motivated.

But the letters swim,

slipping away from him as he

grasps their slick sides.

Then sweet words from my Grandma Stewart

“Remember how your sister learned to read?”

I open the book, the one he's heard

every day since he was in the womb.

I run my fingers under the words

“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents”

I read each word and have him repeat,

then ask him to sound out “having”.

One word read in a line, a big word.

He grins.

Many minutes later he recognizes “of”

It doesn't swim away.

“And” still causes trouble.

But he reads three verses with me.

The next day and the next

we open the scriptures and read.

“And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord”

He sounds out a whole line with

only help on “prayed”

“Mommy, I'm reading!

I like this so much better than the

reading lesson book.

But the words are longer and harder.

Why is this easier?”

“Why?” I catch at the tears

“Because this book is

Heavenly Father's book.

He wants us to read it.

He is helping you.”

My son tells his five-year-old brother

“You should learn to read from the

Book of Mormon.

The Holy Ghost will help you.”

His first testimony,

born out of the trials of dyslexia.