Jenn Reardon McSoley discovered her son Jace had dyslexia when he was in second grade.
“I have dyslexia, so we were not surprised,” Jenn said. “We wanted to help him get the tools he will need at school to make him successful. Jace is a happy and joyful boy, and he was starting to become sad and depressed. We asked him what was wrong and the amount of stress and confusion he had at school was taking a toll on him.”
His parents discussed options with him, and he chose a tutor trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach.
“We found an amazing lady (Tracy Powell) in our area that was certified and started the process,” Jenn said. “We discovered that finding a tutor in our area was hard for others and to find one that is affordable. If it wasn’t for his amazing tutor, he wouldn’t be the confident, joyful kid he is today. This help gave him his life back and for that we will be forever grateful.”
Jace, now a sixth-grader at Fall Creek Intermediate School, wanted to help others and decided to hold a 5K for Dyslexia run/walk, starting at 8 a.m. Oct. 7 in downtown Fishers. October is Dyslexia awareness month.
“I want kids with dyslexia to never feel less than or overlooked,” Jace said. “I want all kids with dyslexia to love who they are and be confident that they were made for something more.”
Jace said his tutor helped him gain confidence to read out loud.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is a multi-sensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction. It is practiced as a direct, explicit, cognitive, cumulative and multi-sensory approach, according to the Orton-Gillingham Academy website.
Jace has partnered with Cam Conn, an eighth-grader at Fall Creek Junior High to help raise awareness. Jace and Conn are teammates on the Fall Creek Junior High cross country team.
“I love meeting new friends with dyslexia,” Jace said. “It feels like we are not alone, and we have an instant bond because we know how hard school can be and how it really hurts our heart when we don’t understand things.”
Conn, who no longer uses a tutor, said life would be tougher if he didn’t have the two years of tutoring.
“I think that it’s important for people with dyslexia to have the same help that I got,” Conn said.
Jenn said 100 percent of proceeds will be given to teachers and tutors in the Fishers community who would like to be trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, to help children with dyslexia and other struggling readers.
For more, visit runsignup.com/Race/IN/Fishers/5kforDyslexia.
