My first name is Sylvie. I retired a year ago. I was a primary school teacher, working with children who had serious learning difficulties and/or with mentally deficient children.
My own son, who is 34 now, is mentally deficient, and learned to read from 6 to 10 years old. He can read everything now, in the streets, on TV, in news papers… Even if he doesn’t understand all the meanings, he’s so proud of it!
I just want to say that most of them are really able to learn reading. There are many different ways and methods to succeed, even if it takes a long time.
Reading is so important for them! It’s like an open window through the world. It’s much more than just decoding a text.
I know too many adults placed in specialised establishments who can’t read, and we never tried to give them a chance to learn.
Fortunately, the situation has changed since the introduction of a new law in 2005. There are now specialized teachers in the IMEs * for 6-year-old children. On the other hand there are less and less positions in ordinary schools to teach the “different” pupils.
I just wanted to write about this subject and make you aware of it.
Now that you are aware of the problem, you can do something about it!
| IMEs = Instituts Médicaux Educatifs = specialised educational institution for children between 6 and 14 |
aware = conscient | through = à travers |