What's with no reading?

What is he doing? Well it was finally diagnosed. It's dyslexia. So what have we been doing? He is following along his bible reading that I printed out on purple paper. Yes, he is listening to his assigned bible reading. After listening to it he is able to read it. Although I think his Irlen problems are still what I think impedes him from progressing.
So what do you think dyslexia is? Is it letters turned backwards. Nope! Sometimes he will start reading and put in a word from the end of the sentence at the beginning or he will completely turn the word around. For example he will say god for dog or he may instead of from he will say form. Sometimes instead of an f in the word he will make it a j.
Now what about the Irlen syndrome? Well, as if dyslexia isn't enough, he also has this thing that makes his words look so different. It's called rivers because instead of seeing words like we do he sees a few words put together and then a space then a few more words and then a space. No wonder I had to cover up everything around a word for him to be able to figure out where is began and where it ended. There are many forms of Irlen syndrome and people see different ways and what helps with this is colored overlays. Can you believe this? Covered overlays helps keep those words where they are supposed to be. My son uses two colors and it would be better for him to get special glasses that have those colors in them. His sight is totally normal. The problem is not the eyes but the brain. So the future holds glasses for him. Although the latest guess as to the cost of these "special" glasses is right around $600, can you see our hesitance. It has to be done though.
Our books now are books on cd that we listen to in the van while going here and there. All the kids love this. I do too. Not only are they listening but they are quiet. So if you ever see a kid around town with colored glasses don't assume they are for the sun, it may be Irlen syndrome and if your child is having a hard time reading and you see these problems, look into it. My son is now 10 and it would have been better if we had known this when he was younger. It would have saved lots of frustration on his part not to mention on my part. I remember being told, "Oh, don't worry, some kids take longer to read than others." This from a very wise and a homeschooling mom with many years. To this day I hear that and I want to jump in and say, "BUT...." It could be something else. I always had the feeling something was wrong. Now I know.
I will continue to talk about this to anyone that wants to listen. One day my story may help someone who feels something is wrong but can't put a finger on it. For now, we are doing great. Feeling better and learning to read.