from dyslexia, a severe difficulty in reading and spelling. Education experts agree the key is to identify children with learning difficulties early.

Reporter Antoine Raynor spoke to two women with first-hand experience of raising children with dyslexia.

Speechless and nearly in tears, a mother stared at her 11-year-old son's empty activity books during a parents' night at his school.

It was then she realised her son, who had earlier been privately diagnosed with dyslexia, was not receiving the help he needed at school.

"I was nearly in tears,'' she recalls. "Every single one of his books were empty but the child next to him had writing in all his books.'' The concerned mother says she feels her son is being neglected and she is calling for a curriculum to be designed for dyslexics.

In addition, the mother wants to see legislation similar to that passed in Texas, requiring every school to have a trained dyslexia specialist to help with the children's educational needs.

"The educational system is letting him and students like him down,'' she claims.

The distraught mother, whose son attends a public primary school, agreed to an interview with The Royal Gazette , but asked not to be identified, as did the grandmother of a 14-year-old boy with the same problem.

They said doing so would put the students in uncomfortable positions at their respective schools.

However, both women felt it was vital that they speak out. And they wondered how many other parents were having the same problem.

Dyslexia is described as a severe difficulty in reading and spelling. When students suffering from dyslexia are not identified early they tend to become frustrated and lose interest in learning. They usually express their frustration through violence or anti-social behaviour.

"The Department of Education wants all this glorification for this new school they've built (CedarBridge Academy). But what are they doing to help these students with special needs?'' the mother noted.

"The shame is these students are usually some of the brightest children around. My son is in primary five and he cannot read. How many other students are just being passed through the system?'' The mother questioned why Government, which she claimed brought in consultants for everything, could not bring in teachers trained to deal with dyslexia.

She said there could be hundreds of students on the Island suffering from dyslexia but there was no way of telling as the vast majority have not been identified.

The grandmother of the 14-year-old student, who will attend CedarBridge Academy next year, said he was not able to read or even count out money.

As a result, she said her grandson has been involved in fights over being called names like "dummy''.

She stressed that she would like to see her grandson get the help he desperately needed. And she said she would be upset if he was passed through school any further without being able to read.

She claimed that she was aware of more students with dyslexia who were not getting the help they needed.

The grandmother said she wondered why more parents were not coming forward.

"We have to save our children,'' she stressed. "They are falling through the cracks.'' She added that she would like to see her grandson placed in a one-on-one situation or in smaller classes where he could be given the time and attention he needs in order to learn.

She said she did not want to turn the problem into a political issue, but her concern was for the children with dyslexia.

"Instead of pointing fingers, we need to address the children's needs,'' the grandmother said. She also said she would look at organising a group for parents of children with dyslexia.

"Parents who are going through this need to get together and form some kind of group so that we can see some action take place,'' she said.

Senior Education Officer of Student Services, Joeann Smith, told The Royal Gazette she understood the parents' concerns and what they were trying to do for their children. She said the school system and parents were working toward the same goal.

Ms Smith said the school system had taken steps to identify children with learning disabilities early. At the primary one level, students were given a screening test to see where their strengths and weaknesses were, she pointed out.

And she said the Education Department was in the process of implementing a programme called "Reading Recovery'' which would test children after primary two to catch reading and writing problems.

"We're working hard to ensure students don't get to secondary school with reading problems,'' Ms Smith said. And she noted that most schools had support staff, teachers who offer extra assistance and who give students the attention teachers with classes cannot. For students identified as having dyslexia and other severe learning disabilities, tutoring was available from the Reading Clinic.

"I understand what the parents' goals are, but rather than bringing in special teachers, it would make more sense to give the teachers added training (in that area),'' Ms Smith admitted. Many teachers had taken advantage of the courses the Reading Clinic offered, she added.

Janet Kemp, director of the Reading Clinic -- a non-profit organisation which was formed in the mid 1960s -- said the facility served an average of 60 students every year. Dr. Kemp said parents were usually referred to the Clinic through the schools. Students received tutoring three to five times a week.

She said most teachers did not have the time to offer students one-on-one tutoring sessions and the cost of finding a tutor fell on the parents.

"We get donations from the community,'' Dr. Kemp said. "This provides financial assistance to families who otherwise couldn't afford tutoring, so we don't have to turn people away.'' JOEANN SMITH -- `We're working hard to ensure students don't get to secondary school with reading problems.' Dr. JANET KEMP -- `We get donations from the Community. This provides financial assistance to families. . . '