My dyslexic son is going the Latin route for his credit, but I think ASL would be a terrific skill. I’ve started noticing how many ASL interpreters are used in various places. And this skill is such a help to people.
If anyone with an LD kid benefits from this thread, I will post on update on this in January before the next report card. Meanwhile, I just returned from meeting with both the teacher and my son. He is going to do his homework in the school Success Center, where a Spanish teacher is available every day. He luckily has that period free. He will also meet with the teacher for a couple of weeks during his lunch to get him caught up. He will also use the online textbook, which frankly, he should have been using all along. He will ask the teacher to explain when he doesn’t understand something, even if it is an email to her. He will be sure he is copying down what is important when the teacher puts it on the board, and if he doesn’t get it all down, he will ask for a hard copy of the notes, but she wants him writing notes too, for the multi-sensory aspect. So, I am hopeful that we will see improvement. If it is still a disaster come January grades, we will discuss pulling him out and he will do ASL at home. Thanks for the ideas and words of encouragement!
It would be okay to drop Spanish - withdrawing if it’s possible - as long as he can take two levels of ASL.
As far as I know, the best language for dyslexics is Italian - like Latin, it has no spelling oddity, but the grammar is MUCH MUCH easier, because Latin has cases and can place the words in random order in the sentence.
(Italian is the easiest romance language. no cases, no weird spellings, regular word order, nothing like Spanish’s three subjunctives…)
Does your state have a public virtual school where he could take Italian? Alo, two levels of Italian at the community college level would likely be considered the same as 3 levels of high school - and he could take it in the accelerated format provided by summer session. He’d struggle but he’d be done with it quickly (and depending on what CC we’re talking about, it could be “not so bad” at all in terms of pace.)
@MYOS1634 , he already has a year of Spanish. Are you saying he would need the equivalent of two,years of ASL? If so, why?
Because it’s level reached that matters - he needs to reach level 2 in any language. If he drops Spanish, he has to take 2 levels of another language (at a minimum - but considering his disability I think the colleges that want 3-4 wouldn’t penalize him).
Aargh. I am sure you are right, but are you definitely sure about that? Is that universal, in the US I mean?
Yes it is universal for US colleges.
Some universities even specify that they want Level 3 in one language, OR Level 2 in two different languages.
Well, this might be an interesting motivator for,him. Either he is able to significantly improve his grade, or he can look forward to two years of online ASL. He will 100% not want to do Italian.
Yes, two years sequential language required of high school students in Florida (at least college bound, as far as I know). That was why it was so disastrous when we went with Spanish I. 
U of Rochester has no language requirement to graduate and I don’t believe they require it to get in either. I think the best bet is to drop the language now and then figure out what to do. My younger son had mild processing issues. He took Latin and struggled, but pulled out B’s. The advantage of Latin is it’s almost all translating Latin to English and very little talking. He took Arabic in college and almost bailed a couple of times. What he learned though was at an immersion program in the country he actually could learn a language. He spent a year in Jordan and ended up speaking quite well and got an A in Arabic his senior year in college after a C sophomore year.
Your son might want to try doing a language in the summer and see if he can manage it when it’s the only thing he’s doing. Or he might want to see if ASL works for him.
I wish I had the links with me but I know there has been research on ASL and language based learning disabilities. A friend spoke to me at length about this as it was her PhD thesis. The brain uses a different area to process foreign language and sign language, making ASL a good alternative to foreign language. The problem is college, but for a student who has a documented language based learning disability such as dyslexia and/or dysgraphia, this can be explained by the guidance counselor or in the application itself. Some colleges (such as many of the Cal State Us) offer an alternative application process if a student is denied and they feel that it was disability related. I would assume not having the correct language requirement would count. The Univ of Ca system has an alternate application process as well for students who take a different route and may be missing requirements.
I have a child who was severely language delayed and had a phonological speech disorder as a child and continues to have dysgraphia, today. He also uses an FM hearing system in any classroom activities as he cannot hear when there are distractions. He is in 8th grade and homeschooling through a charter this year because of this. The charter has approved ASL as a foreign language alternative and we will be heading in that direction.
The interesting thing for us is we are bilingual at home and my son does not do well in his non English home language. It was so hard for him to learn how to speak in English, he never was able to get his father’s native language, which my husband only speaks at home. This shows me that we are really dealing with a language deficit.
^that’s a fantastic idea. Ask your son’s guidance counselor: would completing levels at Concordia Language Camp “work” for the high school’s graduation requirement?
The Concordia Language camps are almost all hands-on. Students learn by doing - olympic games all in the language, cooking - all in the language, etc. Totally different from HS instruction and very efficient. Some students go there because 3-4 weeks of camp allows them to skip one year in high school. But if your son has trouble with the reading/writing, he’d do a minimal amount of that and it could suit his learning style better. 
Win-win especially if the HS considers that language camp credit = HS credit.
The way I see it, your son will either have a W which he will have to explain or a possibly failing grade to explain. I would choose the W. If he eventually goes to a large school that basically relies on stats he will be better off preserving his GPA. If he applies to a highly selective school he needs to explain the course either way – at least the GPA on the front of his folder would be better with the W.
My DS is also dyslexic and a great student. He takes Chinese and told me it is easier than learning to read in English! There is no encoding and decoding like in English. Chinese could work for your son but I would try it out either privately or a summer class that is not for grades to see if his dysgraphia interferes with the Chinese characters. Otherwise, I would suggest sign language.
Also, if he continues with Spanish, you risk taking an unreasonable amount of time away from his other classes just to maintain a passing grade.
As an aside, my DS did disclose his dyslexia on the CA to explain why as a straight A student taking AP sciences and math courses, he chose non-AP English courses. In other words, not out of laziness!
I would stick with it. It took me 7 times to pass a state test and still graduate on time!! Tell your son to not give up. I know the pain, but everything in life is simple. Maybe your son needs Motivation???
My advice: Drop Spanish if your son can’t master it. You are balancing two things here: learning and succeeding in the college admissions game. If your son is like mine (discussed below), he isn’t really going to learn Spanish well in a HS course (not clear how many non-dyslexics leave with much language knowledge in HS courses anyway), especially if he has trouble with languages. So, focus on the college admissions game which means drop the courses with potential for bad grades.
We concluded in middle school that our severely dyslexic and gifted son couldn’t do foreign languages. He couldn’t do Latin in middle school (it was torture for him) and after a semester of Spanish in middle school pronounced “mas” as “mass.” He couldn’t hear the sounds in Spanish and couldn’t spell well enough for Latin. I had a conversation with the head of foreign languages at his HS, who said, knowing my son, he could take the lower track Spanish course, work very hard, get all As (that is what he does) and leave after three years knowing no Spanish. He recommended against wasting our son’s time. So, against our son’s wishes at the time, no language in HS.
It may or may not have hurt him. Rolling the tape forward, he got into several very good schools including Ivies. There is some probability that not taking a language contributed to him not getting into a couple of schools (one my alma mater) but these schools have such a low percentage of admits that it could have been lots of other random things as well. He chose a school without any foreign language requirement and did extremely well in college (summa cum laude, various academic honors). Rolling the tape forward a little farther, he co-founded a tech company and became its CEO. A bit later brought in a senior executive much more capable of growing it and started grad school jointly in data science and an MBA at a prestigious school. At age 25, he’s mid-way through a three-year program. At the end of the day, I doubt he could be much better off.
But, in some states, the state universities require language for admission. If so, get thee to an ASL class. Latin might or might not work.
I’m glad that my daughter is quite functional in French. All other things equal, I would love it if my son could speak Spanish or Chinese. But, all other things are not equal, and your son, like men, could spend the great effort it would take to not do poorly at Spanish to instead really do well at something he can do and learn from. Help him learn to play to his strengths, as that is one of the secrets in success in life.
Thanks for all the feedback. For now we are going to stick with the plan that he will work hard to not fail this quarter then we will take it from there. His average for,his first year was 84, and I don’t ever see him applying to Harvard, et al, so if he has a C in 9th grade, I don’t think it is the end of the world. Especially as the C will be explained come college application time. After meeting with his teacher, it turns out there is plenty more he can do to improve his great that doesn’t require much effort, such as using his textbook! The rest of his grades are excellent. However, if he spends far too much time doing Spanish,and it continues to be a depressing struggle for him, I think he will quit.
What do you mean your son “tested too high”? He can still test high for intelligence, for instance, and have disabilities that require accommodations. And 504’s can be strong documents as well. Is there a professional/psychologist who can help you with this? As we all know, schools do not always act in the best interest of our kids. I would think your son could get a waiver for language, or perhaps he would prefer to withdraw from Spanish now and regroup, consult, and figure out the best way forward, whether with a waiver or an alternative like ASL.
Colleges can be more flexible than you think, and explanation of courses taken (or dropped) can be included with the transcript sent by the guidance counselor.
I would not support your son suffering, in his GPA or his spirit, because of his disabilities. And he should not be basing his college choices on the language issue
I will PM you.
Does he have a tutor? I would absolutely get him one ASAP. A good tutor (the HS teacher should be able to suggest one() would really help. I never thought I would hire a tutor, but my son with some LDs struggled in Spanish as well with the writing part, and the tutor dragged him through to a decent grade. It was worth every penny (and it cost many pennies!).
In our district, you can’t drop a class after the second quarter so you may need to figure that out.
My dyslexic daughter took ASL over the summer and actually enjoyed it!!! We had to convince admin to let her skip the usual Foreign Language offerings but she used the free classes wisely to get ahead in subjects she is good at and play to her strengths. She will take ASL again this summer.
Some states REQUIRE 2 years of a FL for admission (South Carolina) so check and see before you decide to skip FL altogether. Most schools count ASL as fulfilling their FL requirement.
Dyslexic students struggle in so many areas that I felt strongly we should lighten the burden where possible.
I would advise for him to quit at the end of the semester. My D (sophomore in college now) had an advanced physics class that she hated so much I was afraid she would make herself sick. She switched mid-year to the applied physics class, enjoyed it so much more, and it really made her such a happier kid. Unless your kid is in line for Harvard or has tippy-top scholarship potential, it just isn’t going to matter that much. Better a good GPA in classes they enjoy than a lower one in classes that make them frustrated and depressed.
I think that the sign language class would be a great experience, and would look just find on a college application. At my D’s college, they don’t even have to take a foreign language for general ed credit for most majors, there are options such as sign language, or computer programming counts as a language also.
A happy kid who does well in classes they enjoy will be the best college candidate! And if a particular college doesn’t see it that way, it’s probably not the best fit for your kid anyway.