Windsor mother fears daughter with learning disability is falling behind in school

Jennifer Katona and daughter Kathleen in Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (Sijia Liu/CTV News Windsor)

A Windsor mother is calling on the school board to address her daughter’s learning disability.

Jennifer Katona says her eight-year-old daughter Kathleen is showing signs of dyslexia and the condition runs in her family.

“She's always struggled with speech therapy and has trouble with the sounding of the words,” Katona explained.

Katona says without special learning accommodations, her daughter is falling behind in school and is worried she won’t be able to catch up.

“The teachers are noticing in school she doesn't want to participate in reading. I feel helpless because I tried everything,” said Katona.

She says she first contacted school officials in November 2022. After no answers, she tried calling local politicians and the school board trustee.

“I still haven’t heard back. I don't know who else to contact,” Katoma said. “I just want to get the ball moving.”

GECDSB superintendent of education, Mike Wilcox, says there are there are various accommodations offered for learning disabilities.

“We first want kids in the regular classroom, learning with support. That’s when we would use some of the interventions that we have available, such as dyslexia licenses to help with reading,” said Wilcox.

If the problem persists, students will move on to the next stage of intervention. This may involve withdrawal from a regular classroom for a specialized learning plan.

“A student is taken out of the classroom to work specifically with a learning support teacher, who has special education qualifications to provide further support to students,” Wilcox explained.

A formal diagnosis is typically conducted in grade three, according Jacqueline Specht, director of the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education.

“Many schools tell us they are working with students who have issues with reading and writing, regardless of whether they've been identified or not,” said Specht.

She says it’s important for children to receive early learning supports if they show signs of struggle.

“If students doesn't learn how to read by eight years of age that becomes a huge issue for the later years when learning to read,” Specht said.

Specht encourages concerned parents to advocate for their children in a collaborative way.

“The collaboration that can go on between parents and schools is that everybody's on the same page, so it doesn't become an us versus them,” she said.