Things can change.

Those were the words of wisdom offered to me by my six year old daughter. The topic? Her need for glasses. Or more specifically, my wondering if the reason she looked at the word "said" and saw the word "sat" "sort" "fort" and "fat" might be because her vision was poor and she needed glasses. Or was it, perhaps, because she wasn't concentrating, and was being distracted by the dust and the light and the air around her?

"No," Juliette said, "I'm not detracted. I need glasses, like daddy."

"But you just had your eyes checked at the doctors office a few months ago, Juliette. Your vision was fine then." I said.

"Yes, Mommy, but things can change." was her snappy reply.

I make light of the matter, but I really am a bit worried about her reading. She went to a special summer program, and has just started a special language arts class, having been identified as a child who needs the extra help. I was so upset when I first learned this; my daughter needs help reading? I have always been an avid reader- I started kindergarten knowing how to read. I've always read books to Juliette, in an attempt to foster the same love of reading in her. But it is a constant battle with her; Cosette will sit and go through all the books on her bookshelf but Juliette- nah, she'd rather draw, or play cars, or go build something.

When I first found out that Juliette was reading under grade level, I thought it was really because she just wasn't focusing; when Juliette puts her mind to a task, she works at it until she gets it done, right. But when she isn't interested… forget it. I suppose that is par for the age. I imagined that the day of the testing she was bored or tired and didn't even try. But… it planted a niggling worry in my head. Now I notice how she still writes so many of her letters backwards, and how she can look at a simple word, like 'cat' or 'at' or 'me', and completely misread it. She guesses what it is instead of reading the letters, and I wonder if she might have a learning disability. Greg is dyslexic, perhaps his daughter is too.

I mentioned it to her kindergarten teacher, but she told us it was too soon to tell. I will mention it to her first grade teacher at conferences next week; but for now all I can do is let her go for the extra help- and just be glad it is available to her. Oh, and perhaps call the pediatrician to have her eyes checked one more time, just in case. Because… things can change.