A hugely popular Web serial! Masterful comic essays by manga artist Ryoko Chiba based on her personal experience with a developmental challenge that, on average, affects three students in a classroom of forty.
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Chiba’s son Fuyu was having problems learning to write even after reaching the second grade. It would take him an hour to fill a single notebook page with practice characters, and his teacher often erased the blackboard before he was able to copy what was written there. He wasn’t having problems in other areas, so Chiba remained flummoxed in her search to learn the cause of his writing difficulties.
During summer vacation when Fuyu was in the fifth grade, Chiba attended a lecture sponsored by the board of education, where she first heard the term “developmental dyslexia” to describe children who were having problems learning to read and write, despite having no other problems in their intellectual development. Some could not remember characters they’d practiced writing. Others could not comprehend the shapes of characters, or memorize their forms. Some could guess how to read characters by context, but made mistakes when writing them. What she heard was a perfect description of what she saw with Fuyu, and after testing at a learning institute she realized he had developmental dyslexia.
Dyslexia is not an illness, so there is no “cure.” A thorough understanding of its mechanisms and characteristics, however, allows appropriate training, through which writing skills can improve. Having become aware of her son’s disability, it was time to do something about it. And so, with the support of his mother and the other members of his lively family, Fuyu’s battle began. Why do schools consider providing their students with necessary support as “special treatment”? The challenge of high school entrance exams… The danger of being held back due to poor grades… How to find a job after graduation… This is a heartwarming story, depicting the growth of a mother and her child as they overcome many difficulties.