Bookworm - Finished at last

This layout was started at Debden back in March last year. It still needed more work and journalling when I found it again the other day, I was not that happy with it and have almost completely redesigned it.  (the original is at the bottom of this post.) The photo of my son Andrew was taken at my parent's house when they lived in Fairlight.

Andrew has always loved a book from a very early age. I don't know exactly when this was taken, but I was able to work out that he was probably in year one at school. I remember the book week that all thee children were given the same book to bring home. It was 'The Tough Princess' the book he is reading in the photo.

He also has Irlen filters on his glasses. Andrew needed glasses from about three years of age, and when he started school he was quick to learn to read at first - when there were big words and not too many to a page. Then as he moved on from reception and the words became smaller and more of them, he started to have problems. If it wasn't for the quick thinking of my friend Chris who was a special needs teacher in a secondary school and was involved in helping children of 11 years and older who had failed to read in primary school. She was able to ask Andrew appropriate questions about what happens when he is reading. She thought he might have Irlen Syndrome. It is a perceptual defect making it difficult for him to see the words without them appearing to move about and for the white background to interfere. I spoke to the teachers at Andrew's school and they weren't keen to get the testing done, so Chris put me in touch with the Irlen Centre in Maidstone. I fear that without this early intervention, we may have struggled for years to find out what the problem was and he may have lost his love of words all together if it had been a chore to read.

So we travelled to Maidstone annually where he took his tests following each normal eye test at the opticians. New glasses were tinted each year according to his need. It was amazing to witness that as he got older, the strength of the tint diminished until by the time he was 16 he no longer needed it tinting at all.

This story is written in hidden journalling included on this scrapbook page.

The papers are Basic Grey - Hello Luscious.

Cardstock - Bazzill

Cardstock letters - American Crafts - sanded and inked.
Various buttons from my stash
DMC embroidery cotton.

Here is the original before I changed it. I was not happy with the letters, they did not stand out enough and the pattern was too busy, yet perfect for the photo.

Thanks for looking.

For more information about Irlen Syndrome, if you think you know someone who may need help see their website HERE