Welcome to our messy now, where God gifts us the unexpected, and generously humbles us in the midst of it all. My name is Martha. I am honored to share our story, family, challenges, and God given triumphs with you. In doing so, my heart is to aid and encourage those of you who might feel discouraged in the face of the complexities of hyperlexia.

 

As a mother of four grown sons, I am well acquainted with unique circumstances, the need for creative solutions, dirt, and mess. I have come to know the blood, sweat, and tears of wholeheartedly loving and raising children. As an educator, with a background in special education, I continue to learn by walking the humble, now well-worn path of growth. As an advocate for families, I look forward to offering you what we have been gifted.

 

The heart behind Add-A-Page comes, like many gifts, from experience. Each of my boys faced challenges, with two of the four exhibiting hyperlexia from toddlerhood. Add-A-Page exists to bring the piece that we have to offer, to provide hope through sustainable resources and methods.  

 

My husband, Jeff, and I have spent our lives in search of answers and long term solutions for our family. Our sons have attended public and private schools as well as homeschool. We've taken the boys to pediatricians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, behavioral therapists, psychologists, developmental pedestrians, phlebotomists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, family practitioners, oral surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, orthotics appointments, sensory integration therapies, nutritionists, neurolinguistics, you name it. We have faced allergies, anaphylaxis, anxiety, asthma, autism, clostridium difficile colitis, delayed echolalia, depression, echolalia, encephalopathy, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Lyme and co-infections, MTHFR, Orthopedic issues, including Syringomyelia, pica, SIBO/SIFO, Reactive Hypoglycemia, and so much more.

 

Hyperlexia profiles gifts with wonderful visual acuity in the specific. The gestalt processing, for one of ours, has developed through the years, with the processing of language in a written format easier than oral. Books on tape burden and depress him, even paired with the written words. When we have Skyped with folk and the oral language did not pair with the visual mouthing of the words, he was undone. His completion of the English under 100 level at community college, during homeschool high school, was beautiful and costly, with the desire to complete everything. His compliance is literally based and experientially referenced. While he has had the blessings of MANY VARIED experiences in MANY locations, when emotionally, and/or hormonally, weary the processing becomes more burdensome, and more literal. Old English does not just frustrate him mentally, it hurts him. He does not want to fail, and cannot process that English, too. And the compliance-need makes it a true depression piece.  Therefore, we have chosen language that enables, in historical living books, in Latin, and,  especially, in defining the terms in any exchange of language. This is just a glimpse into our experience, but we share it to ignite hope.

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We believe that our journey has become one that allows us to relate to many and that Add-A-Page is a reflection of a larger, ongoing story for those in this community. In the midst of great adversity and perseverance, we have encountered Grace, and have been able to receive beauty from the ashes. We hope the same for your story and your child's story. 

 

Our vision is that the simple story resources provided on our Learning Resources page would provide you with a sustainable solution as you brave the uncharted terrain of teaching your child a new way of understanding. We know that it requires perseverance, and we have experienced a great need for the support these easily accessible options offer. We believe in you, as we are living proof that this simple and consistent way yields comprehension in the lives of our children.