Afro-Caribbean Parents and their fear of PSYCHOLOGY!!

hey wots up every1..

on 1 particular Saturday a while back i was faced with the most terrifying dilemma i had to tell a Nigerian mother that i believe that there is a possibility her son may be dyslexic plus he may need to see a child physiologists. huh??? i know the boy is only 10!!!

k lemme explain

REWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND!!!

i am a part time teacher no i don't wanna teach as a profession (i actually study law) but i some how ended up at this training centre about 3 years ago..nwayz Deji* is such a lovely boy his polite and keeps to himself and not at all disrespectful (1 in a million nowadays right?) well the problem is he knows all the problems that his mum faces. his the youngest in the family all his siblings are in Nigeria and he has never actually met them..father you may ask...no where to be seen is the reply. so his mum really relies on him a lot she'll tell him when she can't afford the bills or got sacked from her job for reason or another or that she just had another argument with his dad, the landlord, her friends, his teachers (I'm sure ya'll see just how much she needs him. what has not and i don't think ever will understand is that her openness with her soon is harming him psychologically. he'll come into class late (she works on Saturdays so as already left before his even awake) no homework completed and hungry as hell as he was rushing to make it to the centre. when he does settle down his mind his on other things and when I asked him "Deji whats up with you now?" he says that he is trying to calculate how he can make it back home on time so he can wash the neighbours car and make money so he needs not bother his mum bout money because she's so busy with other things....i was so shocked the boy just turned 10 and already wants to do what some guys that are 30 are not doing...fend for himself. at such an age i thought there must be other things wrong so my manager and i spoke to him and he was sounding like a grown up behind on mortgage payments...he missed his father and wanted to know his siblings and talk to them.

FAST FORWARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!!

so now his mum has been called in and me (being his teacher) has to tell her that not just did we assess her son for dyslexia (which he has) but also he has so much going up in his head that he needs to see a therapist ...WHAT??? OLURUN MAJE (God forbid)!!! was the outburst from his mum. she reassured me that whatever was wrong with him would be beaten out of him by next week...(exactly what i expected). i tried telling her that her son is not mad (which she accused me of implying) but that the boy needs to see a professional and get extra help in school for his dyslexia.
she called Deji into the room and told him to explain why he could not read that at the end of the day everyone in the family could- WTF????? dyslexia is not inherited!!!! by this time i was really feeling sorry for the boy his mum had no clue what all her 'openness' had done to him and how he was forced to be the adult male in her life not her baby that she should be protecting. what she expected from him was now his main concern not his education or focusing in class. he was her husband and son!!! when they left it got me thinking about the fact that why do Afro-Caribbean parents run away from the truth that not all disabilities are physical. they don't understand the notion that what they say to and in front of their kids affects them. i have a Jamaican friend that him and his ex-wife openly argue in front of their daughter and the verbal abuse they use towards each other the daughter (11) picks up on and uses towards others including her parents.
i just wonder why as a group black parents cannot handle the fact that their child/ren may have a learning problem or other mental disabilities that can't be seen and try to help them whichever way possible.

nwayz till next tyme..peace, love and prosperity