P. Elisabeth, P. Gabriël, P. Emmanuel and P. Eléonore: News and Pictures Part II

[Carminha Stalker]

My granddaughter has dislexia. But with good additional classes and lots of encouragement, she has improved greatly.
It´s wonderful that this problem has been talked about by Prince Phillippe and Princess Mathilde.
I´m rooting for Emanuel with all my heart. He´ll be fine, I´m sure, once he catches up.
My daughter in law also had it as a child and now she is a very competent grown up and understanding very well the problems my granddaughter faced and conquering them.

[NGalitzine]

Originally Posted by Blue_

Not now, but in 20-30 years. They will. They are always laughing about prince Philippe who is supposely dumb. I don't know. I guess they will.

Since Philippe earned a masters degree from Stanford, not exactly an easy school, he cannot be too "dumb".

[Iva]

Originally Posted by Blue_

This just want to makes me cry. How awfull is it to do that when you're a prince. I know by sure the press will laugh with him his whole life now. And I know the parents know that too!

Victoria of Sweden has dislexia too and I've never seen a single article in press laughing about that. I'm glad that Philippe & Mathilde are doing everything they can to help their child.

[Artemisia]

I would hope that in the 21st century a disability is no excuse for being laughed at, especially in a progressive country like Belgium.

Besides, we don't know what Emmanuel's condition is: most people live a reasonably normal life with dyslexia, dyscalculia or dyspraxia. Victoria of Sweden manages it pretty well. Emmanuel will certainly receive all the care in the world from his parents and other family members. Good for Mathilde and Philippe for not trying to hide the condition as if it were something shameful.

[Princess Peach]

Originally Posted by Iva

Victoria of Sweden has dislexia too and I've never seen a single article in press laughing about that. I'm glad that Philippe & Mathilde are doing everything they can to help their child.

I think Princess Beatrice also has dyslexia.

Fortunately, gone are the days where we laugh at those with learning disabilities, or any disability. And I too applaud Emmanuel's parents

[Grandma828]

As a parent and grandparent of family that had dyslexia, I firmly believe that getting the correct help is the only way to go. It is not a disgrace to have a problem. The disgrace would be in pretending it didn"t exist.

[Blue_]

Originally Posted by Iva

Victoria of Sweden has dislexia too and I've never seen a single article in press laughing about that. I'm glad that Philippe & Mathilde are doing everything they can to help their child.

Like I said, I am too! It's just sad. And nobody's to blame for that. Only some stupid belgians, but yeah. We hate our Royals and our newspapers and magazines are not that kind with our Royals...

[Princess Peach]

Originally Posted by Blue_

Like I said, I am too! It's just sad. And nobody's to blame for that. Only some stupid belgians, but yeah. We hate our Royals and our newspapers and magazines are not that kind with our Royals...

I understand your point. When a group is hated, there's generally no limit to how low people will go. But surely this is one of those issues which crosses such a limit nobody would think to do it (I hope). Also, I think there would be a significant backlash against the writer who made fun of the child.

[leidi]

Well it's great that Philippe and Mathilde are acknowledging Emmanuel's learning problems and doing something to help him instead of forcing him to go through an education that wouldn't be suited to his needs.

I love that they don't hide what's going on with Emmanuel, just say "he has this now we have to get him a school that will work for him"

The only downside is that he will probably miss his siblings around the school and his friends but it's for the best, he'll get new friends

And if anyone makes fun of this, then their heads should be examined, they would be the "retarded" (sorry for the strong word but it fits) ones.

[Daria_S]

Originally Posted by leidi

Well it's great that Philippe and Mathilde are acknowledging Emmanuel's learning problems and doing something to help him instead of forcing him to go through an education that wouldn't be suited to his needs.

I love that they don't hide what's going on with Emmanuel, just say "he has this now we have to get him a school that will work for him"

The only downside is that he will probably miss his siblings around the school and his friends but it's for the best, he'll get new friends

And if anyone makes fun of this, then their heads should be examined, they would be the "retarded" (sorry for the strong word but it fits) ones.

You're absolutely correct. The best thing a parent of a child with any exceptionality can do is get help as soon as possible. Also, as many stated, having a learning disability is not a death sentence. Many times, a child needs help processing information, because things are a bit 'mixed up' in his/her brain, whether it's due to dyslexia, dysgraphia, or something involving auditory or visual processing. It should be noted, that more often than not, people with learning disabilities are extremely intelligent, but due to processing issues (or something like ADHD), they're not able to perform on grade level. The school that Emmanuel will be sent to will help him get the skills that he needs to get his thoughts/assignments broken down and easier to complete (mind you, this doesn't mean that he'll get less work, just perhaps more time to do it, or a step-by-step procedure to make the task doable, rather than daunting), which in turn will help him function to his full potential in the general ed. class, and later on in higher education (if that's the road that he'll choose). I think his parents are doing the right thing, especially relatively early in the game, so that he can be on track.

As for being laughed at, it could happen to any child, because kids (especially in teen years) tend to be obsessed with being like everyone else, and if they see that there's someone that's different (whether it's due to a disability, or not), they'll more than likely pounce. I speak from experience, having been a 'special ed. kid' during my primary, middle and high school years. However, again, the best thing anyone can do for Emmanuel is teach him to advocate for himself, and that will help him stand up for what he needs, and defend himself against bullies (and I will also tell you from experience that rejection is more prominent in the adult world, because there are no more teachers, or guidance counselors to intervene when things get rough, and it's up to the individual to use the skills gained and get what he/she needs in order to function and be a productive member of society [to the best of his/her ability]).

[leidi]

Daria: I know children can be cruel and he will most likely be teased about it but when I said people making fun of him I meant adults, enemies of the monarchy.

Making fun of a kid with a learning problem would make said adult a complete and utter disgrace.

[Daria_S]

Originally Posted by leidi

Daria: I know children can be cruel and he will most likely be teased about it but when I said people making fun of him I meant adults, enemies of the monarchy.

Making fun of a kid with a learning problem would make said adult a complete and utter disgrace.

Ahh. Thank you for the clarification .

[grevinnan]

Originally Posted by Blue_

This just want to makes me cry. How awfull is it to do that when you're a prince. I know by sure the press will laugh with him his whole life now. And I know the parents know that too!

My admiration for prince Philppe and princess Mathilde! flowers: Those problems are always hiden by parents and they try to get their children finish their scholarship, wathever it takes. This is a big step for breaking the taboo!
Wish prince Emmanuel and his family much strenght.

Unbelievable, we are living in the 21st century and people are laughing at someone because of a handicap.

[Carminha Stalker]

It´s shameful that there would be adults who laugh at a child´s disability. Don´t they fear retribution on themselves or their loved ones?Anything can happen to anybody.
Good for Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde. They are doing the right thing with their lovely little Emanuel.
God bless them.

[rominet09]

Laugh ??? I don't think the media can be so bad....

[rominet09]

Originally Posted by Blue_

Like I said, I am too! It's just sad. And nobody's to blame for that. Only some stupid belgians, but yeah. We hate our Royals and our newspapers and magazines are not that kind with our Royals...

"we hate our Royals" ?????????????????????

[Blue_]

I do think they can be really bad. Not now, but in 30 years.
Rominet, when I said ''we'' I meant most of the belgians. Of course, there are still a little part of the people who likes them a lot! :)

[elisabetteke]

I'm a speech and language therapist in Belgium and I work with children with learning dissabilities every day. I think it is very good that prince Phillippe and Princess Mathilde are open about it.
The school prince Emmanuel is going to (Eureka) is a very good school for children with learning dissabilities, they work very hard with special methods to teach them how to cope with there learning problems. So I think he will have a very good future and he will be able to continue his education in a regular school and get good grades after 2 years in this school (That is the maximum of time children can go there.)

[stephanievl]

Elisabeth and Gabriel participated to the 'Childern's university' in Leuven saterday. Mathilde came to pick her childern up afterwards.

Pic1 - Pic2

[leidi]

Thanks for the pics!

Wow, Gabriel has grown a lot since we last saw him! He's going to be as handsome as his dad is