AIBU To Dig Deeper into Child's Reading and Spelling Difficulties

Good that the school knows what she’s missing and is putting interventions in place.

I would ask the school what and how you can support. Have they invited you to a phonics cafe ever? That’s where you get to learn about pure sounds and the school’s reading scheme. Either way, if I were them I’d love a parent who would happily do some ‘homework’ with a pupil. They could easily give you a list of those set 5 sounds so you can be on the look out for them. They could also show you good techniques to support with sentence reading. Working as a team is a very good thing for the child.

No. “Uh” should never be added to words. A dog is not a duhooooguh. I added emphasis on the o because it’s another one where teachers teach the sound incorrectly and then you have kids who can’t read simple “o” words because they aren’t using the correct sound.

If you teach phonics you need to teach the sounds correctly.

Having trouble with short words but not as much with long words sounds like dyslexia to me, once my DD got to longer words she could read them in context correctly, because the whole word was a different shape to the words around and she was reading the words not the letters. Short words were difficult because they could look the same as other words, 'on' could be 'no' for instance, as far as she was concerned they were the same word. Spelling was also very difficult because for her so many letters looked the same. She was bright and did figure it out for herself eventually. I did help her a lot with reading at home and practising writing.

She was also right handed and left eyed which didn't help fine motor control for writing, you can check which eye she favours by letting her pick up a telescope or look into a microscope and see which eye she uses.

Keep asking school what they are doing to assess your DD’s barriers to learning.

I would look at getting a tutor if it’s affordable.

However, if it’s not, start doing Nessy Reading and Spelling (you can get a free trial but even afterwards it’s not overly expensive) with her and stick with it. I tutor mainly dyslexic learners and use it all the time with under 12s. It’s gamified but the theory behind it is really well thought out.

I disagree that teachers are teaching sounds incorrectly or that this would hold a child back if they did. Sounds have changed with SSP ie 'ruh' is now 'rrrrr' and i do think some of them are actually more difficult for kids now - 'luh' is now 'lllll' which IME can often turn into 'ulllll' and 'muh' is now 'mmmmm' which IME can often turn into 'ummm' (having listened to readers in school). Also try sounding out mum when you're saying 'mmmm'!

I'm not a huge fan of synthetic phonics, I taught DS the old way at the time they changed all the sounds and although he wasn't that interested in reading he was still the first free reader in the class. It didn't hold him back being taught 'incorrectly'.

Personally I'd get a private Ed Psych appointment asap OP if you can afford it as I expect there's a bit of a wait and in the mean time get eyes and hearing checked as well.

Oh and learning to read was hard the biff and chip reading scheme was not at all motivating so we found an equivalent with modern super hero type stuff. It helped then something unlocked and he was off ..I think he mostly learnt to read whole words despite having phonics jammed into him. Both he and I read fluently and fast so it's not a given that reading will always be a struggle.

I'm dyslexic and diagnosed after a degree and a Master's degree. DC1 very like me and by primary year 3 we were suspecting issues. School utterly utterly not interested. He was behind expected standards but not failing (ifykwim). But he was bright and very able verbally. Could not get them interested in any screening or testing despite the fact that he was getting some additional support. Eventually got a private ed Psych. They have to follow a gold standard screening test so don't believe the 'they diagnose everyone nonsense'. School were not supportive and basically when DC was diagnosed told me 'what did I expect that he would rapidly progress to his general ability' ....Umme yes with the right support he should indeed be getting much nearer that....We had to fight tooth and nail but finally got some decent teachers (one whose wife was dyslexic) a brilliant private tutor (he is also dyscalculic) who went back to first principles with numbers. DC now at Exeter Uni having bagged some A grade A-levels. We nearly lost his enthusiasm and confidence at one point so it's really worth pushing. Good luck.

To the poster who said 'many teachers' are teaching phonics wrong... absolute rubbish. I would imagine it's a very very small group of newly qualified teachers. There's so much training expected and a huge number of resources that play the sounds out loud so it will be difficult to continually get it wrong. Also it wouldn't make sense in the lesson when you read the words.

Definitely speak to the class teacher and the senco but don't rule out private if affordable to you as you may find that school are unwilling / unable to help due to v tight budgets.

Absolutely check her hearing and sight as previously suggested.

Also check in with school for support.
She may be a reader who recognises word shapes, rather than phonics.

Re previous posters saying that some teachers are teaching sounds incorrectly, as a retired teacher I do take exception to this glib statement.

Teachers have experience of teaching phonics and many, many , courses in the development of reading,spelling and writing- ask for their help.
Good luck!

Agree with toe by toe if you suspect dyslexia. It made a huge difference for my daughter who was diagnosed at 8. We took 2 years to work through it (it can be done more quickly but she got frustrated easily). She still struggled with reading after that. But she listened to audiobooks all the time and I continued to read to her everyday. Then when she was 12 a friend lent her a teen fantasy/romance novel. Everything seemed to click and she read it cover to cover. At 14 she is a fast and extremely voracious reader and doing well in English.

I would put money on her having phonological awareness difficulties. It’s fairly common, all dyslexic children have it but then about 1 in 4 other children as well. It means they really struggle to hear the individual sounds in words and then to segment and blend them in order to be able to read and spell.
It is the precursor skill to being able to access phonics, so for some children even though they are taught phonics accurately and well they aren’t in a position to be able to learn them yet. Then the whole class moves on and they get left behind. She is trying to read and spell by recognising whole words, which works for a little while, but we simply don’t have the capacity to memorise by sight all the thousands of words we read, which is why phonics is essential.
I would first rule out hearing issues, including glue ear. Then have a sight test.
The school could check her phonological awareness- all the dyslexia screens have a section that tests it. Or there are tests online you could try.
It is easy to address, but will take a bit of time to put the skills in place, and she would then need to go back and fill in the bits of phonics she has missed.
This is an excellent website which explains it better and offers next steps https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness

Hi, OP -

One of my DN had eye tracking difficulties as a young child. She is very bright and loved books from infancy. She could teach herself many things but had trouble around pre-reading in kindergarten. Her teacher was the first to notice.

DSis pursued the diagnosis, starting with an educational psychologist. We had not then heard of eye tracking difficulties and it was a bit of a shock. The recommendation was to hold DN back a year and work on her eyes.
It worked well and she is now doing a Master’s degree, having retained her love if books and reading.

DN was educated abroad I don’t know the British system. I realise your DD has progressed some way through primary school .and doesn’t have a diagnosis.

It was perceptive of you to notice ET difficulties as one possibility. You have good suggestions above. Based on the experiences of my family, I would start with the school and, if affordable, the EP. They should be alert for difficulties with vision and hearing. I would not hesitate mention the possibility (only) of an ET problem, because it may be a bit unusual.

Best wishes to both of you

Hi, OP -

One of my DN had eye tracking difficulties as a young child. She is very bright and loved books from infancy. She could teach herself many things but had trouble around pre-reading in kindergarten. Her teacher was the first to notice.

DSis pursued the diagnosis, starting with an educational psychologist. We had not then heard of eye tracking difficulties and it was a bit of a shock. The recommendation was to hold DN back a year and work on her eyes.
It worked well and she is now doing a Master’s degree, having retained her love if books and reading.

DN was educated abroad I don’t know the British system. I realise your DD has progressed some way through primary school .and doesn’t have a diagnosis.

It was perceptive of you to notice ET difficulties as one possibility. You have good suggestions above. Based on the experiences of my family, I would start with the school and, if affordable, the EP. They should be alert for difficulties with vision and hearing. I would not hesitate mention the possibility (only) of an ET problem, because it may be a bit unusual.

Best wishes to both of you

It sounds as though there is a combination of reasons and you say you wish you had given more school support and practiced more at home. How often do you read with her, share a story? Does she see you reading? Did you read to her every day from babyhood?

Eye test
Hearing test
Senco meeting
Educational Psychologist assessment - you will have to pay for this to be timely
Read with her for pleasure - and read her books she might find easier to read (Blyton, Flower Fairies, Spiderwick) as well as jolly good stories (HP, Streatfield, Lemony Snicket, etc). Non fiction is good for pictires and words.

@pepperminticecream Schools have been told the only way is phonics but it never was and never will be!

I cannot agree more about a wide diet of reading. Not just phonics. Bright dc can memorize words. I’d definitely ask what the school is doing!

What about an eye test? A friend had similar with her DD, turns out her eyes were too small for her head (sounds weird but apparently its common). So although she could read, her eyes were getting tired easily and not focusing on the words properly. She's got glasses now to help strengthen the eye muscles and as she grows the problem will correct itself.

My DS(11) has had similar difficulties with reading and spelling. He was very behind with both so in y3 he had intensive phonics support x4 per week and after a few months his reading ability skyrocketed and he quickly caught up to where he should be and now reads in greater depth, however his spelling issues persisted.

The school got an Educational Psychologist to assess him in y4 and she believes he has Dyspraxia (aka DCD). He also has messy handwriting and a few other issues, but I mention this to you because everyone automatically jumps to Dyslexia because it is a fairly common condition for causing issues with reading etc.

Dyspraxia is well known for the aforementioned physical symptoms but it can also cause issues with spelling, and this in turn causes issues with grammar and writing. Perhaps a thought to keep in mind rather than just assuming Dyslexia if you realise that your DD may also fit other Dyspraxia signs. If you do look into this condition don’t just rely on the NHS website or AI as they gloss over the symptoms and mainly list these as physical ones.

My friends kid has some of these issues, in their instance the school has supplied a teacher who does 30 mins of additional reading with them per week. Have you tried increasing how often you hear DD read? At my child’s school they listen to them read everyday. Literacy is often defined by frequency, so how often you read to them and get them to read to you.

You sound like you care very much and are doing alot to support your DD. Don't beat yourself up there!

What support is the school giving?

My DD is dyslexic and had very good support in primary. IlP (individual learning plans) small group lessons a few times a week, lots of games to help her learn her learn techniques to improve her spelling etc.

They did all this before she was diagnosed officially (privately) and tbh the official diagnosis didn't change the provision it just confirmed what we knew and, later, gave her access to extra time in exams and the permission to work on a laptop in lessons.

I appreciate not all schools are this good and so we were lucky to be so well supported. Have you spoken with your SEND department? You've mentioned you think youve not done enough, but what do they think?

There are also some great resources you can use at home for helping reading and spelling, id recommend toe by toe, stairway to spelling and a barrington stoke dictionary.

Typing programs are good as some children improve when they can work on laptops rather than writing, and then as they get older there is alot of technology to help (reader pens, dictation, text to speech etc)

Primary is a very tough time when reading and spelling is a challenge for kids, but there are things that help if the schools will provide / allow it.

A couple of things. I’d start with getting her hearing tested. It’s often not picked up when kids have problems hearing particularly in a busy classroom setting and hearing contributes to reading and spelling more than you’d think.

If you’re worried about dyslexia get hold of Toe by Toe, it’s a reading/spelling scheme designed for parents to use with their kids. If you follow the instructions and work with her daily you’ll see improvement. My DD couldn’t read are 10 (partially due to significant hearing problems) and by 13 was age appropriate in reading, spelling and comprehension.

One Issue is that teachers can’t teach to each child. They have to teach to the whole and then some children are left behind. Reading isn’t just about learning phonics (and many teachers don’t teach letter sounds correctly) but you need multiple approaches. In an ideal world our children’s education would be customised to fit their learning style.

Just adding to this: many teachers are teaching letter sounds incorrectly. Familiarise yourself with what letter sounds should sound like and give her a test to see if she turly knows the sounds.

If your assertion that the teaching is somehow to blame for a child’s difficulties, then it would follow that all the children in that class would have similar difficulties.

OP, make an appointment to meet with the SENCo at school. That’s your first action. Once you’ve got that sorted, you can come up with a plan together with the SENCo.