AIBU to seek extra support for my son’s phonics difficulties?

Someone mentioned an eye test. You can also test for visual processing. Some eye clinics do this. My daughter was tested as part of a detailed Occupational therapy assessment. Turned out words were swimming all over the page. Tables didn't look like tables (which also affected her maths). We had no idea. This was separate from her dyslexia.

Some kids learn better through whole word recognition than phonics - my DS is like this. It clicked partway through Yr 2. Perhaps your son is too.
Make sure when you read to him he can see the words on the page (and read to him every day), take him to the library regularly and let him choose books he likes the look of, put subtitles on whenever he’s watching TV. Words words everywhere.

I dislike phonics
Iv two dyslexic children. They enjoyed educational reading apps on ipad think along lines of nessy, pocket phonics, reading eggs.
Orchard do some great games.

Have a look at word wasp programme.
https://wordwasp.com/
You buy the book - theres two levels - wasp and hornet, the website explains how to pick. You just buy the book and work through it say 10 mins a day or 4 pages a day etc

Op ditch the phonics. It's a barrier for many DC and when they struggle they just heap more phonics on !

I got my DD reading over one summer and up several book band levels to be a good fluent reader.

I joined something called reading chest which has nearly all the different reading schemes

If it still exists it was brilliant because I could order books on subjects she would like for her level. So we started with level 6 ort

When I read to her or with her I pointed at the word. Silly perhaps to mention but very powerful and simple.

We went back to basics with Peter and Jane books and flash cards of 100 high frequency words.

Then we joined the reading chest there are different level schemes so we had three books at a time ,read them sent them back by posts and they sent three more. It was brilliant.

Ditch the phonics !
It's like a cult here and everything is about that Micheal gove phonics tests.
My DD failed it and the phonetic spelling also massively confused her !
After summer I sent her back to school able to read !!
Since I've done quite a bit of research on it and found many DC can't get phonics but our schools cannot provide help.

ADHD has absolutely nothing to do with phonics. You can have adhd and be great at phonics or not have it and struggle. Seems irrelevant to me.

DS7 (Y2) didn’t manage any phonics at all until this year. He was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in Y1 and he point blank refused to do any phonics at all, saying “I know how to read already” or “it’s boring” and then an epic meltdown if pushed.

I completely backed off and didn’t even attempt it at home and at school they made no progress. He didn’t achieve a single set of phonemes and his end of Y1 screening was 0.

Suddenly in Y2 he announced that he was ready to do phonics now and he’s absolutely flew through the different levels! He’s still not at the right stage for end of Y2 but he’s made phenomenal progress this year.

I think it was a mix of being ready, actually wanting to and also I suspect the adhd medication has helped him to focus too!

So, perhaps he’s just not quite ready yet. Maybe Y2 will be his year!

The right tutor (third time was a charm!) completely changed my DD's choices and mindset. It made a huge difference having the same message reinforced by two people. School were praising her for things that were well below her capability and setting a low bar, and my DD knew it. Kids aren't stupid; they know how they're doing compared with their peers.

In the end, she had the choice of university or a good-quality apprenticeship, which is what she chose – no thanks to the education system!

Phonics did not work for her. Once she was taught different strategies she came on leaps and bounds. over the next 12 months. It was still hard work getting though GCSE's and sixth form but with out the additional support it would not have been possible.

So the usual advice is check hearing and check vision.

phonics can be tricky if there are hearing issues (eg Glue ear which is common at that age) or vision issues (so get an eye test),

once you’ve confirmed his hearing and his vision is ok then start looking at what else you can do to support him.

Does the school use memorable rhyming phrases for phonics? My daughter is in reception and I’ve found them hugely helpful for helping at home when I’m able to prompt her by saying “ea cup of tea”, “Paul the astronaut”, “better letter”, “look at a book” etc as we are reading together. If I know the same rhyming phrases that they use at school then I can give a hint without giving the whole word away, I’ve just pointed to which tool might be useful for the next sound. It works for helping her to spell as well. “Which ay sound is it” “the split one, bake a cake” etc etc.

The problem is that children who are struggling and are well behaved can be the ones who most easily miss out.
Yep. The ones who struggle and are a little/ a lot disruptive tend to be seen. The other group that gets overlooked consists of children who aren't making a fuss, and are doing just well enough to pass all the various assessments, but who could do much, much better with a little targeted support. I put somewhere between 12 and 15 hours into each of the dyslexic DC I saw, over two terms, and by the time I signed one off, his or her reading age had gone up by at least 18 months, and usually about 2 years.

https://simplebooklet.com/bdalostinthesystem2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com#page=11

Bit long, and this is only the highlight of what I could say on this topic!

Schools only have so much time and money, and only so many teachers and support staff etc. They are judged on how many children reach certain targets. This means that extra support is often focused on children who are just below the target and have a good chance of reaching it, because they are the ones who make the most impact on the school’s numbers.

The problem is that children who are struggling and are well behaved can be the ones who most easily miss out. They don’t cause problems, don’t demand attention and can appear to be coping when actually they are not. With limited resources they can become almost invisible. They may need far more help than what is available, but because they are unlikely to reach the target, they get more of a “make do with what is left” approach.

They don’t leave children like your son to fail. With limited resources, it is more damage limitation. So, for those who struggle a bit more, it can end up meaning they settle for showing they have made progress, even though that “progress” is not them reaching their full potential. Every year these children remain behind, it can become harder to catch up.

Many children struggle initially for no reason other than that it takes them a little longer to get going. Some are later diagnosed with an SpLD such as dyslexia. The main thing is not to panic. There is still time for your son to reach his potential, but I would act now. Get him assessed and consider a tutor. Not an academic hothouse trying to push him through endless extra work, but someone who can understand where he is struggling and help him access learning in a way that works for him.

Get the right support now, whether that is a specific piece of support that gets him back on track or more long term help, and your son has every chance of becoming a much happier and more confident learner. Talk about people you know or other successful people who have had challenges. If it is dyslexia, for example, Richard Rogers the architect and Lewis Hamilton. Normalise the fact that not everyone learns in the same way or at the same speed. Your son might not be dyslexic, but you get my drift. If he understands that struggling with something at school does not define his intelligence or what he is capable of, he is much more likely to believe that it is worth putting in the work because he has choices and can decide the direction of his own life.

Education should be about helping children access opportunities, not sending them the message that their value as a person is measured by their GCSE grades. I think schools, in trying to do their best, can reinforce the message that your value is your grade.

You could ask school but it is very unlikely they will use the ed psych hours they get on your son so you would have to go private.

Btw, who did the SALT assessment? My daughter was seen by school salt in year 5 and signed off with no apparent issues. I got her assessed privately as we were appealing against the LA decision not to assess for an ehc and she was diagnosed with a clinical speech and language disorder! We had a third assessment carried out by a specialist speech and language school as we hoped she would go there, and they agreed with the clinical disorder.

If you are concerned about dyslexia there is a free screener here : https://www.nessy.com/en-gb/dyslexia-explained/testing-and-screening/free-dyslexia-pre-screener-ages-5-7 which can be helpful just to get your head around what can be linked. E.g. days of the week we are still working on! Luckily he's ok with left and right whilst I still have to check every time.

Another thing we do is make sure he spends lots of time on stuff he is good at - our son is very sporty so we make sure he's able to go to his clubs/have an area he excels and enjoys as we don't want him getting down on himself. He also loves cooking so we spend lots of time on that as well!

We just got his phonics screening back today - he didn't pass, but he did so much better than I expected to be honest. I think he'll pass next year hopefully

Sadly, if your child isn't acting out, you have to do all the leg work yourself. You need to find out what his underlying problem is and then come up with solutions.

He may have adhd but there are other possibilities too. If you can afford it, get him assessed by an ed psych and a speech and language therapist (salt). Salt covers much more than pronouncing sounds. It covers receptive language for starters ie understanding what is said to you, memory.

I would also suggest you get advice from SOS!SEN re how to proceed.

If he is finding phonics tricky, start by having his eyesight checked and his hearing. Rule out a physical issue first (because these can be subtle problems and can be easily and painlessly screened for free). I've had a few students be 'cured' of suspected dyslexia with glasses.

Do not hire a tutor unless you find that teaching him yourself is causing stress between you.

Take action. In British schools, sadly, falling behind in reading and writing can lead to all sorts of issues. Over the summer, start on a fun little phonics programme and do just a little each day. You can switch it up between stuff online (games, songs, and it's amazing what you can create with AI!), reading together, making letters and sounds with paint or clay or chalk, whatever is nice for him.

You can learn to teach phonics! You work in early years and if you can do that you can do anything teaching throws at you. Pronunciation, repetition, lots of exposure to new phonemes with ones he already knows well.

Just go slow, little tiny steps, lots of singing and dancing and art and games. Build up his confidence this summer and he'll be ready to fly.

Get assessment/ support now. The school's priority is their metrics.