Books for very reluctant 14 year old dyslexic

[Meadowbreeze]

I am at a loss and need some suggestions. We have tried so much to try to get DD 14 (Y10) to read. She is dyslexic and has DLD (language disorder) which makes things that much more difficult but she has no chance of passing her GCSEs if we don't raise her reading age. Shes just tested on return to school as reading age 12y8m. She's 14y5m.
The only books she has ever liked were:
Diary of a wimpy kid - this will do nothing to raise reading age
The whole series of super readable rollercoasters. She's read them all and enjoyed every one.
She also enjoyed graphic novels but the font in most is not very accessible for dyslexics.

Things she hasn't liked which I thought she would:
Anything Barrington stoke.
Agatha Oddly
Murder most unladylike
The land of stories

I have just ordered the London eye mystery but she's 5 chapters in and says it's not working out.
Audio books don't work. Her receptive language isn't good enough to process it all. It's been suggested to get an audio book and the physical book she can follow along with but I don't see that improving her reading stamina or age, and frankly that game is a bit out of my tax bracket.

Any suggestions?

No expert but what is reading age based on?

What is the crux?
New words? Better vocabulary?
Inference?

I assume you have had guidance from dyslexic advisors?

What is a reading age based on?

@PaperTyger Decoding, vocab and comprehension

Would some specialist tutoring help her? Just wondering if reading alone is a bit lonely if it is something she finds very difficult.

I would personally take her to a big library and ask her to do a supermarket sweep and pick up 15 (or whatever you are allowed) books of any type at all, not to worry about it or over think it, and to read the first few pages of any of them and see how she gets on.

Life is too short to read boring books, there are so many, the best thing is for her to just keep giving it a go.

@lannistunut She does have a specialist tutor she sees for 1hr a week. They work on writing though.
The problem is I only buy the books she thinks she'll enjoy. She's just not got the stamina to keep it up. She won't let me read to her. The reluctant reader rollercoaster series was brilliant. It was the first time she ever read and read. I was hoping it would lead to being able to take on other books but it hasn't and the series is finished :(. It brought her reading age up from 11y to 12.8

It's been suggested to get an audio book and the physical book she can follow along with but I don't see that improving her reading stamina or age, and frankly that game is a bit out of my tax bracket. If this has been suggested it might eb worth following the advice - to do this cheaply you should be able to find audibles at the library and the corresponding book - ask the librarian for help and they will be able to advise. I know they won;t have much range but they will have something.

Also I used to read short stories a lot - how about those? There are magazines available that have pieces by very new writers. If it is decoding, comprehension and vocab then a full novel is not necessary?

@Meadowbreeze Don't buy, go to the library. The pressure of buying and not liking may make things worse. What has the school library got?

What about TV tie ins - has she watched Hunger Games for example?

Sorry to bombard you!

Do you think she might enjoy some Science Fiction with a girl as the main character? If so, I would recommend the ‘Earth Girl’ series 3 books by Janet Edwards. There are also more books by the same author, but with other young characters.

If she is finding all her lessons, and all her homework far more challenging than all her peers do, then is making her do even more reading in her "down time" the bets way forward?
I would be encouraging a hobby where she can shine / achieve / possibly be "the best" not making her "read for pleasure" when it is clearly not only not a pleasure, but it extremely hard work.

@lannistunut Those are great suggests, happy to be bombarded lol.
The thing is, the audio book has to match the written version. Most audio books in the library are classics and there are so many versions of classic books, I'm not sure I'd find a copy that matches.
She loves hunger games the movie but refuses to read anything she's watched.
I used to think she just won't read but after finding those super readables that she read through so quickly, and enjoyed, it's make me realise there's just very few things out there that meet her needs. She can and enjoys reading it's just so hard to find anything she will manage but isnt written for a 6 year old.
The short stories is a brilliant idea! She struggles to follow thick plots so I think this might be perfect. Thank you!

What about Harry Potter, there is something about those books that pull you in.
Audio versions are also available

@Kite22 Did I say she's finding it all more challenging? Sorry if I gave that impression. She enjoys school a lot. Is in the correct level classes and receives brilliant support. We are very lucky. She's got lots of down time and is on two sports teams she loves. Spends lots of time mooching around town with friends. She's a very happy girl, I just want to get some suggestions of books that will hopefully help, like the series she read did.

Get some advice from Afasic or Ican. This is their area of expertise. She has a learning challenge. So the same doesn’t apply to her as a child without one. Has she seen a speech and language therapist? They can help also.
My son has DLD so I know the challenges.

Audiobooks will increase her vocabulary and her ability to predict based on context and language patterns. She'll be able to access far more sophisticated vocab and language structure than she could by reading. Talking about what she's listening to will enhance comprehension. Reading isn't just about phonic decoding - precision teaching can help there though.
What is the senco at school suggesting? Does she have access arrangements in place for exams - reader especially?

@Lavendersummer Ah been there and done that. Got my EHCP lol. I am very concious not to bombard her with after school tutors etc as I know she will be so much more tired than NT kids, so it's all written into her plan and she has her dyslexia tutor, maths tutor and speech and lang within her timetable, normally during tutor. It's very good and her school is wonderful. Reading and piano are my only requirements after school.
I was hoping maybe some parents on here would have some suggestions. We will give the short stories a go as I think that may work.

My dd is the same and we've gone audio books all the way. Nothing was making her read and I didn't want her comprehension which was good when I read to her to decline too.

If you want to go down the audio book route try calibreaudio.org.uk/

They are the charity which started as audio books for the blind but have now opened it up to anyone who struggles to access print which includes those with a dyslexia diagnosis.

It's a long time since I signed up - dd was 7 & is now 13 but I think it was a one off £15 payment until her 16th birthday.

Nearly all of the books are full length so would work for following along, not that I've ever had any success with DD with this, sounds good in theory, in practice she zoned in on the audio &out on the book

However it has kept her interest in stories going and now she is reading at age expected level so worth a try.

What about other books written by the authors from the super readable rollercoasters? She's already familiar with the authors' style which might help draw her in.

Op she can obviously read now but I wonder when you mentioned decoding if she has been down the phonics route?
Would it be worth going back to some basics?
Root words, suffixes, high frequency word's?
Unfortunately many people with dyslexia struggle with phonics.

Phonics was a barrier to my dd reading so we had to go for sight reading and she was great with it.

Has your dd had eye excersise, fried speed reading?
There are so many Audi books that are not classics,some on Spotify

If it's vocab can you get 11+ word vocabulary cards and do a few cards a week?

@Tickledtrout She has extra time written into her EHCP but we have a meeting with the senco about access arrangements later this year. She's just started Y10 so they want those in place for mocks.
I think you've all convinced me to try the audio books. @EskSmith thank you so much for that website!
@PaperTyger She's actually brilliant at decoding. Won't understand what it means but she flew under the radar for ages as she aced all phonics tests. It wasnt until we got an EP report that showed there wasn't much else but decoding going on in her reading. Comprehension and fluency was hopeless. She's come a long way, I just want to build on it.

Btw I don't understand why the audio isn't enough if perhaps you just pick out the harder words and tell her what they mean.

I am sure I read about parents giving a dyslexic child audio books on history and he actually passed a GCSE history exam early due to this.

Has she tried many of the books printed in dyslexia friendly font? My brother has a few and he could read them more easily than other books. He also liked Tom Gates after diary of a wimpy kid.
Maybe the Totally Lucy books?

Hope it's useful @Meadowbreeze . My Dd has had more success with graphic novels -full pages of dense text can freak her out. Most recently she loved the heartstopper books (recent Netflix tie in).

@PaperTyger It's the DLD that's the problem with audio books. Her receptive language is effected and she needs stories told in small chunks, sometimes repeated. Not too thick of a plot. Sometimes broken down. I've found audio books go too fast and if they're also introducing new vocab she will get lost quickly. Following in the book gives her something to grasp onto in a sense.
I think short stories is the best suggestion but we will try audio books too.

You can access many library audiobooks online, that cover a wide range of genres and are generally true to the books. BorrowBox is one app many libraries use, I'm sure others can recommend others.

More expensive but if you buy the kindle version you can often get the audiobook cheaper (not sure if you have to be a member of Audible to benefit from this).

Ok.

Re decoding, did you ever break down word into root words?

With pre fix and suffix work?

The problem with phonics is the nonsense side.
Whereas breaking down word's means something and is real?
Anyway,good luck!