To ask for a meeting with DDs teacher in week 2 of term!

[2girls2dogs]

All of her peers seem to reading books, harry potter etc and such like - but she is at key stage one still. She has always struggled and i have worried but my DP just says "she'll catch up". The school haven't seemed overly concerned - she has extra help and goes off during lessons for this.

Im starting to worry this isn't enough

I don't do tht much reading with her at home because she doesn't like it, this is because she gets frustrated sad I have been concentrating more on getting her to read signs out and about, reading things on games that we play than sitting down wiht books with her. She likes to be read to and i read alot to her, im reading her a book from my kindle and she loves it, my DP is reading harry potter to her at bedtime. She does read to DP but its the same books over and over - she is clearly just memorising and wont read other books, she has 100s of books to choose from as i buy them from charity shops.

in one way i think she will catch up, it will just click but i'm kidding myself. I sat and read her school book tonight (she only "remembered" to change it today because she had to read to her teacher and ive nagged her every day) and she was fine with what she had read to the teacher (she memorises it) but when it came to reading the new stuff she really struggled so then got upset and didn't want to do it. The way she sounds things out is illogical, she will sound out the begining of a word ok, and then try and fill in with something either random or what she thinks it should be - so earlier, Stand = St an ball????

Ive worried that she is dyslexic since before school but i think they think im mad, but her dad is dyslexic although he wont have it tht he is, i know he is and she has had "signs" since she was very young.

Its only week two of the term, do you think its too early to make an appointment with her teacher, i feel like I am letting her down sad Ive asked for her to be assessed for dyslexia but they keep telling me they don't do that yet sad The school is an excellent school, by far the best in the area, she very very happy there, but they don't have the best records for special needs

Oh, your poor girl. And poor you!

My DS is the same age- Yr3, v. young in his year (birthday late July). He's on the Horrid Henry books over and over again, a fresh version of boring crap hell BUT this is a very recent development. He was reading quite basic stuff six months ago, and was getting bored with reading and frustrated that he had to do it at home. So I went on a bit of a mission to make him love reading, and bought him comics, let him choose comic-style books himself off amazon, and everything clicked.

I hope you get the help and answers you need from a meeting with the school. You sound like you're doing a bloody great job- How lovely for her to be read to, and to get so much enjoyment out of it! You've created a love of stories in her, and I'm sure that once she overcomes the obstacles, she will have her nose in a book all the time...

here is Part 1- I think there are 10 parts!
you might be able to find the full version somewhere!

Thankyou all so much - you have bouyed me up to go and make a fuss at the school.

I think you are doing everything you can for her, reading with her and talking to the teacher are excellent steps.
Dd is dyslexic, she was behind on her reading but her spelling is diabollical, I can't even guess sometimes what she is writing. I read to her every night so she can have exposure to books that she can't read herself. Dd is now having one on one lessons and I've really noticed the difference.
I think you should carry on as you are and speak to the school.

Please get her eyes tested as someone else suggested.
By an optician who specialises in SEN.

The test will be free, but it's much more than a sight test.

We found DDs eyes weren't working together and that she benefitted from reading with a greeny blue overlay. It stopped her eyes jiggling around so that she could process the information better. She wears glasses for classwork. We also found she was pressing too hard on the page when writing. She was having to concentrate so hard to read and write that her brain was whizzing away and she would become hyper.

I too thought she might be dyslexic but she has come on in leaps and bounds and it's not a concern anymore. We hadn't picked up on any sight problems, it was her music teacher who suggested we have her eyes tested from watching her read sheet music.

She sounds like my eldest. I couldn't get her to read at that age and spelling tests were a nightmare always getting 1 or 2 when others were getting 10 or 15! Now she is at high school year 8 in the top set for English and she can't get her head out of a book for two minutes. She still cannot spell for toffee though!
What happened for her was she found a genre of book she really enjoyed and that was it. I could have never got her to read about kittens or fairies!

2girls2dogs your dd sounds like my ds at that age (and you sound like me :)). dyslexia runs in our family (pretty much all the boys) so I was expecting it when ds obviously struggled. At seven he almost completely refused to read, and when we did try it was torturous as he obviously didn't really know how - we had the same problem with wild guesses.

This doesn't sound to me like a child who doesn't like reading, but one that can't. I would go into school and really try and get the teacher to understand that there is a serious problem that you are very worried about and see what resources they can line up for her. Ds's school refused to offer help unless he was a full two years below average so we got help outside (synthetic phonics coaching). However there are also resources online, books etc that have been recommended here. Follow up on the sight test too - perhaps someone can tell you what you need to look for in an optician because I know it's not a standard test.

My ds is still dyslexic, but he can now read fluently and enjoys all sorts of books (far more than most of his peers). His writing is still terrible, but it's easier to compensate for poor writing than poor reading IMO.

Not at all I have already had a meeting with my DD teacher

My DD uses Toe by Toe to help her read, you can find it on the Dyslexia website (or cheaper on ebay) and DD school uses aswell

I admit to not having read the whole thread but I want to contribute and I know this feed will be done soon, allowing sleep!

I'm dyslexic OP an it sounds likely that you're right about you daughter.. My mother spent 2 years telling the school there was a problem. They kept telling her 'I would read when I wanted to' and it was too early to asses me. She stopped reading me in order to encourage me to do it my self (please don't do that!). It didn't work. I was clearly performing above averagely in other areas and my Mathis and verbal vocabulary were excellent but I wouldn't/couldn't read.

In the end my mother changed my school. Within the first week they had identified me as dyslexic and I had weekly additional lessons to help. I caught up, started reading, even started spending birthday money on books! It's true we do learn in steps. Once we've found a way round something we're fine.

With that extra support I've done well and am now a professional with several post grad qualifications and an excellent salary. I'm not trying to brag, just give you some reassurance! I would actually say dyslexia is a possitive force in my life. The reason so many entrepreneur are dyslexic is because they solve problems in unusual ways. We think differently.

The Dyslexia institute is a charity that helps in the identification and education of dyslexics. The may be able to arraing an educational psychologists assessment for you. Alternatively keep on at the school. With a mother like you supporting her she will thrive!

I should add I was 7 when i was diagnosed, and very young in my year.

My DS was the same, an August birthday and dyslexic. Do go in and discuss it. It was in year 3 that he really started to get the help, in year 1, I just got 'he is the youngest' and it wasn't until year 2 that it was thought to be more. Just pop in after school and ask for an appointment. Discuss it with the teacher and arrange to see the school SENCO, she needs an IEP, it sounds as if she already has one if she is getting extra help. However you should know about it (individual education plan) you should be shown it each time it is updated and sign it.
Keep it all very pleasant and friendly but if you don't get anywhere, make an appointment with the Head, she does need assessment with the SENCO.
I liked the Toe by Toe book mentioned here you can see sample pages and it is easy to work with at home, and has the advantage of very short sessions - an advantage if she doesn't want to read- but it is every day.
My DS got lots of help in the juniors and got a level 4 in English. Unfortunately the secondary school didn't follow up and I had to battle again- they were great eventually and he got a C grade f or English at GCSE.
Never stop pushing - but do it in a friendly way. I was always viewed with caution to start with but once they realised that I was being realistic and not asking for anything impossible and would support at home we were fine.
If you don't get anywhere I would change schools over it, it is that important.
Good luck.

It is worth looking into coloured lenses at the opticians.
DS got extra time in exams which was a great help.

I home educate and have done A LOT of research into learning to read. I believe in this country we push children to read too young, there is a window of "reading readiness" that children reach and when they do it all sort of clicks. Some will reach this at 3/4 others not until 7/8/9. For my youngest he hit is about his 6th birthday and went from phonetically spelling out cat to reading Beast Quest books on his own in less than a month. The difficult thing is maintaining the self esteem of those who reach the window later.

That is not to say that some children don't have real problems and the earlier these are recognised and supported the better. So YANBU at all to make an appointment with the teacher.

Also phonics doesn't work for all children. If your daughter is struggling with sounding out words but is able to memorise, perhaps you could work on recognising words by sight with her.

There are a number of online reading programmes which provide good support and a fun alternative to the reading books if they are becoming a battle. Starfall is free but American so has the odd pronunciation issue. Many home educators (myself included) swear by readingeggs.co.uk/ Reading Eggs. It is subscriber but there are usually codes for quite long free trials bouncing about if you google Reading Eggs codes.

My absolute favourite is Mona McNee here. She devised her own system when the school said that her DS with Down's Syndrome would never read. It is quite old fashioned, but I like it and it is all for free which I think is wonderful in this day and age when people immediately want to market things and make money.

My ds really struggled with his reading. He couldn't recognise letters from one day to the next and was behind his peers.

I spoke to school on many occasions. They were considering dyslexia and he had an IEP for 3 years.

However, I took him to the optician and discovered he has an eye condition which caused him to have double vision when doing close work/reading.

Over the years he had got used to it and his reading had improved but now he has glasses which corrects it and now he has caught up and is ahead of some of his peers. His confidence has improve greatly.

I volunteered in a school and some year threes were indeed reading Harry potter! Alone!

Op I wouldn't worry too much but I did notice that the ones who stuggled most were those whose parents didn't read with them or fill in the diary etc.

I think you need a consistent approach to reading at home. Find some books on a topic she is interested in and 10 mins a night is surely better than the odd road sign

Also sorry yanbu to make an appointment with the teacher over this as I would be concerned too

No, you're not unreasonable to ask for a meeting and to ensure your daughter does get some help.

Hopefully when she gets the right help, she will suddenly start to make progress - my April born DS made great strides in Yr2.

(And some children are reading Harry Potter at this age, you are right - however, I think that is at the other end of the scale and you shouldn't be worrying about that level at the moment)

synthetic phonics! thats it nooka

thats what the independant teacher the school brought in, used with dd

my understanding is that it is different to phonics, which is used in school. Maybe itsstillgood can elaborate on what/how/why its different?

OP I'd want any parent with a concern to come and see me to discuss it. Whilst you don't want to become a nuisance or one of 'those' parents, if the school aren't picking up on something then you do want to be the squeaky wheel getting the attention. And why not get in there at the start of the year?

There will be children reading HP at that age. One of my DD's friends was reading them (and understanding them) in year 1. My son read them in year 2. My DD has just started year 2 and there's no way she'll be reading them this year and maybe not next either! You can't really compare.

However, if you are concerned about dyslexia then speak to them. Most schools won't consider dyslexia until the child is in year 3 anyway.

you absolutely do want to become a nuisance; if that is what it takes to get the school to help you

do not be discouraged by what other people think of you

MY dd wasn't reading harry potter at 7 and she is an avid reader now and devours books , she wouldn't have been able to read HP she first started reading them at 10, all children have different interests , does she read can she read alright , It doesn't matter if she hasn't read war and peace by the time she is 8 as long as she is coping in school, Obviously if you are really worried go and ask to speak to the teacher,

but is really ok for her to not enjoy reading and be 'advanced'

This is my understanding of the difference, I am just an enthusiastic amateur so I may not have it exactly right, I am sure someone more knowledgeable will correct me if necessary.

There are analytical phonics and synthetic phonics. Most schools use a mix.

Analytical phonics looks at the first sound of the word and breaks it down from there. For example in school they may do the letter 'c' - it makes a /c/ sound and they will learn words such as cat, can, cot. The focus is on whole words, rhymes and word families.

Synthetic phonics teaches sounds i.e. /s/ which can be made by ce, ss and s
and children are taught to break down words into parts such as st-r-ee-t.

I have an appointment to see the teacher on monday - she knew why i was there this morning and said that she is thinking of starting DD on some "different kind of books". I am going to insist that she is assessed by the SENCO if she hasn't been already, if so, i would very much like to see the assesment! To be fair to the teacher, she has clearly thought about it and has a strategy, it has to be enough though as It is breaking my heart that she is being left behind and missing out on so much.

I said to DD this morning that i was going to see her teacher and she looked :( but i said to her that she wasn't in trouble and i wanted to help her with her reading. I don't know why she thinks me seeing her teacher is becuse she has been bad - she hasn't. I said to her that if she learns to read that she will be able to read Harry Potter to herself, under the bedcovers at night, she said "but daddy reads it too me, i don't want to read it on my on, i'll be lonely!" oh dear!

There is a big part of me that WANTS her to be dyslexic :( because at least, once it is recongised we can start to put a strategy in place to deal with it. If its nothing that has a label, i can't accept that my DD is just "not very bright" which is how one of the other mums described her - "oh its not DDs fault she's not so bright, she'll catch up" needless to say i never discussed my DDs problems with that particular mother again!