5 year old can't read.

[bumble79]

Hi all, posting here for traffic. I will discuss this with class teacher but they are in the process of assessing each child after lockdown.

Dd turned 5 at the end of July and has just started year 1. She couldn't really read before lockdown and although we did some school work at home she didn't progress with reading at home. We did however read to her regularly.

Can not being able to read in year 1 normal?

Also she is speech delayed (1-2 years behind), global developmental delay but has made huge progress with her physical skills particularly since lockdown and spending so much time outside.

She recognised her phonics, can write simple words etc. She also recognised basic words such as mum, dad, dog, mud, mad etc.

Anyone else's children been in this situation?

When you say she can't read, what do you mean?
At this age and given the disruption laboriously sounding out c a t or d o g is within normal range.
If she can't recognise the initial letter sounds then I would speak to the school.

Hey, ive noticed all children are very different. Some read quickly and others don't but I'm sure teacher would let you know if there are any problems. What I've found useful is the peter and jane books. They have twelve levels and my ds jumped a couple of levels during lockdown using them. I think it uses the most common words and builds their reading confidence or something like that

Well, Id' be speaking with the school (after these first crazy weeks are done) but... she's got some delays i other areas so I'd be less concerned about the reading right now. As others have pointed out, reading can be caught up.

Our head teacher has a very useful point she makes to parents in reception that until the kids are about 8, the school won't be trying to compare them to each other at all. She says that if the child is struggling with reading and writing her advice is to get them out in the playground and focus on gross and fine motor skills because until they've nailed those, the reading and writing thing will be difficult.

I did some reading with DS Year 2 class. I was quite surprised by the massive variation even at that level. Of the 5 children I read with, one could barely sound out C A T, and another was only marginally beyond that. One boy was actually quite a good and fluent reader and at first I couldn't figure out why he'd been picked for this extra reading.... until I realised that he didn't understand a word he was reading. He could read out the sounds but he wasn't absorbing a single bit of the content. And this was when they were 6 or 7.

So I'd be focusing on overall support for your daughter and not worrying too much about the specifics of reading and writing.

Thanks all. Some of her peers some to be bringing home books with longer sentences. She's nowhere near this level.

She does have an EHCP and on the sen register 😀

DS struggled with reading at 5 until he spent the weekend with mum who had been a primary teacher. She said “ He doesn’t know his phonetics!” And he came back reading- it was like a miracle.
He had/has dyslexia, but after sorting the phonics
Eg “Ch” can sound like church, cheese, or like q as in choir.

Often reading suddenly clicks- and it helps if someone else reads with them!
My friends DS read for me but DS hated reading with mum...
😉

I wouldn’t worry, my son really struggled to read for a while - he’s now in year four and can read well, but not fluently and rarely picks up a book to read. God I remember regular practice being Such a struggle!

My youngest picked it up really quickly - they’re all different and some children’s brains just don’t click with reading straight away!

I’m not worried about it - think it runs in the family! My brother couldn’t read until he was 9 compared to his best friend who was reading before he started school - my brother now has a degree, post grad qualifications and a very good well paid job. His friend who’s now 40 is still being funded by his parents..

Most 5 yr olds start school at the same stage as your DD; her reading ability is perfectly normal and age appropriate. Whatever you've been doing, it worked fine. Relax.

Keep reading bedtime stories to her every night but don't make that special time into any kind of reading practice/fingerpointing/word spotting. It's purely for pleasure and relaxation.

If she draws pictures, encourage her to write " dog", Mummy etc underneath.

My DD 2 couldn't grasp reading until she was 6. She now has a first class degree! Children all learn at different rates. It is far too early to be concerned about this. In Finland they don't even start school and formal learning until they are 7 and they learn just fine.

My DS is 5.5 and also has a language delay. He just started year 1 and can read a bit now, but had no clue when he started reception. He's on the age appropriate level for him, however he rarely takes in what he's reading! So I don't know if that's even useful to him, I'd rather he read slower and understand what he's reading.

@bumble79

Thanks all. Some of her peers some to be bringing home books with longer sentences. She's nowhere near this level.

She does have an EHCP and on the sen register 😀

Of course they are. Because they're all different. Right now we have the opposite problem in that the children haven't been properly assessed yet and DD is still bringing home books that are so easy and boring for her she's tearing her hair out. Her best friend's mum nearly passed out when she realised how good DD's reading is. But she still can't use a pair of scissors!

Sounds within the range of normal to me especially as she will have missed half of her reception year

Dd could barely read or write her name at that age. It all clicked one day and now at 7 she reads fluently, writes beautifully and is advanced at science, maths and art. She has an analytical/technical mind and phonics just didn't interest her.

Your dd is at the start of her education, shes still learning to learn.

@Haworthia

Try not to panic. If you put things into context:

She’s young for her year group
She missed half of Reception
She has speech and other delays

Its not about whether it’s normal or not, but it IS understandable. With the right support she will get there at her own pace.

This

I know many 5yr who can’t read well - been in childcare for 30yrs

Don’t worry

My DS also turned 5 in July, he can't read either. He has really bad eyesight and we are waiting for an appointment with the Eye Clinic at the local hospital - (we only found out 3 months ago there was a problem with his eyesight). I'm not worried - he's missed 6 months of school and, although I read with him, I've WFH throughout lockdown and haven't been able to do much school work with him. I'm sure he will catch up eventually. Give it time they're still so little.

One of my siblings couldn’t read until age 6 halfway through year 1. Once they learnt to read hey smashed all the school reading records, went on to get top 1% SATS scores in the country, and straight A/A* GCSE and A Levels.

But now they’re a drifter, still fiercely bright but confused, can’t hold down a job and drifting through life. Just trying to say that learning to read age 4 doesn’t completely determine your child’s adult trajectory- nor do any other academic milestones.

I was 7 before I could read anything. I’ve got a diagnosis of dyslexia but I also have a masters level education and am a university lecture. Don’t worry about it!

They have only just turned 5 I wouldn’t panick. My son is 5 and is only reading CVC words and often spells them out. The teacher was very much that is normal

My dd1 is 7, no SEN..only just learnt in lockdown. Teacher advised very strongly not to push her too hard.

If she has an EHCP then thats good, it means she has recognised SEN and will require lots of extra support. You should have a termly review and an IEP with her interventions and progress on. As she has recognised difficulties her progress will be much slower in some areas compared to her peers. Try not to worry or compare as you will drive yourself mad. I have a son with an EHCP so understand your frustrations but as long as she is getting the support she needs and is making progress that will be good, but progress will always be slower in some areas compared to peers who are neurotypical.

My first DD really struggled with reading and it was probably year 2 before she really cracked it she's 13 now and in the top groups for most things and predicted to get high results at GCSE.

Our middle Daughter did really well with Jolly phonics but then got stuck and is still well behind her peers you honestly can't know at this age and just have to keep going.

At five? I wouldn't expect much, if any, reading at all. My four year old DD has always been advanced verbally, I read to her all the time and she loves books but she can't read nor would I be expecting her to. Saying that, where I live formal schooling doesn't begin until five/six so most can't read unless parents are working with their DC at home (which I imagine is rare since it's not advised to push it so young).

Anyway I wouldn't worry - he'll get there.

Reading only really clicked for dd properly this year. She's 7. Kids in Scotland don't start school until the year they turn 5. Don't worry.

My 8 year old (in Scotland so she’s P4) could hardly read until about six months ago. I could read really well at 4 so was in a complete panic! Then suddenly she just ‘got’ phonics and is a great wee reader now.

Have you tried using some of the games that can help? One of my kids got on well with Teach Your Monster to Read. Another one (who is summerborn, has had SLT issues and just wasn't interested in academics) made huge progress with Nessy Reading and Spelling. A lot of it is practice but if you can find something they enjoy so they want to practice I think that helps a lot.

Most children can’t read well by year 1. It’s harder to believe these days because there’s always that brag on social media “my little Timmy was reading at nursery!” “Well my little Veronica recited War and Peace on her first birthday!”.
When the basics ‘click’, things will improve very quickly :)