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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Does the fact that my dd cannot sound out words phonetically mean that she has a problem with reading that needs further investigation?

44 replies

FYIAD · 15/04/2008 12:21

dd1 (8) has always had problems with reading which I have posted on before.

I have told the school since reception that she cannot sound out words - they didnt seem to take much interest, told me thta she would get there eventually etc etc.

Yesterday she got this comment from the TA in her reading record "dd1 guesses words and sometimes makes them up!!"

I spoek to them this mornign and said, yes, the reason that she does this is because she cannot sound them out phonetically - even if I go through the word (usually a name or a difficult word that she wont have seen before) she won't remember it for next time and doesnt seem to be able to repeat the sounding out. They were suddenly very concerned and said what a shame it was that I hadnt mentioned this earlier in her schoool career as now she was 8 it was too late to do anything about it .

I dont think she is dyslexic as she learns her spelling list very quickly and well.

OP posts:

popsycal · 15/04/2008 13:12

burt reading test

Original poster

FYIAD · 15/04/2008 16:14

teacher took me aside at pick up and said after assessing dd1 the TA would be working with her with the Ruth Miskin phonics scheme - showed me an enormo pile of books - I wanted to say 'OMG you've had that scheme the WHOLE BLOODY TIME' but instead I smiled and said thank you with that relieved, slightly frenzied enthusiasm that makes you look a bit simple.

She is adamant that dd1 is not dyslexic - 'unless it is a kind of dyslexia I have never heard of'

dd1 is really happy to be getting some extra practice , fingers crossed it improves things.

OP posts:

marina · 15/04/2008 16:17

Good news FYIAD, hope the Miskin does the trick
(lots of interesting info from you too popsy, thanks)

popsycal · 15/04/2008 17:36

so glad she is getting help

the miskin scheme is good - breaks it down into very small steps...

do get her to do the writing thing though and if you think it is worth it, try the reading age test....

cornsilk · 15/04/2008 17:41

Why is the teacher adamant she is not dyslexic? Is she qualified to assess her?

popsycal · 15/04/2008 17:52

As an experienced teacher, it is reasonably easy to at least suspect that a child may have dyslexia but obviously the ed psychs are the people with the trainig and proper experience,....

popsycal · 15/04/2008 17:53

enid - this may sound weird BUT try her reading blue wrting on white and green writing on white....
and let me know

popsycal · 15/04/2008 17:57

and this will sound even more bizarre 0 how is her depth percepton?
eg catching a ball, using escalators and revolving doors

Original poster

FYIAD · 15/04/2008 18:03

what kind of blue? navy blue? dark green?

am poised over pc

OP posts:

popsycal · 15/04/2008 18:07

dark blue - kind of navy
and bottle green

popsycal · 15/04/2008 18:17

...and without putting ideas into her head, asking her do the words ever seem to shift about on the page when she is reading....

you will think i am very weird now...

incidently - does she have difficulty copying from the board - as in loses her place easily etc..

sorry about multiple posting..

popsycal · 15/04/2008 20:10

any news?

allytjd · 15/04/2008 20:42

Haven't had time to read every post but the OP sounded just like DS1 who is seven. He can't do sounding out either, but as he has mild Aspergers's the school seem to put any academic problems he has down to his concentration problems. I worked out that he had never got the hang of consonant blends eg. SLEEP would be pronounced as SUHLUHEHEHPUH IYKWIM. He had missed several weeks in P1 due to illness and they never seemed to revise the basics of phonics again even though not every kid seemed to get it.
I am working my way through TOE BY TOE with him at home and so far he has made progress although he is still not confident reading independently. It is only ten mins a day and easy to understand.

popsycal · 15/04/2008 20:52

Toe by toe is a very common system used for children with dyslexia. It is very good.

popsycal · 15/04/2008 20:54

word wasp is also well thought of

PrimulaVeris · 16/04/2008 11:36

Another vote here for toe by toe. Glad to see it recommended by a professional. I used it whilst waiting for school to do something/get SALT and then ed psych appt.

It is brilliant - 10 mins per day basic phonics. Not just for dyslexia (turns out after all that, that ds wasnt dyslexic but he did have issues with phonics and learning to read).

£25 from Amazon. One of best £25 I've ever spent.

Glad to see you've got some 1to1 support now, FYIAD

Original poster

FYIAD · 16/04/2008 16:04

toe to toe looks fab - I will see how she gets on with her phonics at school but will bookmark that for sure.

she had her first one to one phonics session this am and was reluctant at first but did well according to TA who also finally acknowledged that it clearly was a problem

OP posts:

popsycal · 16/04/2008 18:12

Glad that they are finaly taking notice!

StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 16/04/2008 20:53

Enid - you sound in the same place that I was with my dd a couple of months ago. My dd is 7 - her reading is very good, spelling is good on her weekly test, however she cannot recognise phonics. She doesn't sound words out and does guess.

Just had ed psych consultation today and he said she is mildly dyslexic with poor working memory and weak phonocological (sp) processing (phonics I think). Am awaiting the full report.

We got her assessed privatly - it cost £400.

To be honest I'm quite reassured that with a bit of extra help she will be fine. She may need more time to work through things though as she is slow at doing stuff. I think the slowness is mroe to do with her memory though.

Last month I bought a load of Letts books and we have been working through them together. Some of the books I got were for age 5 as I wanted to go back to basics and see if that helped. I do think she is making a lot more of an effort with sounding words out now than what she was doing only 8 weeks ago.

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