Advice needed for dd3 who has reading problems.

[mommy6]

Dd3 is 8.4 and in year 4 at school.She has always found reading and spelling difficult.
I have just done a test i found on-line to find your childs reading age.Her results have shown her to have the reading ablity of a child aged 6.10.I feel this is about right to be honest.
So what can i do to help her.Also what should the school be doing.In the past they have always said dd is slowly improving.(i'm not so sure)She hasn't got thatlong left before she goes to high school,so i would like to get help sooner then later.

Maybe you should push to get her tested for dyslexia if she is doing well in other areas.

You need someone to assess her to find out what she knows (phonics-wise) and what she doesn't and then plan a program to fill the gaps and move her on.

What does her teacher think?

Thanks for your reply.
The teachers have always said dd tries really hard with her reading.But i feel she is being left behind.She reads once aweek at school and doesn't get any extra help.I listen to her read at home but she really finds it hard.She forgets words that she reads at the start of the book by the time she gets to the end.These can be simply words like they,some and even no.
I think the teacher thinks she is just abit shy and slower then most children.But i am starting to think there is something wrong.

I have two dsylexic ds and their experience of reading sounds similar to your dd. Ds2(8)particularly can work out words phonetically, yet stumbles repeatedly over this, that, there, what, where, etc.

Could you have her assessed for dyslexia?

macherie thats interesting,those are the kind of words dd gets wrong.
This is the test i did here
Dd3 got 32 giving her a reading age of 6.10.She is 8.10 not 8.4 like i put in OP.
Dd4 got 60 giving her a reading age of 9.2,she is 7.4.

How would i go about getting her assessed for dyslexia?
Thanks for any advice.

I'm in Ireland and the system is different here. I had to get both ds assessed by an Ed Psychologist, costing over £500 each, but then they were able to get extra help at school which has been great.

DS1 was diagnosed aged 6, and now at 10 his reading is better than many non-dyslexic children in his class. He is not a great speller, but that doesn't worry me, with spell-checks, etc.

DS2 was only diagnosed in October, but his reading, and more importantly his confidence has really benefitted. At least he knows now the reason why he is not such a great reader, and he has seen that his brother has really improved and so can he.

I'm sure someone here will be able to tell you how to have her assessed.

If I can help in any other way, just ask

The Dyslexia Institute will do screening. Don't know how much they charge, though.

Thank you again macherie.I'm glad your ds's are getting the help they need.
I'm going to talk to the head teacher on monday.
Feenie i'll have a look at that link now.Thank you.

They've been very helpful providing programmes of work for a couple of children with dyslexia at our school.

Im not so sure that you can take that reading test as hard fact tbh,my ds3 has just done it and scored higher than i thought he would,its not just reding the word its using the word in context and understanding the word.

I know reading is so important but its not the end of the world if shes not a strong reader,how is she doing in her other subjects?

I have 3 sons the eldest 2 ,1 is an avid reader but not very good hands on yet ds2 who struggled to read (altho he got there in the end ,as will your dd)is very hands and on and practical if you want something doing hes your man.

A child who is this far behind should be on a catch up programme at school where she reads with an TA/ teacher every day.There are lots of intervention programmes that schools should use with a child this far behind.

Is she on the SN register with an IEP? She should be on at least school action if not action plus.

It really does sound like the school mis not doing enough. Make an appointment with the SENCO at the school and insist on more help for her.

The Burt test probably wouldn't be used in a dyslexia assessment - more likely to be graded passages which are more meaningful, plus questioning about what they have read.

There would also be lots of other tests to check on all the areas that she has difficulty with.

I think it's important to get her help now, as particularly at secondary school she will meed to be able to read competently to access the curriculum. TBH, I'd be even more concerned that her teacher says she tries hard, but she is still obviously struggling a bit.

Good advice above!

Thanks for all the advice.
I know that test doesn't mean there is a problem,but i tried it to give me some idea of dd's reading level.At school she reads one book each week but i'm sure if i gave her one from afew week ago she wouldn't be able to read it.
She also has problems with spelling, which then has a knock on effect with most subjects.
She is not getting any help at school.Each child gets to read once aweek.The teacher writes things like dd tried really hard to sound out words.
But these words are not knew words they are words she learnt or should of in yrs 1 and 2.
I'm going to go into school monday and push for something to be done.

Is her understanding and verbal language at a higher level than her written work?
Does she have a problem retaining the words she has learnt
Is she reluctant to read out loud.
Does she find sounding out words difficult
If so - get her tested for dyslexia.
Get specific help and get it quick to help her get the skills she needs for secondary school. There are many ways she can be helped.
You may need to work on her self esteem too.
Contact the British Dyslexia Association or Dyslexic Institute - get an assessment from a certified educational psychologist - dont accept anything less.
Do not be fobbed off by the school.
The longer it is left- the harder it is for the child
Look at the threads in Education - special needs
Good luck

I would do a few things:

1. use a coloured overlay on all that she reads.

2. Read daily.

3)Focus on learning the high and medium frequency words in a multi sensory way - daily. Lots of repeating over and over.

4. Brain gym every other day - or swim, go to gymnastics/ballet etc.

5. Take eye q.

6. Talk to her class teacher. Talk to the SENCO. Ask about Toe-to-toe, jump ahead, precision teaching programmes. Ask for her reading age and spelling age and ask how they plan to support her.

Is she on the SEN register?

ohappydays i can answer yes to all four of your questions.
Thank you everybody so much.In the past i have been made to feel abit like i was making a fuss over nothing by the school.Them saying things like every child is different and some are just more slow.While i know that is true for some,i think there is something more than that with dd.
So i'm going into the school in the morning.I will not be fobbed off again.I just hope that they listen and do something to help.

Saying that some children are slower is really quite pathetic.

The school are being woefully neglectful.

Good luck mummy6. Let us know how you get on.

Morning.
I spoke to the deputy head this morning.I explained my worrys and that dd herself is now worried.She is going to see dd's teacher,to what level reading book she is on,to check see is on the right level.I did explain she was struggling with very easy words i.e they,there,some.So i will see what happens with that first.

Hello all, I was reading through some of the threads and felt compelled to tell you about my son. He started a new school 5 months ago and I have been told by his teacher that he is at the bottom of his class for reading. This is quite new to me as his old school seemed to think he was doing fine. But then I realised that most of the time when we were reading he was actually guessing the words. He would not recognise words he'd just read 3 or 4 times on the previous page and he'd get really upset if I tried to correct him. We ended up with a lot of tantrums, he would say "I'm such a stupid boy" and he absolutely hated reading. He's in Year 2 by the way. I already felt that there was not much support from the teacher,it was more or less - he's at the bottom of the class and that's that. He gets 3 books per week to read but no writing homework so I had no clue really what he could do so came as a bit of a shock to me. I felt desperate so searched the internet for some fun games for him to try as he loves computer games and that's something he is good at. I found this one program that caters for children who are both dyslexic and non-dyslexic. It focuses on visual references. He tried the free introductory session and absolutely loved it so I booked him onto the mini-course to try a bit more before signing up to the whole course. This lasted about 5 days and by now he was hooked. In this short space of time he transformed from the "stupid boy" to someone beaming with confidence and who actually said "I am good at reading" I just couldn't believe it! I had finally found what worked for him - it was as if someone turned the lights on. Children learn differently and quite often it is really quite intelligent children who end up not being able to read as they manage to figure out a short-cut to reading, they guess words using pictures. This can work up to probably year 2 and then texts get too complicated and they are found out. Teachers are often puzzled by children they thought could read and suddenly they realise they cannot. This program uses visual references above each letter so "a" is ants in pink pants and "b" is bear with long hair. The "a" in "was" is Octopus who knocked a puss as it is the sound they are learning rather than the letter. My son now reads whole pages and blends his words. The program even has incentives as they win prizes that arrive addressed to the child himself. You should have seen him when he got his first prize. He was showing the whole world! Yes, maybe it's bribery - but it works! Anyway, if you think your child might benefit from this, type in the link below and try the free taster course and then with this link you get the mini-course for £5.00 (usually costs £17.00 I think) By this time you will definitely know if this works for your child. It has worked wonders for my boy and that is just worth its weight in gold. Good Luck! www.EasyreadSystem.com/offer/78.html

Hmm...advertising with your first ever post, Bamse?

I am a mum and I have a child who had problems with reading and this has worked wonders for him so yes, I would say that I am advertising it as I think that lots of other children could benefit.

Bamse thanks for the link.I have had a quick look and will read it again later.I did notice one, thing it costs 75 pounds a month.
Anyway a up date.
Dd's teacher called me into school yesterday.She was glad i had already told the school of my worries, because she had listen to dd read and was worried herself how she was struggling.She hadn't listen to her for awhile,only the TA.Dd did a reading test and this showed them she was abit behind.The school thinks she is not sounding her Phonics correctly so she can't then build the words.The only thing that worries me about this is dd knows all the Phonics just not when she is trying to build a word.iykwim
She came home with a different reading book which was so easy i couldn't believe it.I think the whole book had about 5 different words,like the ones they read in reception.So i'm not really sure what the idea is with that.
Any advice what the next step should be?Should i wait and see what happens over the next few weeks or go back into school.

mommy6, what phonics programme does your dd's school use eg Jolly Phonics? Also, the books that she is/was given, are they phonics scheme 'decodable' books (ie contain words that can be broken down and sounded out reliably, with the odd 'tricky' word thrown in) or do they follow a word recognition reading scheme, like Ginn or Oxford Reading Tree?

Hi Mommy6,
I am having similar problem with my son's teacher at school. That's why I felt so desperate I ended up searching for something outside school. I know it's a bit daunting with the cost but what you could do is try the free trial and if that's, ok do the mini-course - I really think that could help even if you don't do the rest of the course. My son seemed to "click" when he learnt the different sounds with the help of the pictures on top. Then there's a book you can get, I haven't seen it myself but am thinking of buying it and it's called "Ants in Pink Pants" - just really think the way that they do the phonics really works. My son can now read words looking only at the pictures, I know that sounds insane because you'd think how is he supposed to learn the letters then? But I think it's like they learn the picture belongs to that sound and when they then read normal books they sort of see that picture in their head and that way can retain the information. I wish you all the best, it is really frustrating when as a mum you want the best for your child and you feel you're not getting the support.

Blueshoes, Sorry its took so long to get back to you.I have had a busy day.
The school have just started her on Oxford University Press.I had not heard of them before,and i'm not really sure about them.She has got matching work sheets to go with the books.She was reading Ginn,at level 5.They don't use Jolly Phonics they just learn phonics if that makes sense.
I think i'm worried the school are trying to prove there is no problem by putting dd on books that are really easy.Then by the time she has worked her way through these books she will be nearer the end of primary school.
Any more advice would be great.Thanks

Bamse i will try the free trail and thanks for your info.