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Original poster

Dyslexia? Very good spelling and writing but rubbish reading.

46 replies

MollieO · 04/12/2009 11:14

Ds in year 1. His spelling is excellent, as his is writing. He can learn and spell words like squirrel and can correctly guess the spelling of a lot of five letter words. His writing is very good from what I can see he is in the top three in his class.

His reading is truly rubbish. He spells out every single word, no matter how many times he sees it in his reading book. Even words like 'it', 'to' etc. He will also guess what the word should be even if it makes no sense.

He knows and recognises all his letters and letter sounds so I really don't understand why he has such a mental block on reading. He has two books a night but I've realised that his reading isn't improving at all.

Is it possible that he could be dyslexic even though his spelling is so good?

OP posts:
Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 14:39

Hopeful bump.

OP posts:
noche · 04/12/2009 14:48

Is his eyesight OK? Might have a problem with tracking or convergence. Sometimes visual problems cause the print to 'move' on the page. Perhaps worth checking?

SleepingLion · 04/12/2009 15:04

I've never taught a dyslexic who could spell; they usually have very distinctive spelling patterns which differentiate them from children who simply haven't learned how to spell certain words.

GrimmaTheNome · 04/12/2009 15:08

Quite a few kids - including bright ones - simply don't click with reading till year 2 or 3.

Doesn't stop you worrying though! Could be a visual problem as noche suggests.

teamcullen · 04/12/2009 16:10

My DS has Irlen's syndrome which is what noche is talking about. The words will literally walk off the page as he is trying to read them.

He had a terrible time learning to read and didnt realise that he had a problem with the print as he had always seen it that way, so he thorght that was the way everybody saw it.

Looking at the print through a piece of coloured see-through plastic helps, although the colour is different for everybody so its a bit of trial and error, but it would be worth a try.

You can buy a pack of see-through rulers from
crossbow educationwhich are quiet inexpensive to see if they help.

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 16:21

He's had his eyesight tested and its perfect so not that. I just don't understand why his reading is so poor yet his spelling is excellent. If he can write out dictation correctly then I don't really get why he struggles so much with reading.

I've asked him if the words move and he says only when his hand wobbles!

I think I might just have to be patient and hope things click eventually. I read at a very young age so I suppose I struggle to understand why ds seems to find it so hard.

OP posts:
cornsilkwearscorsets · 04/12/2009 16:23

How old is he? Can he read most words if he sounds them out?

jabberwocky · 04/12/2009 16:35

Mollie, just b/c his eyesight tested as normal is not an assurance that he was tested for visual processing problems. You need to see a behavioral/developmental optometrist as well as checking into Irlen screening.

teamcullen · 04/12/2009 16:40

MollieO- Irlens has got nothing to do with eye sight and it wouldnt be picked up in a normal eye test.

My DS didnt realise that the words moved until he started using the coloured overlays.

Your DS might just be an auditory learner rather than a visual learner so he learns his spellings by how they are sounded out whereas he finds it more difficult remembering what they are when looking at them.

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 17:11

He can sound out all the words correctly although sometimes gets stuck on longer words. He sounds out everything, eg it, to, on etc and he does it every time he sees the word in the book even if it is the fifth or sixth time. I try to get him to stop sounding out but then he just does it under his breath.

I will have a look into Irlens.

OP posts:
cornsilkwearscorsets · 04/12/2009 17:16

Can he blend e.g. sp, sn, st etc How is he with word endings?

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 17:26

Blending seems okay although he still gets d and b confused and doesn't seem to be able to remember how to distinguish (b has a belly etc). Word endings seem okay too. He is on ORT stage 2 and other books that are stage 2 and seem similar to ORT. He was on stage 2 at the end of reception and doing the same sounding out words. There just seems to have been absolutely no improvement.

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bruffin · 04/12/2009 17:26

Sounds like he has word recognition problems. My DH and DS both had problems with sight words when learning to read. Thankfully DS was taught synthetic phonics, but DH was taught to read using Look and Say which is purely word recognition and he didn't learn to read until he was 10 and taught phonics.

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 17:29

They do synthetic phonics rather than word recognition - jolly phonics based iirc. I just don't understand why if he sees a word on one page and spells it out he can't seem to remember he has seen it before when it appears on the next page - even if the two pages are adjoining.

OP posts:
bruffin · 04/12/2009 17:32

Sorry meant to say DS reading really clicked in YR2 and he read well from then on, but he still can't spell.

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 17:37

I think if ds's spelling was rubbish too I'd be less concerned but the fact that it is good just makes me wonder if I should be doing more to find out why his reading seems stuck. He has very good vocabulary and comprehension.

OP posts:
bruffin · 04/12/2009 17:54

If the word recognition part of the brain doesn't work properly then he won't remember the word.
I suspect if your DS was taught Look and Say like my DH then he wouldn't be able to read at all.

DS used to have problems copying from the board. If he was copying a sum he would forget the number order between looking at the board then looking down at the paper

It's like we take a mental snapshot of a word and store it in our brain, but in people like my DH or DS that bit of information gets misfiled so every time they see a word it's like seeing a new word for the first time and needs to be decoded again which is why synthetic phonics are so helpful.

DS's comprehension is excellent and so is his vocabulary and he can often spell quite complicated words out loud but not necessary on paper.

elliephant · 04/12/2009 18:29

I've only skimmed this thread but I just wanted to say that my DS is excellent at spelling tests and is dyslexic. Dyslexia is an umberella term with a wide number of indicators - check out the
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/parents/indications-of-dyslexia.htmlto see how many boxes your son ticks.
Trust your instincts - if you think there's a problem see can you get him assessed

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 22:03

That's really interesting. Ds is going to be assessed at school next term using the Aston Index which apparently assesses his strengths and weaknesses. I assume it will also identify if he is dyslexic. He seems to be intelligent in terms of his other school work and is making good progress, just not in reading.

OP posts:
Insider333 · 04/12/2009 22:09

I'm a teacher. If he can read and write, he is not dyslexic, whatever that actually means. He is Y1, 5 going on 6. In most of Europe, not exactly know for it's lack of intellectuals, they don't start formal education, ie learning to read and write until children are 7! Just stick at reading with him, he will soon get bored spelling words out and start reading more fluently... promise!

Original poster
MollieO · 04/12/2009 22:13

He has been doing it since the beginning of reception and is showing no sign of being bored. If I tell him a word or he sounds it out he doesn't remember when he gets to the next page. Genuinely doesn't remember rather than not concentrating or not interested. Why has he made good progress in spelling and writing and yet no progress in reading?

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bruffin · 04/12/2009 22:23

Yes well it was teachers like you Insider that kept telling DH's mum years ago that DH was an intelligent boy and he would get it. Well he was 10 before they finally agreed there was a problem after DH has been bullied for years and had a nervous breakdown and basically ruined his school life. He went on to secondary where he was considered too "thick" to do computer studies and left school with a handful of cse's

He is now an electronics engineer and got top marks in the country for one of the exams he has done since he left school.

Nowadays most teachers are more enlightened to problems like DH and DS has been allowed to flourish.

cornsilkwearscorsets · 04/12/2009 22:41

'If he can read and write, he is not dyslexic,'
If you are a teacher I feel very sorry for your pupils.

KurriKurri · 04/12/2009 22:53

Insider, I'm at your remark. But I imagine what I feel at that sort of comment, is nothing compared with how my DS felt hearing that sort of crap from ignorant teachers over the years.

Bruffin, well done to your DH, sounds as if he is doing brilliantly.

Insider333 · 04/12/2009 23:06

Bruffin:

This child is 5 going on 6, far too early to "label" him with a condition that is dubious at best, but then a lot of people's incomes depend on its existence. It also offers some the excuse that it is something far too complex for them to deal with and better left to "specialists". Not me, I hasten to add.

MollieO:

Don't worry, that won't help your son, just stick with it.

I'm sure that you're already doing this:

Go to your local libray and let your son choose books that he likes the look of and have fun reading them with and to him.

Being one willing to try anything, if your son says that he can't remember a word which he has seen on a previous page, don't remind him, offer to reward him with a treat, favourite sweet if he can remember... worth a try, but obviously don't give him too many; don't want to accused of encouraging unhealthy eating habits, lol!

Remember what I said about Europe, most children don't start formal academic education until they are 7.

Finally, don't worry and make reading books with your son fun!