ds1 and reading...again...sigh.....

[RMCW]

sorry long....where do I start?

ds1 is 7 and in year 3.

He had some developmental delay as a baby but by the time he was 1 he was a good weight, was walking and alert and happy.
He was a late talker - 2.5 but now never stops and has the vocab of a teenager!

Ever since he was 3 (at pre school) and they tried to teach/introduce literacy we have had problems....

He just doesnt seem to "get it". I tried jolly phonics with him as that is what they used in pre school/reception. Didnt work.

Year 1 was a DISASTER for him....his teacher was useless. ds1 came home after only 4 weeks in his class and told me he had a "stupid brain"

I requested for him to be assessed by the SENCO but it didnt happen. He was called "slow" and told he was on the "thick table". The teacher just didnt care.

After him showing signs of clinical depression over the xmas hols 2009 I removed him from that school and home schooled him for 10 months whilst we decided what to do.

He is now at a local small village primary which has gone very well He started in nov last year and is happy and enjoying his time there

However, things are not really any better wrt literacy.

He is happy to read his reading books each evening but I am aware of how behind he is wrt the NC.

He is on stage 5 ORT.

I have tried the following since he was in year 1;
Jolly phonics
fun with phonics
Step by step
Toe by toe
Headsprout
phonics games like jolly lotto

He did really well with headsprout up to a point and so to with toe by toe.

He has been assessed at his new school and they have told me they have "no major concerns" but that he has "gaps" in his literacy knowledge and they want me to work with him at home.....but how do I help him????????

He seems to genuinely not remember things he has just read/seen! He mixes up "saw" and "was" and although he knows his alphabet sounds, doesnt know all the letter names ITSWIM?

His letter formation is good but he forgets his finger spaces (despite constant reminders from me!) and his writing is also very large....cant seem to get him to make it smaller.

He has 1-1 with a teacher every friday for 30 mins so the school are helping him too.

If he isnt dyslexic or have some other SN then what could be the problem? Do some people just never learn to read fluently????

I just want to help him.

He reads his reading book each night from school and I have started doing toe by toe again 5 x per wek for 20 mins with him as I felt he did very well with it last time and wish I had continued with it tbh.

Any tips? Advice? Encouraging stories????

Feeling very alone and useless right now

Sounds exactly like my DD. :(

(Search all my prev threads. There have been lots...)

She has a diagnosis of 'dyslexia' - and I don't know why you think your son doesn't have dyslexia but a diagnosis of dyslexia brings you absolutely nothing. Everything you and school are doing is exactly what you should be doing for a kid who is struggling to read - whether or not they have 'dyslexia'.

School really should be getting the EP to see him. Although, once again, it won't really bring you anything. They'll tell you he has memory problems etc - all the stuff you already know.

I have done absolutely everything like you and have got absolutely nowhere (my DD is 8 and is only up to the equivalent of ORT 3)

She get's an hour a day small group phonics, plus reads daily to a TA or teacher.....

Things I am currently trying are:

• Omega Fish Oil
• Reflexology
• Retained Reflex Therapy

ie I'm trying to address the underlying cognitive problem, rather than continue to force learn-to-read programs on her which are obviously never going to work.

I've also had her tested by an Audiologist to rule out Auditory Processing Disorder

And also done Vision Therapy with a Behaviour Optometrist - who did find and fix problems with her vision.

Also research ADD-Predominantly Inattentive to see if that 'fits'.

Glad to finally find someone else who's child is having the extreme problems mine has - it's been right lonely here :)

Hi indigo Sorry you are feeling lonely too Well, you have me now!

Ds1 (8 in june) has a vitamin and fish oil supplement daily too. He also doesnt eat sweets and chocolate and only drinks water and milk (his choices, not ours!! ds2 eats chocolate like its going to stop being made!) so I know its not a dietary cause.

The old (rubbish) school did mention his memory but tbh I felt it was just because they wanted something to "label" him with IYSWIM?

I do wonder whether ds1 should be getting more support i.e. more 1-1 or a specialist lesson with a group but this new school have been so much better than the last one I dont want to push it.

At his old school his crappy year 1 teacher heard him read 4 times in the whole academic year (thats, what? 41 weeks???) Truly dire.

Glad your dd is getting help at school. Did you have to fight for it?

Thank you for your kind comments....I really have tried everything I can think of to help him....am at a loss now tbh.

Will persevere with toe by toe as I think its good and it did help him before (he just seems to have forgtten most of it!)

I was wondering about dyslexia but, as I said, the school have assessed him and I am guessing they would pick up on that?

He is happy to pick up a book now and have a go and I often catch him taking books off our shelves here at home and looking through them and thats a big improvement for us!!! I would go so far as to say that his experiences at his old school made him "book phobic" if such a thing exists.

Also had his eyes tested last year - no problems. 20/20 vision in fact.

His behaviour is fine, no problems with school there and he is a really sweet kid.

Really into trucks, trains, planes, dinosaurs, top gear etc etc. Typical boy, I guess.

But, god, it is lonely isnt it? When other parents are bragging about their childs brilliance at literacy? I can completely empathise

Thank you for replying to my (rather long winded!) post x

Is there any way you can ditch the ORT? ORT is designed for 'look & say' teaching (which is completely contrary to official guidance now) and contains words which will be beyond his phonics knowledge. Obviously this will be extremely discouraging for him when he struggles to read them. If a child is having extreme difficulty with learning to read this unnecessary difficulty will make it worse for them.

There most definitely are children who find reading very difficult. I am working with two in particular at this moment who I think will always struggle with fluency, even though they are able to decode and blend. They just seem to process the words much more slowly than most. Having said that, their phonic knowledge has improved hugely and they are now capable of reading a far wider range of text than they could in Y7, albeit rather slowly...

I would suggest that you have a look at the BRI books. These are a unique series of books which teach systematic phonics & decoding and blending in the context of reading stories. Your ds might find them much more engaging than Toe by Toe (which I think is very tedious and pointless seeming to many children..)

piperbooks.co.uk/

I am that the school is expecting you to work with your son without, apparently, offering any help, but I suppose I wouldn't expect very much of a school that expects struggling readers to progress through ORT...

You are very definitely not alone - I am currently working with 50+ children, a very significant number of whom arrived in Y7 with probably a lower level of reading than your son...

maizie thank you so much for posting....I am glad (well, not glad but you know what I mean!) that other children are having the same difficulties with literacy.

Sometimes it seems we are the only ones

I will check out the books you have mentioned.

As far as I can make out, the school uses different reading schemes, so ORT, Ginn, Scholastic and others are used together and banded at a certain level..so ds1 is on level 10 but the ort book says stage 4/5. Its a bit confusing but I like the fact they dont just slavishly use one reading scheme.

The Teacher did give me a couple of ideas to be fair to her (using magnetic letters to make words etc) and I did try but ds1 just looked at me like I was mad

I am starting to wonder if he will ever be a fluent reade and that makes me so sad...I worry for his future

I prefer Dancing Bears to toe-by-toe....

maizieD may I ask a question?

Have checked out the website and am going to order some of the BRI books but how do you actually do the programme?

Is it just that the child reads the books to you and you help them if they get stuck??

Sorry to sound so dense but didnt get much info from the site...it seemed to be aimed at teachers/educationalists.

Thanks!

Yes RMCW - follow the instructions in the front of the BRI books. On the website you will find a short article called 'Getting Started". Read it and you will see how simple it is. Resist all temptation to overhelp your child.
The books are finely graduated providing a large amount of practice.
See this you tube video of a mum doing a great job with BRI

I agree with Maizie regarding Toe by Toe. It is rather dry for young children. You really need to keep them motivated, easier with BRI. I have used BRI successfully with many 'tough' cases.

Just curious - what happened with Headspout because that goes up to about a G2 level? BRI/ARI goes up to about a Grade 2/3 level.

Hi mal

We did headsprout episodes 1-40 (which he did really well on) when he was 5. It definately helped him. We then - perhaps wrongly - went onto episodes 41-80 which, tbh he found really hard going at the end. I wish I had waited to do 41-80 as frankly, he is only probably ready for that now.

I asked him if he wanted to do 41-80 again (as you can repeat sections for free once bought) but he said he didnt and I didnt want to push it. He said he preferred toe by toe to headsprout but I think that may be because he remembers how hard the last episodes were for him

Have sent for the BRI books and will give them a go.

Can I ask another question? When should he read them to me? Night time with his school readers or another time?

Thanks for posting x

...oh, and do you think I should encourage him to re-do episodes 41-80 of headsprout????