Year 1 worries

[Emma54]

My DS is in year 1 and his teacher has told me that she is worried about his phonics. He does not seem to be able to translate the sounds he hears into writing.

he struggles with his reading but is doing really well with his maths and other subjects.

His teacher has asked me to do 5-10 minutes of work a day with him using phonic flashcards which I am happy to do. However reading and written homework is a struggle and he gets very upset if he cannot do it. It is very stressful for him.

Do you think I should be worried at this stage or is it normal for some boys. It feels like phonics just has not clicked for him.

he is also very emotional right now flying off the handle over the slightest thing and has said that he thinks he is dumb which is heart breaking.

Any advice. I just want him to be happy and confident at school so that he is not turned off learning.

Dont worry and dont let him be worried and you must try and turn him round from being negative and feeling dumb. He isnt dumb and must never feel that.

I know that learning phonics can be extremely effective and help children read, my suggestion is maybe making a game of it. Have one of his toys making the sound and for him to copy it. Do it in front of a mirror and get him to practice with his toy/teddy/action man (anything).

When you are out and about, or sat at the table with sauce bottles or newspapers pick out words and practice them, but make it light and funny

Most kids enjoy the silly animations that you do with phonics. I know when I listen to them read and they struggle with a word I do the action and they realise what the words is.

Play games by just communicating with the phonic actions, like "drink" "food" "bed" "bath". Use the phonic actions when you are reading and he is struggling with a word. It will all help

In the meantime keep talking to the teacher and discuss your progress etc

Thank you for your suggestions. I will try to incorporate these things into everyday activities. Hopefully without him knowing that it is " school work".

Sorry, I disagree.

It is not normal for boys in Y1 to not 'get' phonics. It might well point to a subtle underlying hearing problem......

Later on this ends up being called dyslexia.....

some do , some don't. However the fact the teacher is concerned makes me suspect she thinks he is more capable than he seems. Has his hearing been tested recently, eyesight too, could he have glue ear or has he in the past ?It could be the early manifestation of a processign disorder, not necessarily dyslexia but auditory or sensory but do rule out the basics first.

But at least if the OP tries different things at home and her son and it still doesnt help then she has a next stage to go to be investigated.

Some Y1 kids dont get phonics - it depends on how the teacher presents them. As reading is an issue, there could be underlying issues but basics need to be ruled out first

As an adult I dont "get" phonics, (sorry thats not true because I have seen the benefits) but I think they are not always effective when different dialects mean they are not being taught the same sound

God now I am worried. What is processign disorder??

I thought it was quite normal for some boys to be slower with reading and writing.

I am arranging a hearing test for him but he has never had glue ear or an ear infection.

I don't know whether to panic (my normal mode) or just accept that it has not clicked yet

Don't panic! Some children do take longer to "get" phonics. It is possible that it is something like dyslexia but imo too early to tell. Just try and do some consistent daily phonics work with him. the more you can turn it into games the better. Take it slowly so he isn't overwhelmed by too much new stuff.

A processing disorder is like dyslexia, dyspraxia, auditory, sensory etc where basically the brain isn't quite reacting as quickly or accurately as it might, the messages are getting confused. It is actually very common (1:20 have dyspraxia , more boys than girls, for example). APD for example means that some chidlren can hear but not listen to or process phonic sounds into speech or written words. Hearing may ostensibly be fine but if the processing of what is heard isn't accurate he may struggle.

I think that a hearing and sight test is a good idea. My ds is in Reception and a reluctant writer unless you ask him to try and write something like "big bum" or "stinky pants" . (my older chidren convinced him to write those [hmmm]) is that an option?
When I practiced writing with older ds we wrote lists because that was what appealed most. We'd write things like lists of what I needed To get out of the fridge to make dinner, shops that I needed to go to, things that he had to tidy up...
Personally I'd not worry yet but I'd be supporting at home to increase his confidence. My oldest son caught up with reading/writing in the summer holidays before year 2 started. We read daily and he wrote a list of things he did that day( he refused to write sentences) . By the end if the summer he could write a couple of sentences and was writing pages of prose by that Christmas.

Thank you so much for all the advice. Confidence is certainly an issue. I will try the lists because getting him to sit down and write is a battle in itself.

Emma54 - I have PMed you