Reluctant reader

[lyuba]

Hi. My little one (now in YR 1) had problems getting to grips with reading during EYF, because of poor eyesight, undiagnosed at that time. He now has glasses, and is beginning to sound out words, using Phonics. However, he is EXTREMELY reluctant to read (I think he has developed a "complex" about not being able to do it) and devises all sorts of avoidance strategies in order not to have to do it. We are very concerned, and would appreciate advice on how to cope with this from anyone who has had a similar experience, either with their own child, or as a teacher/ psychologist etc.

Thanks in advance!!
Lyuba.

Hello OP.

My dd was like this and has dyslexia although it was never diagnosed.
Reading and writing were especially difficult for her and for the 4 years she attended school she struggled and with help managed to an average level.
I found and still find that taking the pressure off and not expecting much in terms of reading and writing really pays off.
I know this is hard as they are expected to read at school but I think you can help a lot at home.
Read to your dc at every opportunity, look at pictures and discuss the story, let them become familiar with a few small books so they know it off by heart and then read it with you.
Play word games both on paper, screen and through speech/ eye spy.
We H.ed now and after a year of no writing or reading I have a little girl who is now a book worm and writes for pleasure, both to a very good standard.

I don't know whether this actually works, but I always watch TV with the subtitles on, even though I can hear. I simply cannot ignore the words on the screen, hopefully my kids can't either. It's sneaky subliminal reading.

Have you tried hearing him read in the morning? Not possible for all families, but if you can make it work for you he'll be doing it when he's fresh rather than when he's tired. Also worth considering some kind of sticker chart/reward system for every page/book he reads. If you can get him experiencing the feeling of success he will want to repeat that feeling, eventually.

Might be worth considering some kind of flash card approach - you take the words from his current book and write them on flashcards. How many can he read in a minute? Repeat every day (perhaps morning and evening if you can bear it) and record his score each time. Plotting the score on a graph can be particularly motivating as they can see the line going up. Then when you come to the book he will be able to read a lot of the words already. And if you've made the flashcards you could play all sorts of matching games ie lay them all out face up, you say the word and he has to find it or lay them all out face down and he has to find 2 cards with the same sound on them. If his complex is about not wanting to read books this could work well as he won't be reading books, he'll be reading cards!

Get a small whiteboard and write 'secret messages' on it each night, he can then read them in the morning. Simple things about the day e.g. 'We can pat a dog today'. 'Tom will help mum to cook'. Use only sounds that he has already covered- at first it's hard to find sentences, but it gets easier as they learn more sounds.

It was really motivating for my DD, and you can also encourage DCs to write if you include simple questions- 'Can a dog hop?'