Yr3, come see these spellings? Dyslexic?

[OfficeSupplies]

So year three, 8yrs old and doing well.
Creative, a free reader, good comprehension, above average at maths and English but spellings are awful and not improving.

Feald for field
Shep for sheep
Medo for meadow
Feadin for feading
Anaml for animal
Fbidn for forbidden

The list could go on. Most options are phonetic although he can render the same word three ways in a paragraph.

He gets things quickly but reading does take real effort and am wondering whether the spelling is pointing to problems. School don't test, have no money and the Ed psych comes annually. They say private tests are always positive and that they are dyslexia friendly.

Anyone who knows more than me have any thoughts?

Hi OfficeSupplies,
There seem to be a two important things going here with your son. First, you're right! Many of his spellings are phonetically plausible. This is a very good sign. For example, 'feald' is easily readable if not spelled correctly. is a spelling for the sound /ee/ but he needs to be taught explicitly that there are more ways than one of spelling sounds in English and specifically which one is the correct spelling in any particular word. So, say to him, "Yes!. That is a way of spelling /ee/ but in this word, we need the spelling." Similarly, he needs the spelling of /e/ and the spelling of /oe/ in 'meadow'.
However, the spelling of 'animal' is slightly more problematical. It has three syllables: a ni mal. Get him to say words with more than one syllable very precisely when he's writing them. That technique will help enormously. It even works well with elisions (sounds we simply 'jump' over when we speak normally). For example, you can't hear the /n/ in 'government' when spoken normally, which is why many children leave out the when writing the word. This doesn't happen if, when the child is writing, they say go vern ment.
When we are speaking naturally, the sounds in 'forbidden' are /f/ /uh/ | /b/ /i/ | /d/ /uh/ /n/. The word has three syllables. The stress is on the second syllable, which is why the vowel sounds in the first and last syllables sound like an /uh/ (or an /i/ in some accents of English). Again, a helpful way of getting round this is to say the word with what we call a 'spelling voice' at Sounds-Write: /f/ /or/ | /b/ /i/ | /d/ /e/ /n/, not forgetting that we spell the /d/ with the spelling.
The last thing is to impress upon your son that he needs to say sounds precisely. This also helps to prevent children from adding sounds in that don't exist.
All this sounds a bit complicated and it is! But this is the kind of systematic instruction your son should have been getting from the start, starting from the simple and moving towards the more complex in small steps.
Frankly, my advice would be: if you can't teach your son, I would find someone competent who can.

Wow what a thorough and helpful answer. It kind of reinforces my worries though as spelling is well taught in his school and actually he could tell you much of the above though not necessarily so technically. We do much of what you suggest particularly the spelling voice.

You sound experienced in this, is it common for children to understand the theory, be ale to get 10/10 on spelling tests but to still then spell erratically and dreadfully in their writing?

The 10 spellings he learns for his test will be wrong again a week later, and yet this child remembers lots. I have been much more proactive this year and have made, I believe no difference! Only in the short term anyway long term there is no change.

Not as experienced as SoundsWrite but yes it is perfectly possible to get 10/10 for a spellings test but not to be able to spell the same words in a sentence a week later, and to completely understand the theory but spell erratically, its one of the reasons my dyslexia was missed for so long.

The spellings you have listed above are the sort of spellings I would of used and still do if I'm trying to take notes/write something down quickly. My parents used to run through the spellings again with me for the next few weeks after we'd done them at school which helped a bit but not much tbh.

It helps to write the words out several times, saying the sounds as they are written. This develops the kinaesthetic (or 'muscle') memory of each word's unique 'feel' and 'pattern'. Do you do that as well?

My son is 7 and also able in comprehension, maths and science. He is not a natural reader but with a lot of practice he is ok. Spelling tests....he learns the words quickly (we use squeebles) and does well in twice weekly tests 13 to 15 out of 15.

But his spelling free writing is poor but phonetically plausible....as I am a teacher I was suspicious that he might be dyslexic....had him tested privately at half term and yes he is.....high IQ (natural underlying intelligence) but poor working memory - the value if the assessment was that the school have been advised to keep him in higher ability groups as his understanding is high but to give him extra time in exams to allow him time to improve written work. He is now also allowed to use an electronic speller in creative writing sessions....it really helps. Obviously, he also has extra spelling/phonetic sessions to embed phonetic knowledge.

Good luck

Hi again OfficeSupplies,
It is perfectly possible for children to be able to understand how the writing system works in theory. However, what they need is enough practice to get to the point of automaticity. Think about driving or playing cricket. You can be taught how it works in theory but actually putting all the necessary skills together fluently requires careful and deliberate practice.
What the research shows is that the children of diligent parents do get high marks in spelling tests, only for the words practised to be spelled incorrectly in their writing (or even in a test) a week or so later. This is because recall memory, which is what spelling is all about. That is, no cues is much harder and is a deeper kind of memory than recognition (reading) memory. And this, as for learning to drive, say, requires a lot of practice and overlearning to the point of automaticity. If this isn't achieved, the cognitive load of thinking about what one is writing AND how to write it (i.e. spell each word) overwhelms the learner (adult or child).
Anyway, here's what to do with spellings sent home by the school:
Sit down with your son on your right-hand side if you write right-handed. Take the list of spellings and put it, out of your son's sight on your left side. Now say the first word on the list and ask your son what the sounds are. You can draw a little line for each sound if you want to scaffold the process. As he says the sounds, you write the spellings. If there's anything difficult (a less frequently encountered spelling), you might say, "This is how we spell X sound in this word. This is what you need to pay special attention to when you write it." Now, when the word has been written, ask your son to say each sound and read the word. When you've completed the list, ask your son to write each word and say each sound as he does. This links auditory, visual and the kinaesthetic memory that maizieD mentioned. On the next day, do the same again and repeat until you can say the word and your son can write the spellings. For polysyllabic words, break the word into its syllables and deal with each one separately.

Thanks sounds write ( what an appropriate name :) busy and Maisie. Fascinating beings these children, I have noticed this issue so much more as it is so apparent his younger brother doesn't suffer the same issue.

We will practice more efficiently and keep celebrating the things he is good at too.