Dyspraxic - learning to read - help!

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Hello, my ds is dyspraxic (nearly 6). If you have any suggestions on things that might help him learn to read I would really appreciate them. He doesn’t seem to pick things up like his peers

Do you really mean he’s dyspraxic? Dyspraxia is to do with coordination and balance (among other things).

Dyslexia can affect reading, writing and memory.

Is he at school yet?

My dd -7- also has dcd (dyspraxia) and it definitely is having an enormous impact on her learning to read. She finds reading using phonics very difficult as blending is so difficult for her.

My dd has a good visual memory and what is helping her is lots of sight word practice. I know it's frowned on nowadays in teaching reading but for her it really helps. Dcd is tough. There are so many hidden ways it affects children.

My ds1 is dyspraxic. Learning to read was a nightmare!! I agree whole word recognition seems the way to go, he doesn't get blending. He's 13 and his reading age is 14 but his spelling age is 8! He just doesn't get how words are made up of certain sounds.
If it's any consolation, he 'clicked' when he was 8.
Don't get me on to times tables, or telling the time, he just can't retain the information.

I meant he clicked with reading at 8. It probably took him longer as he was learning the whole words.

Dyspraxia causes motor skill problems but dyslexia causes reading difficulties. It is possible to have both.
The most important thing is repitition . Dont panic . Just do a few sounds at a time and keep repeating tbem while adding on one new one. Have some magnetic letters..lower case not capital and use those. Best to do very short bursts. Don't allow your own worries drive you to do too much.
Online a site like Starfall is useful for more repitition. Also l agree with teachind some sight words. If you google aboutspecialeddolch words you will find some useful words but just two to start and add in one more. And repeat.

My son doesn't have dyslexia (my dad and sister do though). He had a SpLD associated with his dyspraxia.

“Dyspraxia causes motor skill problems but dyslexia causes reading difficulties.” Not quite true. DCD (dyspraxia) is a coverall label and is used to describe language difficulties as a result of poor phonological awareness and difficulty blending, segmenting often combined with poor concentration. Children with dyspraxia often find following instructions difficult.
Whole word learning often appears the answer as initially there can be a quick improvement unfortunately in the long term it limits progress as it’s impossible for the human brain to learn every word.

OP I’d suggest asking your GP for a referral to a paediatric occupational therapist for initial assessment. They will often provide a program and/or treatment.

it’s impossible for the human brain to learn every word.

This would suggest that the above statement is not true.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-estimate-boosts-the-human-brain-s-memory-capacity-10-fold/

I am an advocate of phonics for the 95% of children who find this an effective way of learning to read. I also recognise that some children (the remaining 5%) need to learn differently.

“It's worth noting that attempts to directly measure the amount of memory stored in the human brain come up with values much smaller than even that. “

My DS was the same with learning to read, he just didn't get phonics. What helped was using magnetic letters as suggested but also using play dough to shape letters in the little words like and and to so he could feel the letters. It also clicked with him around 7/8.

He used to read the pictures in the Biff and Chip books and not the words! We also did not spend ages on reading as he found it so difficult, it didn't help to spend too long on it as he found it exhausting. I would read a page and then he would read a page.

My DD is also 6 and i have thought for a couple of years that she has dyspraxia. She had delayed speech, along with coordination problems. Year 1 was really awful for her (in retrospect) to the point that i was researching different schools. DD is making slower progress than her peers at reading and even slower with writing, but she is making progress. She loves her yr2 teacher and is so much happier to the point that it doesn't really matter that she is not meeting the expected standards.
I would say do not push your ds too hard; even though he is behind, I would only do as much home reading and writing/maths as he can cope with. I had to push back against the teacher last year, because homework takes dd much longer to do than most of her peers and it is draining for her. Dd failed the phonics test last year and it doesn't matter if she fails this year in the grand scheme of things.

“Dd failed the phonics test last year and it doesn't matter if she fails this year in the grand scheme of things” it can be a good thing if it forces the school to recognise the problem and put appropriate support in place

Ds1 also found it clicked more at age 7. At the start of year 2 he was 'below expectation' and start of year 3 he is in a 'higher expected level' heading towards 'exceeding' it's an unexpected turn around and involved patience from his teacher, one to one times at school, dyslexic reading schemes (although as you know dyspraxia is not just about 'motor skills' and ds doesn't actually have dyslexia) and a half hour of non intensive tutor time at home to help him through repetition really. He also has an amazing memory and so could remember long complex words more easily than he could blend short, similar words using his phonics. He still reads aloud with poor style and phrasing but has excellent comprehension.... more goes in than you think!

Like others my DC clicked with reading around 8. Spelling is still a problem and writing. Trying to get him to type but that is not easy either.

Has his visual tracking been checked by a specialist opthamologist? Often following words and lines of words on a page can be difficult, even remembering to go left to right. Using a ruler or piece of card to focus on the correct point on the page may help. Coloured overlays may also be worth a try, starting with coloured plastic wallets over the page to see if it makes a difference. There may be elements of dyslexia such as sequencing and letter formation too.

My dyspraxic DS couldn't read until he was 8. Phonics, hours of phonics, taught by a soft toy, cracked it. Also tracking exercises from reception onward as poor eye muscle tone. He's doing a PhD now ...

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I’ll keep plugging away then... you give me hope that it will click one day!

I am quite concerned that some people don’t think dyspraxia has anything to do with learning though...

Oh it so does ... my PhD one still says he has to work twice as hard as other people to get to the same place.

Can anyone recommend any apps that are useful for helping children with dcd with reading? My dd gets easily frustrated so I'm always looking for something new.

Teach your monster to read is a good app that the kids seem to enjoy

Thus is a really helpful group if you are on FB: m.facebook.com/groups/218654198160192

Dyspraxia is still so poorly understood. My dd didn’t have any problem learning to read but she had many social challenges, another poorly understood aspect of DCD.