Yr1 - reading problems

[FrayedHem]

DS3 is in Yr1. He has a dx of ASD.

Reading and writing are both a struggle. He tries very hard but does also get distraught when he can't do it. With books, reading the word is fast becoming his last resort - he is desperately looking for picture clues and guessing. He is adamant I'm not allowed to help him, so trying to get him to break the word down ends in a meltdown. (He says the teacher does not help them in class with reading so I mustn't at home). Writing he still struggles to form basics such as numbers and reverses letters a lot. He is very fast at addition etc but getting the answers on paper for maths homework is difficult.

I've tried some online games, but again he guesses and just keeps hitting buttons until he gets the right answer. I feel I need a resource that has little in the way of pictures. I've spoken to the SENCo and class teacher but neither are concerned. I am though, as he is becoming so unhappy about school. They do a lot of spelling tests which is just a bit beyond him atm.

Any suggestions?

Poor DS sounds like he's a worrier. He sounds fairly similar to a friend's DS who has a diagnosis of ASD but is also on the route to getting a diagnosis for dyslexia. They suspected dyslexia from around Y1 but couldn't get a formal diagnosis until he was 7. They found him specialist help under the assumption he was dyslexic before the diagnosis: in some part through their own online research and also sent him to private lessons with a specialist dyslexia and other SEN teacher (they had to pay for this themselves though). Not exactly sure what it entailed but he's slowly but surely making progress and is much more confident now.

Hi, no suggestions but my DS is very similar (he is Yr1 but was only 5 in July). He cannot blend the letters to make words, he reads his books sounding out the letters only. If I point to a word he will guess it based on the picture. He confuses b and d (reading and writing). He is also very good at addition but struggles to write the numbers. He is under SENCO for a speech disorder so does get a lot of support in class.
His teacher has said there could be something there as in he may have a learning difficulty, but as he is young for the year it could just be that he is a slow learner. She wants to wait a bit longer before getting him assessed but has said he is behind academically which makes me a bit sad.

Did your DS meet his "targets" in Yr R?

He sounds very similar to my dd in yr1. I suspect dyslexia and have a meeting booked with her teacher next week to raise this issue with her. Part of me expects her teacher to say that it’s all age appropriate and that her reading level isn’t ‘behind’ at all, but for what it’s worth her partially deaf twin brother is approaching free reader status. I know they’re all different and we shouldn’t compare, but...

She picked up pencils at a very early age and loves ‘writing’, but it’s all gobbledegook. She’s not even spelling phonetically and I have to ask her to read back what she’s written. She will practise writing numbers 1-10 copying down what I’ve written, then halfway through start reversing the 7, 2 & 5. She seems to ‘read’ books that we have read to her almost fluently, but then give her a more simple book that requires some phonetic decoding and she’s completely stuck.

She doesn’t have a diagnosis of anything but does have toddler style meltdowns that she never had as a toddler. She had issues at birth and although she reached all her milestones, we were warned there may be something that will become apparent as she gets older. So maybe she is fine, and this is all normal, or maybe there’s something there. She is my youngest, so I don’t feel I’m an over anxious first time parent expecting her to read war and peace. But I do feel in my gut that things are tricky for her.

I guess what I’m saying is speak to the class teacher and raise your concerns. If you come away feeling that they’re not taking you seriously, it might be worth pursuing the private route if you can afford it. This is where I will go if need be. Not necessarily to get a diagnosis in terms of getting extra support at school, but more so I can find out how I can help her at home.

thanks AllMySmellySocks. My underlying concern is he also has dyslexia, but like you say he is too young for a formal diagnosis. I'm thinking we'll have to consider a private assessment at the least. A big barrier is DS3 is very rigid in his beliefs. So what the teacher says (or he has understood the teacher to have said) is right and I am wrong. He is also desperate to please the teacher but not being able to read and write makes that a bit of a tricky one, as the focus is on attainment, rather than effort.

WhiteHartLane sorry your DS is struggling too but it's great his school are supporting him in class. DS3 met most of the targets, apart from something like making things with materials, possibly a social one. His end of year report was a delightful read, but wasn't accurate. There's no way he was at target for reading. The school are pretty rubbish with everything SEN so I fear getting any meaningful help with the reading issues is going to be an uphill battle.

countingkids123 I know exactly what you mean about comparing. My older 2 picked up reading no bother. DS1 also has ASD and is the polar opposite when it comes to wanting to please the teacher! DS3 puts some much effort in but just struggles so much. He's the same, writing lists for me which I have no idea what it is meant to say. The teacher and SENCo aren't concerned, but I'm going to make another appt with the SENCo. The problem I have is if I try to do something at home that is different to school DS3 will balk at because I'm not a teacher. I do think I will need to take the private route to make them at least listen.

Thanks all, it's given me a fresh focus on how to move this forward a bit.