DS 7 struggles to read aloud. ‘My brain work so better when I’m not talking’

[Climbingwindmill]

Listening to DS read is painful. For one thing he’s never still and writhes around while he’s reading. Also it’s incredibly stilted and slow.

However he got very marks on his KS1 reading SATS and when I question him about what he’s read to himself he can recall it well and show he understands it. He’s also much stiller when reading in his head.

I’m at a bit of a loss. It’s not that he dislikes reading or is shy or nervous. It just seems a lot harder for him to read aloud.

The title should say ‘my brain works better..’ that’s what he’s just told me.

A lot of kids wriggle when they read aloud, I have no idea why. I thought it was just my son until I started volunteering at school!

I also find it hard to read aloud, have to follow the words carefully or it all goes wrong.

How much running around does he get on a school day?

Interesting. I don't know if this is a thing, but it's me. I read and read from a very young age, rarely aloud and hate being read to. I'm a solicitor, so still have to read a lot! I also read fast and always have. Can easily do a book a day if off.

I struggle actually with DD now and sit down to read to her, and find myself reading ahead in my head. It's like it narrates there not when spoken.

If he has the comprehensive side sorted and will do occasional reading? What about asking him to read it himself and then give you a spoken summary. Like presentation?

He gets usual playtimes plus walks to and from school. This evening we have been dancing and playing catch most of the evening. He’s not short of exercise in my opinion but is rarely still even when eating/watching tv

Interesting moobar! He likes being read to.
Yes I’m fairly happy for him to read to himself and summarise it-just worried that it might imply a problem of some sort

I'm not in the UK so not too sure what the usual playtime is sorry!!! Is it two or three breaks a school day? Though sounds like he's active after school. What if he has a stress ball when reading. Have you tried that?

The KS1 reading SATS scores mean he comprehends what he reads. (I'm assuming you missed a good after that very!) Which is good.

If you read to him does he comprehend as well as when he reads to himself?

Sorry- 2 15 min breaks plus 30 mins after lunch.
Yes-missed a very-he actually got full marks in one paper.
I’m pretty sure he comprehends what is read to him well but will check-that’s an interesting question actually as his general listening isn’t great.
Yes might try a stress ball or something. Thanks

It's a real mix isn't it.

I don't know KS1 SATs so not sure what it involves. Sometimes a child 'reads' to themselves but I interprets the meaning from the pictures. So not interpreting the words. But I suspect he wouldn't get full marks even if he was very brightly comprehending that way.

It would be fascinating to know how he reads. If he internally vocalise when he reads. If he doesn't it might be hard for him to transpose the written word to the spoken word.

But find out how much he comprehends what's read out loud to him.

Sounds well within the “normal” range. It will change as he gets older, you don’t need to do anything.

I wouldn’t dismiss this. By reading in his head and not out loud he can cover up a lot.

You can be quite a poor reader and still understand a lot. Ie you can skip words and get the gist of it.

I read very well, I achieved brilliant marks in my exams and have almost completed a degree. I was based in English language and literature. I still get words mixed up when reading aloud to my children sometimes. Some people are just not good at reading aloud. In my opinion, if the comprehension and enjoyment is there then there's nothing to worry about. It's not going to affect his learning.

I would add though, my problem stems from trying to read aloud as quickly as I read in my head. Do you think this could be part of your DC's problem?

I taught a dyslexic child (age 9) who I discovered was like this - I’d ask her to read aloud and she’d politely agree to do so and struggle. When left on her own her comprehension answers were good. I queried it and she said she really struggled to read aloud and found it easier in her head. This felt weird to me as if I’m struggling to read something in my head reading aloud can help. However when I mentioned to a colleague who was also dyslexic she said it was exactly the same for her. Not saying your child is dyslexic though. If he’s doing well at school and they’re not concerned I wouldn’t worry too much.

If his comprehension is good then I wouldn't be too worried, but I would want to make sure that he understood the correct pronounciation of words! I was a fluent reader at age 4 (peaked early!!) and read quite advanced books to myself, but of course had not heard most of the words pronounced , leading to some very strange conversations when I tried out my new vocabulary on my nearest and dearest, some of them passed into family legend, like the time I was asked if I had taken the last biscuit, and with all the gravitas of Sidney Carton I declared "I am innokent, I Denny it completely."

So my advice is to do some spot checks to check he is not misreading more unusual words.

I wouldn’t worry at this point as still very young.p but if anything else comes up as he gets older than consider at that point that it might be part of a bigger picture. This was DS and it turned out some time later that he has dyslexia.

What happens if you ask them to read a page in their head and then get them to read it outload - does that improve their 'out louding'

Really interesting thread. Ds is 8 and said exactly same thing yesterday. He skips words when he reads aloud and says he understands things better when reading silently. However, I think this may lead to poor reading skills as he must still skip words and lose the meaning of the story.

I second Grasspigeons' suggestion. DD would sometimes pause at the top of a page/section before reading it out loud. She was scanning the text so she knew what to expect and could read it with appropriate expression.

Gooseygoosey also has a good point. My DD doesn't much enjoy reading proper books out loud because it is slower than reading in her head, and she wants to get on with the story! She enjoys reciting poetry though.

I used to find this when I was a kid. The problem was that I used to just overthink the whole thing, trying to understand it, adding expression, trying to get the phrasing right. However when I developed a less complex technique it became a lot easier: tell him just read the next word, pause at commas / full stops and trust that the meaning will take care of itself

They are two very different skills reading aloud and reading in your head. I have two kids with dyslexia - not saying your DC does necessarily. My DS was terrible at reading aloud, but more comfortable reading in his head. He is secondary age now and despite the dyslexia an avid reader. My DD is the reverse. Hates reading can only read out loud not in her head. I would say keep an open mind about possibility of dyslexia. Encourage whatever reading style he prefers. No point making it a chore or a misery. You can do little spot checks on words or phrases, ask him to summarise stories. You don't need to micro manage every page of every book.

Grasspigeons: much much better at reading aloud if he’s read it in his head first. In fact the other night he read so nicely I wondered what I’d been worried about and then he told me he’d already read those pages to himself at school.

Dyslexia is on my radar a bit as his spelling isn’t great and neither is his handwriting