Could someone talk to me about dyslexia please?........

[becaroo]

........my ds1 is nearly 6 and I was told last term at parents evening he is struggling with reading and writing (first I knew about it!) so I bought the jolly phonics workbooks and dvd from amazon and we are working our way through them - 5/10 mins every night after tea.

He HATES it though He dislikes having to sit for any length of time and much prefers watching animal/nature programmes on TV (we record them for him). I have bankrupted myself buying books about animlas/dinosaurs/diggers and trucks and things that interest him to no avail....he likes being read to (which we do) but gets very unhappy when I ask him to try.

Thing is, I am starting to think there may be something else going on. He does try really hard (and his teachers say he does at school too) but he seems to have great difficulty with hearing the sounds correctly i.e. m/n, d/b, c/k and th words....we have spent the last 3 nights working on vowel sounds and tonight its like he has never seen the sounds before! (ai, ee, or, oa)

Am getting a bit worried about it and what started out as fun has become stressful and not enjoyable.

He is having 10 mins extra help per day at school but they dont really let me know how he is doing or what I should be doing to help him.....I dont know much about dyslexia but could that be his problem or am I just worrying over nothing?

Am going to speak to his teacher tomorrow as I feel I should have had some feedback by now... would appreciate some advice, thanks.

I can recommend the toe by toe work book. My son loves doing it and it has really helped him read. here

I would suggest this book might help you understand this

How is his listening and speech otherwise ? There is a condition called Auditory Processing Disorder which can make it hard for them to distinguish letter/phonic sounds.

Thanks.

He some speech immaturity i.e. saying p for f but has a great vocab and understands complex words and phrases.

CKelpie...have just ordered toe by toe from amazon - looks amazing. Will give it a try. Thank you very much.

I am certainly no expert but my dd2 sounds very similar to your son and at the beginning of the autumn term I really thought she could be dyslexic. She had a fantastic grasp of anything practical but reading and writing could have been in a different language. She would not recognise words she had just read, could spell a simple three letter word and then not be able to read it, letters backwards etc. I was really worried about her and probably too stressy with her as I'm not the most patient!

She was included in a booster group at school and I asked the teacher for a weekly update of what she was doing so I could do this with her at home as well for just a few minutes a day as you are doing.

Probably two weeks before this 1/2 term it seemed to click for her and now I think her struggling was all to do with age and maturity. Keep doing what your doing and fingers crossed it will all fall into place for your ds1.

I am dyslexic i wasnt tested untill i was 11 and recived very little help at school. The help i did recive my mum fought tooth and nail for and the head at the time told her

"Half the children in her class are at the same level and it wasnt the childs abuilty that determind how much and what help the child got! I was how pushy and -persistent- the parent are"(aged 12 i had a reading age of a 7 yr old and the wrighting of a 6 yr old and i wouldn't like to say about my spelling needless to say it hasnt inproved very much and i still use very short simple words the i can spell)

At the moment my mum is being tested and i am fighting to get DSS tested through school.

The goverment have set aside £25 thousand per dyslexic person for one to one sessions, lap tops, dictorphones,(sp?) to pay for someone to wright for the person or read out questions in exams etc and you also get extra time in exams around 20 minutes.

The school sent us to have DSS eyes tested and school nurse tested hearing then he is having an infomal session to look for signs and if he 'ticks enogh boxes' he will go to the local center for a full test. They have 6 weeks to decide what they are going to do and let you know.

Some of the things i have or family members have (it is haredity sp?) and i noticed in DSS are 1) short term memory 2) writrs letters backwards or in the wrong order when copying 3) struggles with reading and sounding words out 4) stuggles with numbres i.e DSS carnt add 100 + 50 up aged 10 5) sometimes diplays disruptive behaiour at school when struggling.

Thats all i can think off at the minute if you think your ds needs extra help i would strongly advise you see the head of senco and see what can be put in place and keep going back again and again as 1) there more likely to do something if the feel theyve 'got' to and 2) the school do not like putting lables on children and the younger they are the less they like it ( i know this from working in them as a nursery nurse for the past 8 yrs as well as my own and others experinces)

As for helping him learn ask the school to draw up an ILP and give you a copy, but you know your son best and how his mind works.

For excample my mum knew i learnt short things easyer than long so business became bus-in-ess and together became to-get-her. I still spell the out in the order in my head every i wright them but it works.

To me, it does not sound like a case of dyslexia, but then I do not have all the details. Some signs of dyslexia, are the typical ones of number and letter reversal (which is a pretty usual thing for a KS1 child!) and also things like them saying words are jumping around on the page when they are reading, or they find it difficult to read words in black text on a coloured background. IMHO, work at home is not supposed to be stressful, because that does not help him or you...and then your right, what is supposed to be fun no longer is. If it were me, I would focus on his likes and foster that through different areas...ie, continue to read to him about topics he likes, hopefully he will pick up on the words with the repetitive reading. He just may not have an apititude for literacy based activities. Try not to get too stressed or overly worried about it...easier said than done I know!

DS1 is dyslexic and now in Y3. we also use toe by toe at home; he uses 'launch the lifeboat' books at school and has classroom support. As to some degree his maths is affected - not in ability as such but in written work, he does 'RM Maths' and "Mathletics". Look into as many of these as would be helpful.

Also we use black ink and pastel coloured paper, it's quite an individual thing as to what works best, pretty much trial loads and see what works best - some children work best with greyish shades and blues, my ds works best with pale yellow and cream (much to his disgust as blue's his fave colour!)
Dyslexia Action are where the best advice is, if indeed he's dyslexic. Though most of your post is precisely what I'd have written about ds1 three years ago

Good luck.

I've used toe by toe as well for one if my dds, seemed to help, then I passed it on to a friend. Apparently they've taken the nonsense words out of it in newest edition?

I have a dyslexic son (12) and a dyslexia postgrad teaching qualification. Toe by Toe is great but I think at nearly 6 he may be just a little young.

Has his hearing been tested? May be worth having it double checked - glue ear can cause hearing issues and is easily remedied.

If I was working with him I'd work on developing auditory skills. Bit hard to explain just what I mean. Many of the children I work with have problems with hearing sounds. Will prob write it better when I'm wide awake tomorrow!

I have suspicions that my sons struggle to read is linked to his glue ear and/or possibly dyslexia ( there is a fair bit in my family) he 6 in a couple of days. I have just purchased a computer based programme called phonomena. It is supposed to help the brain to try to recognise sounds that it may not be able to. It is designed to support those on the auditory processing disorder ( dyslexia, and many other conditions). The simple view is that the brain is unable for what ever reason to recognise certain sounds and that can cause delays in reading and or language etc. DS has glue ear (no infections though) from birth but never serious enough for gromits. Its aimed at 6+ children and all they have to do is to listen to sounds and pick out the correct one. at the end of each group of sounds they get a game to play - ds had his first turn today and enjoyed it. I purchased it from mindweavers website after reading results of trials where the children progress over 2 years in reading age after using the programme. DS is being left behind, but far worse school seem more concerned about his level of practice rather than addressing the potential for an underlying cause.

Swedishmum have you heard of phonomena by mindweavers?

I've heard of it but never tried it - will be interesting to see how your ds gets on.

Becaroo, wasn't remotely suggesting your dc might be dyslexic btw. It's just that a lot of the teaching methods used with dyslexic children work for lots of people who need extra literacy support.

Becaroo that why I went down the auditory processing line - ds is struggling with phonics, the school are just keep at it in the same way. I hoped that resources for dyslexics and reading might offer an alternative approach to the challenge. Not everybody learn in exactly the same way, but the school just seem to be a one way for all mentality. Their answer has just been more practice need!
SM I will let you know when he has finished the course. 6 weeks should do it. I like the fact that it is purely sound based and on the computer and he is rewarded with a game at the end of each sound set. Am not expecting a miracle but just an improvement, and a this translating into a more positive reading experience for ds.

kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html

swedishmum and magic - fantastic info in your posts, thank you so much

HAve you had DS's eyes tested?
DS2 is almost 6 and like OP's son really struggling with reading and writing.
Dyslexia was suggested and is still being investigated.
However he had his eyes tested the end of last year and now has to wear glasses all the time as he is long sighted in both eyes - worse in one.
WE have seen a slow but steady improvemtn culminating in him reading a whole ORT book unsupervised last night { hugley thrilled emoticon}
Was your DS late in talking? It could be that he is just devellopmentally delayed?

Thank you GW for the Toe to Toe tip. I had a look at it. It looks like it could be an ideal extra support for ds, once he has progressed to the next level, should the problems continue.

Thank you so much for all your posts....I am very grateful you have all taken the time and shared your stories with me

I saw my sons teacher this morning and have arranged to meet him on monday afternoon - he said that the letters for parents evening are going out next week - but when I gave him a brief outline of why I was worried he immeadiately made me an appointment.

I totally agree with magic and swedishmum that even if ds1 is not dyslexic, the toe by toe method may help him, because as far as I am concerned the method the school and I are using at the moment is getting us nowhere fast

I so feel for him...he knows that he is behind because he and some other children have extra help outside the class - I am worried the other kids may start to mock him/pick on him

elloeise ds1 struggles with sounding out words and also writes letter and numbers backwards or in the wrong order.

mrs mclusky He was an IUGR baby (stopped growing inside me at 32 weeks but it wasnt picked up til birth). He was a very poorly baby - initally the docs thought he had CP. He missed most of his developmental milestones (though he always got there eventually!!) He didnt sit up unaided til he was 9 months, didnt really start talking til he was 2.5, but now never shuts up!!!!!! He is such a clever little boy, great vocab, and very interested in the natural world, animals and machines.

I have never thought of his bad start as a factor tbh, as he has caught up so well. However, its a thought and I will make his teacher aware of it on monday. Can they test for dyslexia at this young age?? Sorry to sound dense, but am really in the dark about this.

Thank you all so much again x

DS didnt start talking properly until he was nearly 3, ( he too now is never quiet and has a laarge vocab) if you think about it ifspeech is delayed tehn literacy is likely to be too.

I am lucky to have a friend who is a senco, 6 is still quite young to diagnose dyslexia although there could be some indicators present.

She thought it was developmental.#Ds is left handed and left eye dominant so it possible he could be dyslexic.

Our school have arranged for me to see the SENCo next week. Will let you know how I get on.

Good luck for next week mrs mclusky.

When I see ds1s teacher on monday I am taking the toe by toe book with me to show him (it arrived this morning!) For those of you who have used it - does it integrate with normal teaching methods eg; phonics???

Thanks!

yes, it does seem to complement the other methods nicely, just gives them another direction to go at the same repertoire.
To your question about dyslexia 'labelling' or diagnosing, if that turns out to be the problem, it is a very long process with many assessments and interventions. Quite rightly, tbh, although it can appear frustrating it is a thorough way of ensuring that the right diagnosis and best programmes are found.
DS1 started (school wise) with an IEP (individual education plan) which was discussed and implemented during his first week in Y1, which was also the SENCO's own class During his reception year there was all-round recognition that the problems that we had noted at home (I'm also a SEN teacher) were continuing and were worryingly limiting his numeracy and other subjects. He was allocated some extra classroom support and additional small group work on ELS programme. By Y2 he was on his third IEP and began launch the lifeboat, Wave 3 interventions and worked with the school's own dyslexia specialist. This is although at this stage the problem had still not been 'defined' as dyslexia, although we all knew what the nature of his difficulties were, and were pointing hugely in that direction. He was also involved in a moving to learn programme, (a version of brain-gym) which last year he did two to three times a week as part of a small group, now he does it daily. Now in Yr 3 he has the latest version of his IEP, and the junior classroom environment is really suiting him. He is on a table where two TA's are based and they read for him, he uses co:writer and dragon software as i mentioned in an earlier post, and has fantastic support. The Educational Psychologist now wants him to work with a high ability group - with either staff or peer support for writing, as it is fortunately now recognised [at last!!] that he has a high IQ but the dyselxia means that he can't express it on paper. Only now are they using the term "dyslexic" for him - this is 4 years down the line. And he's severely dyslexic, with a reading age of 6 and atrocious writing for a child of his age. He's doing really well because the school has such a positive attitude and praise effort from him, making a real fuss when he gets good results despite the odds against him. This positive attitude from them, and the fact that at the start of Y2 I explained clearly to him that both we and his teachers understood that "he has a clever brain but finds writing stuff down a bit tricky" - when I started explaining dyslexia to him (in bits, as it sort of seemed right) he looked like a child with an enormous weight and worry lifted from his shoulders. I have been careful to explain that we are trying to find out what works best for him, and being an analytical chap he often figures things out for himself then tells the teachers or me what helps him most.
We are always on top of regular eye tests (this was difficult at first and he failed loads of them from 3 to 6 years old because he was unable to point out what letters were matching and so on) and this is definitely your first point to start.
HTH - and sorry for huuuuge post!!

gigglewitch Wow, what a long process. So pleased things are working out for your ds now. His school sounds great.

Ds1 has an IEP in place and receives extra help in school and once a week in a special class.

Unlike you I am not trained and dont really know what I am doing with all this! However, I know my son and I know something is not "right". The school and I have been giving him extra help for some time now with no improvement that I can see.

Thanks so much for your post - huge post but also hugely helpful!!!

Thanks for thaat gigglewithc it has given me some idea as to what I should be asking for my DS.
Have meeting with Senco tomorrow.