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Secondary education

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Original poster

Slow reading speed

28 replies

LowLifeOpinions · 13/03/2019 21:41

My dd is 12. She's very bright, top of her class for maths and no academic trouble. Her handwriting is fine, she is articulate and organised etc, but she reads really quite slowly. She really noticed the other day that she and her friend were reading the same book and her friend read two or three times as much in the same time. We really have to encourage her to read when given her personality you would put her down as a bookworm.

Does anyone have experience of this? Anything that will help?

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 13/03/2019 22:04

No experience, a few thoughts.

  1. Was the friend skipping whereas your DD reading carefully?
  2. Have you done an eye test recently?
  3. What's her reading aloud like?
Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 13/03/2019 22:14

Eye test end of August was fine.

Dd says she has really noticed that she stumbles over her words when she reads aloud. I haven't particularly noticed that but haven't been paying attention to that.

My dd said she usually uses a ruler to keep herself on the right line. Again, I hadn't noticed this, maybe she doesn't do it all the time.

I don't know about her friend's reading, sorry.

OP posts:
Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 13/03/2019 22:16

She has said she likes to really figure out what she's reading, but still.

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TeenTimesTwo · 13/03/2019 22:19

I've heard people talk about tracking issues which aren't normally checked in eye tests. Maybe drop into an opticians and ask?

And/Or drop an email to the school's SENCO, say what you have noticed and ask them if they have any tests they can do to see if there is eg dyslexia?

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 13/03/2019 22:22

The school is being helpful. I have a couple of names of an optician who can help with a tracking issue, and an Ed psych who would presumably be able to test for... Dyslexia related stuff.

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 13/03/2019 22:47

It's certainly worth checking for tracking issues etc, but it may be that she is reading more thoroughly than some of her peers. (And it could be a combination of both)

My DD was like that - they had 'reading challenges' in primary school, which were more quantity than quality, she didn't rack up that many and the teacher who ran this was wont to badger her about it. (Which was counterproductive). But come the 'mastermind challenge' where they were given 5 specific books and then quizzed... DD was the one who'd comprehended and retained the content, and won.

She's simply never been particularly keen on reading fiction (I carried on reading to her into her teens to share some of my favourites). It really hasn't negatively impacted her education or development.

Gloschick · 14/03/2019 07:40

Yes, it would be worth getting her to see a behavioural optometrist to check for tracking or convergence problems. They might prescribe prism lenses/exercises for her. Also, there is an online program called "engaging eyes" which she can use to improve her tracking.

NWgirls · 14/03/2019 11:25

When checking tracking with a behavioural optometrist, also check for / rule out Irlen syndrome:

"Irlen Syndrome (also referred to at times as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, and Visual Stress) is a perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain's ability to process visual information."

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 14/03/2019 11:30

I've made an appointment with a behavioural optometrist and the school is going to re-assess her along with some others. So all in hand I think. She would definitely be the kid who can recall tiny details about a book months later!

I will also look at that engaging eyes program.

Thanks so much.

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SpoonBlender · 14/03/2019 12:11

It would also be worth checking to see if she really is slow reading - it's possible that her friend is a very fast reader (either from skimming or just being fast). I'm one of those, I read (not skim) at least twice as fast as most people seem to. Many, many years of practice, plus researchy jobs where successfully skimming is extremely useful.

MontStMichel · 14/03/2019 12:14

DD always had that problem - diagnosed as an adult as ADD!

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 14/03/2019 15:21

I am totally open to the possibility that she is just slower than her friend, but it is noticeable that she has given up on plenty of books that her peers have happily read. Could just be preference, could be something else.

Have also wondered about ADD. We'll look at these things first and see where we end up, I think.

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Dancingdreamer · 15/03/2019 15:56

Worth also checking if she has a processing disorder. It’s a form of dyslexia and very easily for an Occupationsl Psychologist to identify.

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 15/03/2019 22:45

I wondered about that. Occupational psychologist? Is that different than an educational psychologist?

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Dancingdreamer · 16/03/2019 18:23

Sorry meant Educational Psychologist. They will test for any learning difficulties. The school can usually recommend someone but you may need to pay privately for an assessment. Don’t let the school put you off. I was told repeatedly for several years that there was nothing wrong with my DS. When I eventually had him tested, against the school’s advice, he was found to have a severe form of dyslexia but an extremely high IQ in other areas which meant he was disguising the problems.

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 18/03/2019 11:44

Ah, I see. Yes, I have been through all this with my son and had to pay for everything as no one would do anything. I don't expect anything now. I will probably pay for an educational psychologist to assess for ADD, processing issues, dyslexia, and the behavioural optometrist to assess for visual tracking issues.

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iwantatattoo · 20/03/2019 18:35

You will need to see your GP to begin an assessment for ADD/ADHD.

Flurgle · 20/03/2019 18:39

Would reading speed not have been flagged up in year 6? They have to read pretty fast to get through the reading test- slower readers just can’t do it. Did she pass?

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 21/03/2019 21:19

She passed her y6 sats fine. The school have done an assessment and will come back to me about it soon, I expect.

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Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 01/04/2019 16:00

So her assessment shows that her reading speed is right at the lower threshold of normal in the reference range (if that is the right word). So I will take that info to the behavioural optometrist, wait for the outcome, and then meet the school after Easter. Hope you don't mind that I keep coming back to this thread!

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Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 17/04/2019 21:08

Hello again. Thought I would update if anyone is paying any attention any more! Behavioural optometrist today found that she has enormous difficulty keeping print in focus. She can focus on it (so it wouldn't show up in a Specsavers test) but it keeps slipping out of focus and she has to work much harder than normal to read. No wonder reading seems like such hard work for her - it literally is. She doesn't have a lot of space to enjoy it or develop speed, because she's just trying to keep it in focus.

So she has been prescribed vision therapy exercises to do with crawling reflexes that weren't integrated - it was fascinating to see her unable to crawl in a particular way which is apparently related to the focus reflex. I had no idea this was a thing. She's also been prescribed bifocal glasses to make it all less tiring. The optometrist thought that this was probably a complete explanation with no need to see anyone else, but will follow up regularly to adapt her exercises.

Thanks for all your support, everyone.

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 17/04/2019 21:52

brilliant news.

ittakes2 · 17/04/2019 21:55

I am convinced that when children's infant reflexes do not go dormant that this impacts on their development - the whole crawling thing is used by toddlers to help with developing eye tracking. There is also this brushing technique which also helps for the infant reflexes to do go dormant which I recommend after seeing progress in my son.
www.accesspotential.org

Original poster
LowLifeOpinions · 21/04/2019 21:31

ittakes2 I'm very interested in this now! I wonder how old is too old to have these treated.

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ittakes2 · 21/04/2019 22:12

You are never too old. Adults do it. It literally takes 5mins in the morning and 5mins at night. I don't recommend this company as I have never used them - but it is the place where the person we use (the other link - accepotential) trained.
www.inpp.org.uk