Dyslexia - any experts? looking for advice

[saintlydamemrsturnip]

DS3 is 5 and has just started year 1.

I have some concerns which I'll bullet point below:

1. He has no concept of rhyming. Cannot do it (we discovered this in reception). Although he can sometimes pick out a rhyming pair (for example he would get which rhymes cat and sat or cat and pig correct) he is easily thrown (for example he would get chair/hair chair/chain wrong I suspect).

2. He really struggles sounding out - he knows the individual letter sounds- has done for years, but combing them - no chance.

3. Has no idea if I say 'if I take away the sss from sat what is left?' (says sa)

4. Mixes up opposites a lot. Was very late with he and she (still getting it wrong age 4). Today for example he said 'X has been in the early book all the time, every day he is in the early book'. I asked what the early book is and he said 'the book you go in if you get there after 9 o clock'. I asked if he meant the late book and he said yes.

5. Is very good at maths - better than I remember ds2 being at this age (and ds2 is officially bright iykwim) so his inability to read isn't related to finding academic work hard

6. Has really struggled with Headsprout which I paid for (for him and for ds1 who is severely autistic)

7. oh yes has an autistic brother which apparently makes you 'at risk'!

The problem is he hides it really well. Once he's read a book once he remembers it, so it isn't that obvious that actually he can't read a word of it without a completely painful process. His reception teacher got him to read it backwards and he did that without problem but it was all remembered!

I thought first of all that I was being unfair and that I was comparing him to ds2 who learned to read without trying and was reading fluently by the time he left reception, but having looked a bit at dyslexia today he really does fit a lot of the language issues (especially the opposites and the lack of awareness of sounds).

I'm going to ring school tomorrow and make an appointment to see the teacher but I'm a bit concerned that we'll be told to wait and see - and having been there done that with ds1 (who I realised was autistic at 17 months and it wasn't diagnosed until he was 3- and he is severe!) I don't want to get to the stage where we all wait and then suddenly he's in year 3 and it's a problem. I'm not worried about labelling him - would just like to start some gentle targeted help now while a lot of his classmates also can't read.

Anyway advice/tips/things I should know welcomed. We did work with Marion Blank for a while with ds1 (she is a reading expert) so I am reading her book designed for NT kids and will use some of her techniques.

DS3 doesn't seem to have a problem with sequencing, but is long sighted with a squint which may not help.

bump

No-one with dyslexia experience?

I have signed ds3 up for Marion Blank's online reading program because I think she's a bit of a genius when it comes to reading. Have sent her an email as well.

How is reading taught at his school? Does his teacher have concerns? Is anything being done to address his 'problem' with blending?

I wouldn't worry about his inability to rhyme; this has absolutely no bearing at all on the ability to learn to read, though you will be told that it is an indicator of 'phonological awareness. Just smile sweetly and ignore..

Oral phoneme deletion (taking a 'sound' from a word and saying what is left) is an incredibly difficult task for an untrained person and is also not particularly relevant to reading - you don't delete phonemes when you read, you 'add' them all together! I would be more worried if a child were unable to say what was left if the task were presented visually (assuming, of course, that the child were able to 'name' each grapheme i.e sound spelling)

Does he struggle with sounding out or with blending,; it isn't quite clear from what you said. If it is blending, then lots of practice is needed in this skill - it can be done progressively (i.e by blending cumulatively through the word rather than decoding it all before blending, children who struggle sometimes find this easier.

How did he struggle with Headsprout? (It's a US programme, isn't it? I wonder if he found the differences in pronunciation confusing?)

I have never heard of Marion Blank, but, having googled her and looked at her 'method' I think it is the last thing a struggling child needs. What makes you think she's a genius? The Americans do not have a clue about teaching reading and, for the most part, their knowledge and practice of phonics is abysmal. I'd go with a good UK synthetic phonics programme!

It does seem to me that your child might have a language processing issue, but I am not an expert; it should be properly assessed. Also, it would be a good idea to check hearing.

Thanks for the reply mazie

No idea how reading is taught at school to be honest.They did send something home describing changes that had been made since ds2 was in reception but I can't remember what they said - it was some change to the phonics system they were using before - more emphasis on sounding out maybe? Would that make sense? I will have to check. I'm interested in why you say to ignore the difficulties in rhyming - all the dyslexia sites (even the NHS one) seems to mention it - and he really doesn't get it at all. Cannot work out what rhymes and what doesn't. We had no idea until he had some reception homework where he had to pick out rhymes and he didn't have a clue. Even with playing rhyming games at a very jokey level it hasn't really improved. Ds1 who is non verbal can pick out rhyming pairs better than ds3!

Struggles with both sounding out and blending. He knows the sounds the letters make given at an individual level but it's very difficult to get him to sound out the words and he cannot then put them together at all. He also find it very difficult to remember that Th for example isn't a ch or a sh. This is at odds with his ability to tell me unprompted how many seconds he has to wait if I've told him he has to wait 5 minutes . Memory excellent (no idea about visual memory)

He just didn't understand headsprout - exactly the same problems with reading at home -difficulties sounding out - ok with the easy levels then just ground to a halt and completely unravelled when he has to move onto anything slightly complicated. We could redo sections but he was beginning to get very cross with it. I think the sounds were ok- I've heard worse and I know moondog on here uses it very successfully with children with significant language issues.

I think Marion's a genius because we've worked with her with ds1 who is non-verbal and her program did - to an extentanyway - work with him. I like the way she recognises all the different skills needed for reading including the motor skills and pays attention to the language, rather than just focussing on sounding. Which bits did you think were bad?

Oh he quite possibly had a language processing problem. Given his family history its potentially highly likely. I can't imagine I would get anyone to take that seriously right now though (unless its genetic - we're about to see the geneticist for ds1 and I have asked them to test for all known language disorder genes). Having said that though, looking at the checklists he doesn't really fit those (or the auditory processing disorder ones)

Am off to see teacher asap. I think hearing is fine, but will get it checked. His eyes are definitely all over the place (outward squint worse since he was given glasses).

They can't usually 'diagnose' dyslexia until they're about 7, but it's fairly obvious if there's a problem so you can do a screening test, it's at 7 that they will really start to fall behind.

Two things I've learnt - early intervention is key. Get him to a good Education psychologist as soon as possible if you can afford it. Don't be put off by the school.

The school is not necessarily working in the best interests of your son - they have other considerations.

Also get hold of the special education needs code of practice - a govt document that outlines just what the school should do.

For an insight into the murky world of educational psychologist assessment -and dodgy interventions :

www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm

www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_options.htm

Am off to see teacher in a minute.

Don't worry I know the ed psychs around here (severely autistic older brother) including who to avoid

I'm not too worried about labelling him as such but at the moment he does such a good job of guessing then remembering I'm not sure his teachers have appreciated how much he will do to avoid reading! I'd just rather they knew and started doing more with him now rather than finding out in year 3 that he's not reading iyswim.

goodness the dyslexia world is as opinionated at the autism world (having a google)

Thanks for the links btw.

Teacher's response was good. Glad I raised the concerns

May not be dyslexia, there are other SpLDs. From what you said it sounds like he has phonological problems, which is a SpLD in it's own right. If he does have a phonological problem this will mean that phonics based reading schemes will be extremely difficult.

I have this problem and learnt to read purely by memorising the whole word and how it was pronounced.

Try asking about using a precision teaching approach, a stuctured daily distributed practice which focuses on changing the teaching method if it's not working, not trying to change the child, or claimimg they are unmotivated etc...It has a detailed evidence base for these type of needs. I do agree you should look at language processing, but access to SALT can be hard...

I do wish parents had more access to Eps and there was a clearer understanding of how EPs apply psychology to understanding how children think and learn. It does seem that somehow EPs can mixed up with statementing officers, EPs are not and do not want to be the gatekeepers of SEN. People should ask their schools about their SEN funding, provision at SA SA+ etc....