Cant read ,cant write Channel 4

[Beauregard]

Anyone else watching?

yes! was about to start a thread , but went for a wee

I love the teacher. i have no concept of how these people feel ( could read very well from age 5). But my son is being taught with jolly phonics so am recognising the techniques.

It is a heartbreaking thing , i think, as it makes totally capable adults feel so worthless because the education system failed them somehow...

Imagine how frustrating it must be not to know how to read. It's bizarre how they can speak and form sentences but don't know how to spell, read or write. I hope they stick it out and learn to read and write.

Linda in particular is so eloquent- she loves Hemmingway, seems very cultured, she is so frustrated that she cannot be what she wants to be. I cannot imagine not being able to read...

I keep getting tearful watchng Linda

DH is getting tearful watching Linda. He suffers severe dyslexia (as does DD) so can really identify with this.

Phil Beadle is great i would have loved a teacher like him when i was at school.

Reading is something we take for granted.

Ah it must be an amazing feeling to have it begin to click into place.What a sense of achievement for all concerned.

How they are with reading is how i am with maths.

i was sobbing by the end of this, it meant so much to them that they could do what so many just GET

My DS2 would undoubtedly be in the same position as these adults if he was still in school.

It saddens me that the keys to unlocking an individual's understanding of the basics of literacy are often so simple, and cost next to nothing - but still schools are failing to provide these things, and are letting down so many children.

How sad was that poor lad who was given bloody wordsearches to do in class because the teacher couldn't be bothered to help him. How sad that he just sat in exams doing nothing

I'm doing a dyslexia course at the mo & found it very interesting. Linda who was such a tactile learner that she actually had to sit on the floor and make the letters before she 'got' it.
Amazed at the snotty woman from the adult college that really didn't see the problem with the adult curriculum which was clearly only suitable for those learning English as a whole & not actually learning to read from scratch

Actually I was very annoyed at the way that he spoke to the woman at the adult college. The way he got all tearful I found really cringeworthy. Okay the materials and resources were not suitable for him and these learners but he didn't need to be so rude about it.
Plus he wasn't even pronouncing the sounds correctly to enable the sounds to be blended together e.g. for 'c' he was saying soft c like in ceiling, when it should be c as in cat.
[annoyed teacher emoticon]

and he did 'ull' for the sound l

Message withdrawn

I think a terrible problem for these learners is having someone to practice with them EVERYDAY I think this problem needs to addressed if adults are going to learn how to read.

It is hard having children in a mainstream class who cannot read, particularly at secondary school level. Yet a bright dyslexic person would be unsuited to a MLD special school. Prehaps there needs to be special schools for dyslexics with small classes that cover a mainstream curriculum.

Maybe they combine it with specialist provison for high functioning autisic children who or school refusers who could do GCSE, but need extra attention for whatever reason.

Linda strikes me as being a bit spectrummy.

I really, really feel for James.

IMO, he needs the most help of all of them.

I think he may have dyspraxia as well as whatever learning disorder he's got that is obviously keeping him for being able to read.

I hope in the next episode he gets a little more attention.

Why do you think Linda is "spectrummy".

She didn't appear to do like any autisic people I know. She might have issues with auditory perception, but her verbal language skills and social skills seemed reasonable. I agree its a little odd to buy yourself a library of books you cannot read, but its unfair to say she is autisic.

I felt for James. I think he needs someone to give him daily attention. In fact I think that anyone learning to read needs daily attention.

Prehaps dysparenting is a greater cause of failing to learn to read than dyslexia.

Just her reactions to tihngs. But then, I hang round the SN boards and DD1 goes to SEN nursery, so my view is a bit different .

Oh, I've worked with several ASD people who had superb verbal and language skills, FWIW, at university-level, even.

It was a very interesting programme - but the teacher was rather annoying, I agree.

Afaik, I've only met one person who couldn't read or write - but he could count, deal with money etc. I always wondered why that is.

expatinscotland,
I still feel vary of making assumptions that someone is has a ASD from a TV programme. Admitally there is a teacher at the special school I work at who is convinced that we are all somewhere on the autisic spectrum.

I work in a special school I know quite a few children who have moderate to severe autism. They are very different to Linda and have different problems. The special school sees reading as a good skill to require, but concentrates on teaching the children very basic life skills we all take for granted. Ie. understanding personal space, eye contact, reading facial expressions, coping with changes in routine and improving speech.

I don't know any really high functioning people with autism. I suspect that a bright person with autism is better at hiding it.

I did wonder if Linda has problems with auditory perception. Some people would argue that auditory perception disorder is somewhere on the spectrum

'I still feel vary of making assumptions that someone is has a ASD from a TV programme.'

It was just my impression, fgs!

Doesn't mean she's got it.

Although she did have problems learning to read, which I'm glad are being sorted.

I think she is just a very kinaesthetic learner - she has to learn by doing. I was amazed at just how kinaesthetic she was though.