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I'man educator, but relatively inexperienced with early readers and their interventions. I'd love perspective from other parents or teachers here. Thanks in advance.
Cricket is 6.5 and has been with us a year. He has been kind of stuck in emergent reading, but making some gains. He is very bright in several ways-great with numbers, skilled at using context to help him decode words, and attentive to comprehension. Clever and observant, though he often uses these powers for evil. :arrow: To me, his performance seems to lag behind his perceived ability. He often reverses letters and numbers in writing. He rarely distinguishes b's and d's. Sometimes he reads backwards. Like tonight, blew was would and road was door. He will have sentence-long bursts of smooth reading with complex words, then spend 10 minutes stalling and puzzling over a words he's already read several times in that same book. We're also coping with PTSD, likely early method exposure, and stimulant-medicated ADHD.
I'll be homeschooling next year, and we'll have access to a specialist and services. I'm just wondering if this sounds like dyslexia to those who have BTDT. If so, what are your main tips for helping him grow and cope? Top resource recommendations? Anything else?
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Dyslexia just means a person is having trouble reading, so it sounds like that is what is going on. The cause and his exact symptoms can be tricky to pin down. Dyslexia is a very broad spectrum.
My ds had dyslexia, and for him his spacial awareness is in hyper drive thus making it difficult to lay his letters down and focus on reading. He also sees words in pictures, so words with no pictures like be, for, about, and so on have no meaning for him. He has those words memorized for reading, but they had no meaning, and thus reading meant nothing to him, so he simply did not read. We are using the Davis Method found in The Gift Of Dyslexia to help him. It obviously does not work for all dyslexics, and it is not at all what the schools use (reason number 867 why we homeschool lol). He was labeled ADD too, and now he can focus and enjoy a task without distraction, all he needed was to learn how to focus. Anyway, it is a big puzzle first getting a diagnosis of dyslexia, then finding out what will help him work through it. The biggest thing is to focus on his strengths and let reading be not as important. The school focuses on the weaknesses, and that really brings down the self esteem. We have out emphasis on build and programming for ds, and it has helped him maintain his passion for learning to read despite the fact that it is hard for him. He still loves to read, and that is all that matters, the ability will catch up. Most kids learn to read by the time they are 12-13, so your kiddo still has plenty of time before it becomes an issue.
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It's possible. The mistakes and reversals you are describing are fairly common in emergent readers. You said he's been with you for a year. I don't know if prior to that he would have had good exposure to pre-literacy activities and that could be a factor. But if he seems stalled and he's not making the progress you feel he should, then this is definitely the time to have an evaluation done to see if he does have some type of dyslexia. The earlier the better.
Once you know the cause, you can find the right resources to help him. Difficulties with learning to read can result from auditory processing issues, problems with discriminating slight differences in sounds. (bed vs. bet or van vs. fan for example). The problem can also result from issues with visual perception. Some kids have problems perceiving things like the difference between b, d, p and q. That makes reading a huge challenge. The intervention you use will depend upon what's causing the difficulty. So the first step will be an evaluation, which can be done through the school district. You can request an evaluation, even if you are homeschooling. Once you know what is getting in his way, you can find ways to help him.
Anything that affects reading fluency usually impacts comprehension, so the fact that he's understanding what he reads is a great sign.
I just found this book, and plan to use it with my two who have LD (learning disabilities). It's a step-by-step manual for teaching reading, based on the Orton-Gillingham method, the method that is considered the "Gold Standard" for teaching reading. [url=http://www.interdys.org/prod.aspx?prodid=35&catid=2]OnLine Store[/url] We limit "class time" - the actual, sit down, write, read, pay focused attention time - during homeschool. We do a lot of reading out loud (them to me, me to them) and lots of hands on kinds of things. Games. Math games that the kids have made up, board games, actual "educational" games, online games like how to type (keyboarding skills), Khan Academy ( [url]https://www.khanacademy.org/[/url] ), and ideas from this website as well: [url=http://www.homeschooling-ideas.com]Free Homeschooling Ideas, Activities and Resources[/url] We LOVE documentaries and Netflix has bunches of them. I also recommend Richard Lavoie as a great resource for ideas and encouragement for interacting with kids who have learning struggles. You can see a bunch of his videos now on YouTube, and he has many books that are ALL great. [url=http://www.parentbooks.ca/Lavoie.html]Richard Lavoie Booklist & Videos[/url]
At least two people have invented fonts to help dyslexic people read. 1. [url=http://christianboer.com/]Typeface Dyslexie for people with dyslexia - studiostudio[/url]Christian Boer's font. I first heard of it on the radio show "The Story". Pretty exciting concept! You should be able to search on their site, thestory.org if interested. 2. [url=http://m.upi.com/story/UPI-74811349127887/]New type font said to help dyslexics - UPI.com[/url]Found this while searching for the other. From what little I. read, it seems some people might do better with one or the other Hope this helps.
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