Letting dyslexics read by themselves....

[thundersweet]

Is this ok when they are younger? Obviously, at some point he will be reading by himself. We are currently in Barton level 4 but his reading is about grade level (going into 4th). I would love to just hand my ds a book on his level and say "go read for 20 min." The thing is, he makes typical dyslexic mistakes when he reads. I always sit with him and correct him. Should I let him have some free reading time and just let him read, mistakes and all? Or is it crucial that all reading is done together to prevent bad habits?

 

Thanks,

Sandy

[Mama2two]

I made the mistake of letting my dyslexic 10 year read too much on his own last year. His reading skill pretty much remained stagnant. He could read at grade level and get the main ideas, but wasn't tackling any difficult words.

 

He now reads to me from a chapter book of my choice Mon-Thurs. On Fri he can read what he wants on his own and generally will pick something below his reading level.

 

I have started seeing improvement in his reading already in rhe few weeks he has been reading to me again

[thundersweet]

That's kind of what I'm thinking. Anyone else have anything to add?

 

Sandy

[FairProspects]

I think it depends on the reading level. Once my ds surpassed a 4th grade reading level at the end of Rewards, he really took off reading on his own. He still stumbles sometimes on very large words but he will usually ask for help reading them. I do have him do assigned reading with audio so he hears correct pronunciation of words, but I let him read as much on his own as he wants.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, DD started reading books on her own this past Christmas, as we had just finished Level 3 of Barton.  But I still read with her quite a bit so she isn't developing any bad habits and she still reads Barton readers to me.  But when she finds a book that she is interested in I let her read it silently.  

 

I don't know.  Maybe see if there is a book series at his reading level that he genuinely has an interest in reading and just let him read silently when he expresses interest.  But out loud you might want to use Barton readers.  

[Mukmuk]

I'm with Mama2two.

 

Ds actually had high levels of reading (he's stealth dyslexic) from a young age and I let him choose what he wanted to read without supervision. He was reading a lot at age 7-9 but he may have gotten to a level that was too difficult for him and I completely missed the cues. Last year, I started reading with him (he disliked the intrusion, but I persisted; reading with a grumpy bear was not fun but I put in a lot of effort to make it interesting and lively). He's definitely back on the curve again and enjoying books tremendously. His nose is in a book all the time now.

[geodob]

Doing a combination of both daily would be a good way to approach it.

An important thing about him reading by himself?

Is that he can then discover the enjoyment of reading.  

Where this can provide motivation for wanting to learn new/difficult words, so that he can make sense of what he is reading.

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Doing a combination of both daily would be a good way to approach it.

An important thing about him reading by himself?

Is that he can then discover the enjoyment of reading.  

Where this can provide motivation for wanting to learn new/difficult words, so that he can make sense of what he is reading.

yes

[thundersweet]

Thanks so much! We'll do it both ways.

 

Sandy

[MicheleinMN]

i opted to have my ds read along with an audio book.  It meant that he should be seeing and hearing the word at the same time, but wasn't having to read aloud to me for everything.  I don't know if it will work for everyone, but ds's end of the year testing had him at 97% for reading comprehension this year, so I think I can recommend it as being worthwhile.  :)