What do you think this is ?

[parias1126]

I know my 7 year old has had something going on that just isn't right, but I am not sure what exactly it is. I had posted on another board here with the issues to her reading (how she repeats words twice, skips lines while reading, etc). They had suggested a Developmental Optometrist. Well, then the very next day, my this same little girl surprised me and picked up a book that INTERESTED HER and read it like she has been reading for years! :confused: It was a Billy and Blaze book that I brought home from the homeschool bookfair so I assume its about a 2nd grade reading level. I then gave her a book that was a chapter book with smaller writing, and then she did, in fact, have trouble reading it. It seemed more as though she couldn't see the smaller words though. I have been told that a second grader shouldn't be reading text that small yet??? I am sooooo confused!

 

Well, yesterday, I took her for her end of year testing and she took the Woodcock Johnston test. I was told that she may have some visual issues. Even if there is a -, she will add. I guess I haven't noticed much of this at home because I sit right next to her and help her along the way. She is also using MUS and there really hasn't been any mixed addition with subtraction. She also wrote some numbers where she wrote the "3" backwards. She read a digital clock that said 2:50 as "2:20".

 

She has been having a very hard time with spelling. She spelled "before" as "befor". This was one of her spelling words last year and she knew how to spell it at the time we were studying it. She just doesn't retain the spelling. The other day I asked her to write the word "night". She spelled it "nihgt" I have been told these are common phonics mistakes, but I still worry.

 

I was going to purchase AAS for her, but I was told by the test administrator that, since it is a visual type of program, it might not be a good program for her. She seems to have an issue with symbols and the letter tiles are squared.

 

When she was given the test, she had an issue with writing the correct answers down on paper like, 8+4=12...She might subtract and have her answer as 4. But when asked verbally, the answers were correct.

 

Apparently MUS is not working for her either (when I have thought for the past 2 years that it was). We have been going over subtraction with regrouping for weeks. We have taken a month break. I tried to do some problems with her the other night before going to get tested and she had completely forgotten how to do the regrouping part of the problems.

 

I have come to the conclusion that we will definitely be repeating 2nd grade this Fall. I really think she needs the review and lots and lots of writing practice. I am just so confused about curriculum at this point. I think she is missing a lot that she should know with MUS as well as its just not working. We may go to CLE this Fall which looks the most promising. I had tried Horizons Math and alot of kids love it because its colorful, etc. I am now thinking that if she has some type of visual issue, this is why she can't do a math like that? Too many colorful symbols, etc. popping out from the page? I am just thinking aloud here and don't really have any answers.

 

The point of this post is to see if any of you may have some related experiences. I don't have any health insurance at this time and so I can't run out and get her tested for everything under the sun. I have been this route with my oldest daughter and it was just a hectic nightmare. I don't want to put her through that even if I did have the health insurance or money.

[Terabith]

Honestly? Those sound like fairly normal second grade mistakes. I honestly don't think I would be repeating the grade unless there are other concerns. She spelled before in a phonetic manner; kids (and adults) forget how to spell words. Adding instead of subtracting and vice versa? That's sooooo common. A testing situation may also cause anxiety. 5's and 2's can look very similar on digital clock font. I'm really not seeing any major red flags. I'd work on her reading skills, but reading Billy and Blaze makes me think she has some competency. AAS and MUS are both good curriculums. It might be worth playing around with different math curriculums, but kids forget how to do stuff all the time. We learn and we forget and then we relearn. It's very common to forget how to do things we haven't done in awhile. I don't remember how to do all the algebra and calculus I used to know how to do. I haven't used it. I could learn it again, perhaps more easily than I did the first time, but it would still have to be relearning.

 

Reading smaller text is harder; there is a reason early readers have big print. As she gets more comfortable and competent in general, she will naturally be able to handle smaller print, unless there is a visual issue. Most early readers I know get overwhelmed with smaller text. A piece of paper placed under the line helps tremendously. An exam by a developmental optometrist is never a bad idea, though.

 

I'm not saying she doesn't have any issues, but the things you mentioned seem like fairly normal mistakes. I taught third grade, and I know my kids did stuff like that fairly frequently.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Terabith
developmental optometrists rock

[RamonaQ]

I would look for a covd.org optometrist and have an evaluation. Ours does free yearly visual exams, it might be worth investigating. Skipping lines, getting lost in the text and mistaking +/- signs suggest to me some visual issues.