My 8 year old dd reads at K level. What do I do?

[iluvmy4blessings]

The school doesn't seem overly motivated to have her tested. They just want her to repeat 1st grade. She already started school a year late due to her struggling with learning to read. Repeating won't help. The issue is beyond that but the school seems to drag their feet on special ed testing. They say it's hard to tell at this age regardless. I have 4 kids and this is my first time dealing with this. She is actually really smart and has a high vocabulary but for whatever reason she is not picking up on reading. I don't know that she's dyslexic. It could be something else. How do I know what it is? How do you find someone to test your kids? I need help!

[missiemick]

It's expensive for a school district to have special needs students. They work very hard to keep that cost to a minimum (at the student's expense.) You may need to go through upper administration rather than the school.

[Susan C.]

Dd learned to read at the end of 2nd grade. I used Alpha Phonics and the BOB books. She is a senior now. We just found vision problems (focusing, etc.) but don't know if that is why she was a little late reading. I have always homeschooled, so I just gave her work that she could do. She caught up in 5th grade, and other than reading slowly because of the focusing issues, she is a good student. I couldn't get graded curriculum in elementary grades, how do you do a 3rd grade curriculum with a new reader? It has been so long, but I used the pink Daily Grams book for grammar, had her copy her favorite stories in an A Beka tablet, and did math workbooks. I'll have to think to remember what else I did...

[Guest]

I believe that if you notify the district in writing that you are requesting testing, they are in turn required by law to respond and set up the tests within a certain number of days. If you're even THINKING of dealing with special ed in any way, shape or form, you can save yourself a lot of tears by beginning to document EVERYTHING, right from the very start. Don't call people; send e-mails and keep copies; keep copies of every email they send you. If they call you and anything of substance is said, write up the conversation to the best of your recall, sign it, and ask the school to sign off on it as well and put it in to your child's official file. (And keep copies of everything yourself.)

 

My sister has a multiply handicapped son, so she didn't have to fight for testing. But there have been so many, many disagreements, misunderstandings, diversions, etc. that she started documenting every single interaction she had with them and having it put in the file. Doesn't solve everything, but it can be a good first step.

 

Are your dd's teachers telling you that they think she'll simply become an independent reader at a later age than some kids, and that they aren't bothered by this? What do they do with kids in second or third grade who can't read, though? How are they dealing with this in a regular classroom? Is your dd beginning to get discouraged or feel badly about herself, or is she fine? Have you talked to the person who is going to be her teacher this coming school year? What kind of impression did you come away with? You might come across a teacher who will be great for your dd; you might not.

 

If you suspect that something problematic is going on that is preventing your dd from learning to read -- and parental instincts about this kind of thing are usually really good -- and the district continues to drag its feet; then if you can possibly afford it, I would really recommend your child evaluated thoroughly by a neuropsychologist. It can be expensive to go private; dd had eleven + hours of testing over a few days, and I had about four to five hours total interviews and discussions with the neuropsych. But the end result, a 28-paged single-spaced report, was worth its weight in gold. Every aspect of your dd's processing -- verbal, auditory, visual -- long and short term memory, academic ability/performance, gross and fine motor skills, nonverbal comprehension, all kinds of things will be isolated and evaluated. You'll get a breakdown of all the areas in which she has strengths and all those which are issues for her, recommendations for what to do, what kinds of therapies or practices may help, accommodations to ask for through the schools, names and referrals, etc. You will also find out if your dd is completely fine and just will be on the latter half of the spectrum of ages at which kids learn to read -- and many learn at 8 or 9. I certainly wouldn't know the difference, and I'd be panicked, but a neuropsych would know and could reassure you or give you a definitive answer on where the glitches are, if that's the case.

[gracyomalley]

Notify the school in writing that you would like your daughter tested, a full battery of Psych/Ed testing. A child who they are recommending be held back a SECOND YEAR? - It is ridiculous that they have not done this on their own. Legally, they will be required to document reasons for her failure to progress - and that will require testing!

 

If the school balks, go to your pediatrician and ask for help - any pediatrician worth their salt can document cognitive delays, "learning disorder Not Otherwise Specified", etc, and send a letter to the school, etc....I do it all the time!

 

Really, a child at 8 who has been in a classroom, exposed to reading for several years, and is still at a pre-reading level....that child is not likely to be a "late reader", more likely has a language based learning difference or disability, and the sooner you find it and alter your teaching (or the schools, which you can demand if the testing is done), the better. 8 year olds who can't read don't, in general, feel good about themselves....I know, I had one....who would have slid by in ps, getting slightly below average grades, being considered "young", or "average", or "distracted", etc....well, on full testing he is NOT average, but severelly dyslexic with the processing speed of an sloth, but a high IQ....and learning that made a HUGE difference in how he has been taught at home, how the school district has tested him yearly (he qualified for non-timed testing, directions read to him, etc....which allowed him to show his real knowledge...)...your child could similarly benefit.

 

The schools are struggling to stay open, and money is tight everywhere - but only you can advocate for your child...and this one needs it!

erin

[PeterPan]

I guess your trouble is it could be something single and simple (just her eyes) or it could be several things. Personally, I'd just start SOMEWHERE. Pick one private person to evaluate her (my suggestion would be a developmental optometrist) and start there. See what they find. If they find problems with her eyes, work on that. Then see what you're left with. The VT may screen and refer you off for OT or a neuropsych eval. And if you don't need the VT, they'd probably be able to refer you to a good neuropsych or ed psych for getting an evaluation.

 

If money is an issue, a developmental optometrist can do a regular eye exam and just screen for the things that affect learning (eye teaming, etc.). Then they'd go deeper and do the longer exam only if warranted. I would not think a school district would pay to get her eyes checked, and that may very well be part of the mix. That's why I'm saying just to start somewhere. Each practitioner we've been to has screened for a whole bunch of things and told us where to go next.

[ClassicMom]

Ugh...my son was at this point last year in PS. I was sooo frustrated. I tried working with him at home but he was so stressed out after school that it was impossible. At the end of this year he had only improved to a first grade level (2 years!) This summer, I worked really hard with him using Phonics Pathways and he has improved dramatically. Knowing that he doesn't have to return to school this fall has decreased his anxiety level a lot and he is now reading books for pleasure.

 

The school system had an IEP in place for him and reading/decoding/fluency were always on there. However, when it came to actual resources to put the goals into place, there just wasn't the funds to give him the actual help that he needed. He was sent to a resource room with other students 1/2 hour a day and was in a regular classroom with 25 other students. He didn't have a chance to get the individualized instruction that he needed. On top of that, they were learning at a 2nd grade level and he had no clue what they were talking about when he was struggling with CVC words.

 

I could have gotten an attorney and fought the process but then it would have just made things tough on my son and they would have had to send him out of district for the resources that he needed. In our case, it was just best to bring him home. He is happier and learning. If you aren't getting results for your daughter though, you need to make sure that 1. it is written in the IEP. 2. if its not, get the IEP amended 3. if you need to go to the superintendent to make sure they are following the IEP, do so!

4. If all else fails, hire an attorney.

 

They will do whatever it takes to cut costs and unfortunately the children get caught in the middle. You are your daughter's best advocate.

[Dobela]

Our local school district was a royal pain to deal with. They will do some ed psych testing, but only to see if the child will qualify for special services. They will do an IQ test and then achievement tests to see if the child is working to IQ potential. Beyond that they will say something to the effect of "general learning disability in reading" but not go any further. For example, they will not do the testing required to diagnose dyslexia because it would mean that they would have to provide even more specialized teaching materials that they may not have.

 

I second the checking the vision portion. At age 8 my son was not reading and we were told he had dyslexia. He was also describing some other vision problems and this board suggested I look into vision therapy. I had been told he had 20/20 vision. After 18 months of vision therapy and a specialized reading tutor he went from a preK reading level to over 6th grade in most areas of reading. I was also told that he did not have dyslexia. Even if your child does have dyslexia, she may also be having some vision issues that are adding to the problem. www.covd.org is a good place to begin and another favorite is http://www.childrensvision.com/