How do you know when there is a problem with reading?

[prairiegirl]

I have been reading the threads about kids who are not fluent in their reading. There were many responses from moms whose kids didn't start reading until later, like 9 or so. My question is how do you know if their reading difficulties are just lack of maturity (that they aren't ready to read yet) or if there truly is a problem?

 

My ds just turned 7 last week. He is not doing well with his reading. He knows is letter sounds except for 'u' and he gets 'b' 'd' and 'p' mixed up. He can sound out cvc words but when you add a letter, it messes him up. He can sound it out but he can't blend it together to make the word. He makes up a word to go in its place. How do I know that this will work its way out or that there isn't something deeper going on here.

 

I have been vaccilating back and forth about whether to get a reading assessment done with him or to just leave it until he is in Gr. 2. If I leave it until the fall, though, will I be messing him up more?

 

Can someone please help me sort this out? To those moms whose kids didn't start reading until later, how did you know that there wasn't a learning difficulty? I would really appreciate some help, my brain is hurting over this.

 

Thanks,

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[crazymom4]

I struggled with just that same question this fall....I finally decided my lack of sleep I was receiving worrying about it...meant I had to do something....we have a local place that I called and the owner agreed to sit down with her and assess her...she assessed her on spelling, comprehension, sight words, reading level etc...it was thorough....found out she was basically fine....she gave us a few ideas to work on sight words and spelling tips....the greatest part though...it gave my dd7...the BIGGEST confidence boost imaginable...I never expected that...but this lady just lavished on her how incredible she was...pointed out all the good things she COULD do and showed her how to work on the harder things....my dds ability has exploded...and I promise it is from her experience at this place (who's name COMPLETELY escapes me!!) Anyway....obviously you need to make the call that is right for your family...I just wanted to share our experiences....I just couldn't continue worrying about it...I decided that was affecting the entire family more than just getting tested would....

 

HTH

[Mrs Mungo]

Have you considered a different reading program? My eldest did very well with Montessori-style learning combined with the Bob books and LLATL. For my middle daughter she had trouble until I switched to Sing, Spell, Read and Write. The little songs and jingles really helped her remember how to read certain words.

 

for example: "with a silent e it's like a game/the first vowel speaks, it says the letter name/the vowel is a, the word is game."

 

I think it was also just more entertaining and interesting to her. She was totally bored with what we were doing before.

 

Before *I* (and everyone thinks differently with these things) proceeded with testing I would change how I was teaching the subject for a while and see how it went.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

My DS 6 (7 in May) is *just now* beginning to take off. I dropped the phonics books we were using, and had him simply read to me each day 2 books (short easy ones like Bob books, Nora Gaydos, LLATL Bridge Readers) and I am finally seeing improvement!

 

We are now adding in ETC book 2 (it starts right out really working on bl, fl, cl, gl, etc) and he is doing much better.

 

I was not worried about problems because he writes good, and is very good at math etc...however, for *my* child, if I didn't see progress by age 8, I would have an assessement done, but that's just me. I would rather catch something earlier than later.

 

Hang in there...practice READING for awhile. Using books that build his fluency *where he is at* aka EASY -- rather then pushing through right now. It may be just the confidence booster he needs! My son did. ;)

[Kathy in MD]

Did you get the idea that my ds had problems? :D The DO said if you've been working on reading steadily for a year with no or poor results, it's time to look for problems.

 

But if you don't want to wait, be aware that there are two major areas for reading problems, auditory and visual. To check on visual problems, try this site: http://http://www.childrensvision.com/symptoms.htm. One thing they don't mention is to ask your child if the letters and words move on the page. Remember that if this is what your dc sees, he'll just assume that thats what everyone sees.

 

I don't have a web site for auditory problems, but I do have a list of questions that might indicate problems. Was your dc a late talker? Was he ever referred to ST? Does he misunderstand questions or statements? Does he talk in canned sentences? Does he struggle with rhyming or nursury rhymes? Can he hear the differences between it and et? Bit and Bet? Bag, bug and bog? Pad and bad? etc.

 

If your child has problems in several of these areas, I wouldn't wait to get testing.

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

It can be both- a lack of maturity or an LD. Two of my children are bright, they were both late readers- no phonemic awareness skills- I could see it early, because I was educated on it. The teachers said it was all maturity issues. If you suspect, don't waste anytime because intervention is best done in the very early years. The older they get the harder it is. My dd (13) now is a fabulous reader- and loves the classics. We have had to modify some and do intensive writing & spelling, but she is gifted in so many other areas.:o

[prairiegirl]

This has helped me to put perspective on this. After reading your replies, I have been able to see the big picture of all of this, whereas before I had tunnel vision.

 

Christine, your words were like a light shining through my fog. When I look back at his other developmental milestones, I feel silly that I didn't think about this before. My ds has been slow to accomplish other developmental markers. He didn't walk until he was 17 mos. old. He didn't talk until he was waaayyyy past two. He still has speech problems that make him sound like a 4 yr. old rather than a 7 yr. old. He also has difficulties with writing. He is left handed and his pencil grip is so awkward that his letters are formed in a funny way. I have tried to change his pencil grip, but he refuses to change it.

 

This said though, there have been big changes in the last year in his speech and his writing. I just noticed this morning that, after a year of working on his 'a's he finally made them the proper way so that they actually look like 'a's. So there is progress, it's just slow. So maybe this is how it will be with reading. There will be progress but it won't be as fast as I think it should be. Also, ds could care less about reading or doing anything academic other than math. He loves math. I just have him doing the bare minimum: reading, writing and math. That is all that he can handle. He would rather be outside or playing with his cars.

 

As far as reading curriculum, I have changed that a few times. I started out with OPGTR but that went too fast with him. Then we tried reading using the Charlotte Mason method --didn't do too well with that, WRTR--that caused angst in both ds and myself. Now we are back to OPGTR. This seems to be working better this time around. I have also started using ETC along with it. He liked doing ETC. I don't think changing again is going to help. I liked the suggestion of just reading books at the level that he is at to boost up his confidence and to help with his fluency. I think I will try that.

 

Okay, I feel much better and I have a plan (I'm a girl who needs a plan. The plan can change, but there always needs to be a plan.) I will wait until Sept. If there has been no progress at all, then I will think about having him assessed. Thank you so much for sorting this out with me. It has helped so much.

 

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[Kathy in MD]

You said:

He didn't talk until he was waaayyyy past two. He still has speech problems that make him sound like a 4 yr. old rather than a 7 yr. old.

 

 

 

This is a major indicator that his reading problems aren't just he's a late bloomer. If he was a late talker, but now talking like a normal 7 yo I wouldn't be so worried. But he's 3 years behind! From the rest of your post, I wouldn't be surprised if your ds has more than just auditory problems and reading difficulties. I'd try to get a complete evaluation.

 

Also, is your ds recieving ST? Some ST just address diction and ignore the underlying problems. Check to make sure your ds's ST is addressing all of his language problems. We lost 3 years of communication therapy because my ds's ST ignored the underlying causes. It also adversely affected his reading and other academic subjects.

[EKS]

I absolutely agree--this child needs an evaluation.

[prairiegirl]

I wrote my latest post before I saw your original post. I have been thnking about what you wrote ever since then.

 

This is a long story. I will try to shorten it. My ds was getting ST when he was pre--school age. Once he was of school age, public health stopped the ST because they said ds could get it through the school. The school board, though, refuses to help us with ST as ds is homeschooled. I have been fighting this for almost a year without any success. I have written the MLA (gov't rep) for the area that the school board is in. That MLA is now our Premier (we are Canadian.) I am just getting the run around. The school board officials won't return my calls anymore because I have made a fuss in trying to get help for my boy. I could go private ST but that costs $50 an hour and we cannot afford that. Also, I don't think we should have to afford that. So right now I am working with him with his articulation, but I know this is not enough.

 

This is why the reading assessment thing worries me. I can get an assessment through the school board but I am afraid that with all the fuss that I have made that they will just ignore my request. I am so tired of all of this hassle.

 

I am starting to think that we should just give up and find a private speech pathologist, but my dh does not agree with this. He thinks that we should fight on principle. Principle, though, won't help my child talk and read.

 

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Oh yes, I 3rd the evaluation!

[Kathy in MD]

in the US the schools can ignore all requests for help until they recieve a written request. Then they have 30 or 60 days to respond per federal law. I don't know if there is a similar law in Canada.

 

I do remember another Canadian posting couple of years ago about a Canadian organization to help students with LD's and their parents navigate the murky waters of getting help. You might post on the general boards or Special Needs to see if someone can direct you to that organization or help you through Canadian regulations.

 

I understand both your desire to get immediate help for your child and your dh's desire to stand on principal. A technique many parents in my area use gives them the best of both worlds. They pay for private therapy while suing the schools through the courts. I don't know how feasable this tactic would be in Canada. Also the parents may have to go for years before being reimbursed, if they recieve any reimbursement. I'd speak to others with Canadian experience before launching on this route.

 

You also posted about how your ds was late to walk as well as talk. This combination hints that your ds may also have Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) or Sensory Processing Dysfunction (SPD), SID's newer name. I'm making this connection because both problems could be caused by inner ear problems. I suggest that you read The Out-of-Sync Child by Kranowitz to see if this is an avenue worth persuing. This problem is also treated by therapy, generally by OT's with specialized training in SPD. However, you're unlikely to find these specialists in the school district so getting help should be easier if there is a specialist in your area.

 

Finally, why don't you post on the Special Needs boards. The boards move much more slowly, so they're less likely to be missed by people with a lot of experience with LD's of all types. There are some very good programs that could help. Also you might post on the general boards asking for advice from speech therapists. There are many active and inactive ST's on those boards.

[kfrench]

I would definitly check it out because the longer you wait the farther behind he could get. With therapy they could give you ideas to get him caught up and also what you need to focus on to help him do well. I have a 2nd and 3rd grader that struggle with reading and I wish I had done something earlier. I didn't catch on until the end of 1st that my daughter was just not going to get reading unless I figured out what was wrong. She had eye therapy her eye's wern't working together. Kids don't know when something is wrong because they only know how their eye's work and don't know what others see out of their eyes. It sounds like Reading is only one of the issues he has. Your public school would probably evaluate and possible help you with speech therapy etc. I know my friend that homeschools takes her daughter in to the PS for speech therapy once a week. Testing is expensive so I am in the process of getting the PS to do most of the testing my kids need before going on to a private tester. Even the tester recomends taking them to the PS for testing to save money. The sooner you get some extra help the sooner he increase his improvement because it sounds like without it he may struggle with each new thing school throws at him and just get further behind and hate school because of the constant struggle.

 

Kris

[Quiver0f10]

You said:

 

This is a major indicator that his reading problems aren't just he's a late bloomer. If he was a late talker, but now talking like a normal 7 yo I wouldn't be so worried. But he's 3 years behind! From the rest of your post, I wouldn't be surprised if your ds has more than just auditory problems and reading difficulties. I'd try to get a complete evaluation.

 

I agree with this. My son is 8 and has some similar issues as your son's. I would get an eval and go from there.

[prairiegirl]

Kathy, thank you for your advice and help. You have helped me to think this all through again but in a calmer manner. I have put my request for ST in writing to the school board and they flatly denied. I have approached our provincial homeschool association for help but they agree with the school board (go figure on that one.) My next step woud be to go to HSLDA (are those the right letters?) -- the Canadian chapter. But I don't really want to go that far.

 

This thread spurred me to call our Public Health and ask for names of private ST's. I talked to the manager and told him my situation. He told me that he needed to think about this for a few days to see if there was any way that he could help me. Public Health offers ST for children 5 and under. He told me that they were horribly backlogged but he would see if he could do anything. If he couldn't, then he would give me names of private ST's. I am praying that this man will help us. I am so frustrated with all of the door's being shut in our faces. It would be nice to get a break with all of this.

 

Regarding SID, I looked into that as well. I started to read Out of Sync Child but it didn't really hit home with me. I also read The Hightly Sensitive Child by Elaine Aron. This book had the bells ringing wildly for me, not just with my ds but with all of my children. I think HSC is a step down from SID. My ds does have some sensory issues but they are managable, they are not full blown, not like his sisters. I think I will get Out of Sync again and try to go farther with it to see if I am missing something.

 

I will also post on the Special Needs boards. I just need to get my head together to post something that makes sense. :)

 

I will also get my courage together and I will call the school board on Mon. and ask for a reading assessment.

 

Thank you so much for your help, for talking me through this. This is what I really needed.

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[RoughCollie]

The same thing happened with my son.

 

He went to first grade at PS and was in the Reading Recovery program before we decided to homeschool him in mid-year. Part of the reason was that the reading teacher would read the books to him twice (one word per page with a picture on the facing page) and then have him read the books. We discovered that he had memorized the books while the teacher read them aloud to him, by associating the word with the picture. He was not learning to read at all. If we covered up the picture, he had no idea what the word was.

 

DS and I worked hard at teaching him to read -- 2 to 3 hours a day, at DS' request -- during the 1st and 2nd grade. We used Explode the Code (which he enjoyed), the Bob Books, Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, the SRA program, and reading leveled readers aloud.

 

One major turning point came when I printed out the lists of the Dolch sight words and helped him memorize them. After that, he graduated from level 1 to level 2 readers. In fact I credit sight word memorization and Explode the Code for about 60% of DS' success in learning to read at the 2nd grade, 1st month level.

 

At the end of the June following his 2nd grade year, testing showed he was reading at the 2nd grade, 1st month level. He had 2 months off from reading lessons because, although he was willing, I was weary. I was discouraged, too, and planned to have DS tested again at the beginning of the next school year.

 

At the beginning of September in 3rd grade, DS read the first Harry Potter book all the way through without any difficulty. He suddenly tested at the 5th grade level after 2 months of no reading lessons at all!

 

Why? I have no idea. I think it must have been a brain development issue.

 

DS' impetus came from 2 sources. First, DS is very persistant when it comes to learning something he wants to master and will not give up until he gets it down pat. Second, DH was reading books like the Lord of the Rings trilogy aloud to him every night. DS was eager to learn to read so he wouldn't have to wait for DH to come home to continue the book. To this day DS, who is now 13 yo, is an avid reader who reads 7 books a week, at least.

 

I consulted reading experts about this when DS made the huge leap in his ability to read and they agreed that brain development had a lot to do with it, but also said that the time we put in was not wasted either -- that it, too, was part of the reason.

 

I would get an evaluation, were I in your shoes. I just want to give you hope by relating the experience of DS and me.

 

I have been reading the threads about kids who are not fluent in their reading. There were many responses from moms whose kids didn't start reading until later, like 9 or so. My question is how do you know if their reading difficulties are just lack of maturity (that they aren't ready to read yet) or if there truly is a problem?

 

My ds just turned 7 last week. He is not doing well with his reading. He knows is letter sounds except for 'u' and he gets 'b' 'd' and 'p' mixed up. He can sound out cvc words but when you add a letter, it messes him up. He can sound it out but he can't blend it together to make the word. He makes up a word to go in its place. How do I know that this will work its way out or that there isn't something deeper going on here.

 

I have been vaccilating back and forth about whether to get a reading assessment done with him or to just leave it until he is in Gr. 2. If I leave it until the fall, though, will I be messing him up more?

 

Can someone please help me sort this out? To those moms whose kids didn't start reading until later, how did you know that there wasn't a learning difficulty? I would really appreciate some help, my brain is hurting over this.

 

Thanks,

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[Kathy in MD]

I haven't looked at it because I'm happy with where ds is at, but you might find some possible resources there.

 

LD's are difficult to deal with even under the best of circumstances and it sounds like you're recieving extra obsticles. The Special Needs boards aren't going anywhere, so when you're ready to post, post.

 

(((Julia)))

[tonygirl]

Hi,

I always post on the special needs forum! Sure people are getting sick of hearing from me (lol):tongue_smilie:

MY ONLY thought was this Go with your 1ST gut feeling, the feeling before you started second guessing yourself or others put their 2 cents in. If your God given intuition was something doesn't seem right here and it is a feeling or thought you just can't shake. Then there IS something to check out. I would personally go to a private Nero psychology exam. They won't be swayed one way or the other as far as PS goes. They will give you the facts and ideas t help. If there is nothing going on GREAT! If there is they can help you build a plan of action. This is all my personal experience and opinion.:D Teresa

[Ellie]

This has helped me to put perspective on this. After reading your replies, I have been able to see the big picture of all of this, whereas before I had tunnel vision.

 

Christine, your words were like a light shining through my fog. When I look back at his other developmental milestones, I feel silly that I didn't think about this before. My ds has been slow to accomplish other developmental markers. He didn't walk until he was 17 mos. old. He didn't talk until he was waaayyyy past two. He still has speech problems that make him sound like a 4 yr. old rather than a 7 yr. old. He also has difficulties with writing. He is left handed and his pencil grip is so awkward that his letters are formed in a funny way. I have tried to change his pencil grip, but he refuses to change it.

 

This said though, there have been big changes in the last year in his speech and his writing. I just noticed this morning that, after a year of working on his 'a's he finally made them the proper way so that they actually look like 'a's. So there is progress, it's just slow. So maybe this is how it will be with reading. There will be progress but it won't be as fast as I think it should be. Also, ds could care less about reading or doing anything academic other than math. He loves math. I just have him doing the bare minimum: reading, writing and math. That is all that he can handle. He would rather be outside or playing with his cars.

 

As far as reading curriculum, I have changed that a few times. I started out with OPGTR but that went too fast with him. Then we tried reading using the Charlotte Mason method --didn't do too well with that, WRTR--that caused angst in both ds and myself. Now we are back to OPGTR. This seems to be working better this time around. I have also started using ETC along with it. He liked doing ETC. I don't think changing again is going to help. I liked the suggestion of just reading books at the level that he is at to boost up his confidence and to help with his fluency. I think I will try that.

 

Okay, I feel much better and I have a plan (I'm a girl who needs a plan. The plan can change, but there always needs to be a plan.) I will wait until Sept. If there has been no progress at all, then I will think about having him assessed. Thank you so much for sorting this out with me. It has helped so much.

 

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

 

I wonder if the fact that you have used so many different methods in a relatively short length of time could be part of the problem. Everything you have used is really different from everything else. I can tell you that you didn't use WRTR long enough to see any kind of results, but that would have cleared up your ds's b/d/p confusion.

 

It just sounds to me as if it's confusion, not a learning difficulty. Really. I'm thinking you should pick *something* and stick with it. (My choice would be WRTR, along with the teacher guide, but that's just me:D)

[Tabrett]

I haven't read all the post, but my oldest dd was just like what you described. I did phonics, whole language, victory drill book, reading reflex, Dolce lists, vision therapy and had her hearing check!!! If there was a method, I tried it. I felt like a reading specialist.:glare: She also had just as much of a problem with spelling.

 

She was just not ready to read well until 11 years old. In the 6th grade she took off and reads constantly now.

 

It was VERY frustrating to me. I felt like a complete failure. Especially since I have a degree in education and seem to be able to teach everybody else's child! She still doesn't spell well, but it is a lot better than when she was younger (she's 14 now).

[Homeschooling6]

My oldest child Josh didn't start reading until he was 9yrs. old.I mean really reading he could blend but it took him forever to read anything. Compared to his sister who is a year younger. She took off reading at 5yrs. old.

 

I worried a lot about Josh. Thinking I did something wrong, should I put him in school so they could teach him, but than again Annette can read, so it couldn't be all me. If he was in school would he still be so behind?? Does he need his eyes checked?? My dad is dyslexic, can Josh be to? On and on things kept going through my mind.

 

I finally had him take a reading assesment and just like I thought he scored below 2nd grade:001_huh: My soon to be fifth grader read at a 2nd grade level.:confused1: Major concern here. Again more of the above worrying.

 

 

But not long after we did the reading assessment he started reading the Boxcar Children series. He was reading day and night. I loved it. I had to take the book away from him to come eat dinner. In the back of my mind I still wondered. Is he reading lots of words wrong? What if he learns the words wrong because I couldn't sit in an listen to him read all the time. I would listen sometimes though and he would have trouble decoding.

 

Two months later I decided to see how he was doing and had him tested again. To my relief he tested at or above grade level. In fact he just finished reading "Flaming Arrows" by William O Steel. Yes, he still has a hard time decoding a word now and then but he is improving.

 

Now my third son Caleb, reads at a mid Kindergarten level and I'm not so stressed or worried. We do our lessons from "The Reading Lesson" as he is improving.

 

Well, that's our story of a late reader;)

 

Oh, I almost forgot. He spells at a high 1st grade level and hopefully we can work on that now. Again my dd spells really well. I did pick up some books on boys and how their brain works differently from girls and Dr. James Dobson has lots of info too.

[jamnkats]

This is an old thread and the OP had a child with LD's, but here is our experience. My eldest learned to read around 7. He started with Dr. Suess. My 2nd learned to read - it really CLICKED for him, around 10. My 8yo is, i think, on the verge of reading. My 6yo wants to read but isn't yet ready.

 

We do NOTHING in the way of teaching. We read a LOT of good literature to them. My 2nd (who clicked with reading at 10) finally learned to read with Runescape.

 

I make sure they can see the letters and recognize them and as long as they are writing by 8, I don't worry about the reading part. They all went through a stage from 5-7 where they wrote all kinds of stuff down - and as long as they generally got the letters correct (my 14yo just recently stopped writing his "j"'s and "s"'s backwards due to copywork - he never had the practice beforehand - I don't worry about LDs.

[Kathy in MD]

I wonder if the fact that you have used so many different methods in a relatively short length of time could be part of the problem. Everything you have used is really different from everything else. I can tell you that you didn't use WRTR long enough to see any kind of results, but that would have cleared up your ds's b/d/p confusion.

 

It just sounds to me as if it's confusion, not a learning difficulty. Really. I'm thinking you should pick *something* and stick with it. (My choice would be WRTR, along with the teacher guide, but that's just me:D)

 

Consistancy is good, for a period of time. And WRTR may work for most children in clearing up the standard, young child's confusion with b/d/p/q. But there are children who literally can't tell their right hand from their left. It's not that they haven't been taught, but their brain doesn't register the difference between one side of the body and the other. And these children often seem "normal". I strongly doubt that WRTR would work for these children.

 

I think you also missed some of the OP's posts about developmental milestones being missed. And that her dc was still far behind in some developmental areas. These are more indicators that just picking a standard curriculum and sticking with it won't work. And speech problems do hinder learning to read and read well.

[prairiegirl]

Wow! I didn't realize this post had been resurrected! Alot has happened since I originally posted. I think that when I first posted we weren't able to get any speech help due to school board policy. In March, due to an absolute miracle, we were brought to the attention of an SLP who took us on without the knowledge of the school division. We have been seeing her ever since.

 

Through the SLP, we came to the attention of a reading specialist who works for the school division. She tested D. She couldn't tell us if he had any specific problems but she did advise us to have him tested by a dev. optometrist. She gave me lots of things to read and from all that I have read I think D. may have some visual processing issues. We are going to see the optometrist in Sept. The reading specialist said that D. definitely has reading problems. She has given us oodles of ideas and help to get us back on track. We met with her in June and I can already see an improvement in D's reading.

 

One thing that the reading specialist told me was that we had made the right decision to homeschool. If D. was going to school, he would not be as far as he is in his reading ability. She said that I gave him an excellent foundation in phonics. Now we need to work on the other areas that go together to make a good reader.

 

I am not using any phonics program right now and I don't think I ever will again. We are just using games and books, books and books to help D. with his reading. Programs just don't work for him. He does better with playing games and just reading.

 

I know that there are many children who start to read later. I have read in the past six months of many cries for help from parents whose children are not reading well. Every response has been to just leave it alone, the child will clue in eventually. I have learned, through our experience, that this may be true if there is not any other things happening. In our case, the red flags were severe speech delay, slowness in reaching other developmental marks, awkward pencil grip, horrible handwriting and history of dyselxia in family (my dh has mild dysexia.) These things should send warnings that further testing should be done.

 

Thank goodness I have learned this before my ds became too much older. The reading specialist told me that I caught this at the right time.

 

Thanks to everybody who chimed in. This post helped me to see that there indeed was a reason to be concerned.

[Kathy in MD]

Wow! I didn't realize this post had been resurrected! Alot has happened since I originally posted. I think that when I first posted we weren't able to get any speech help due to school board policy. In March, due to an absolute miracle, we were brought to the attention of an SLP who took us on without the knowledge of the school division. We have been seeing her ever since.

 

Through the SLP, we came to the attention of a reading specialist who works for the school division. She tested D. She couldn't tell us if he had any specific problems but she did advise us to have him tested by a dev. optometrist. She gave me lots of things to read and from all that I have read I think D. may have some visual processing issues. We are going to see the optometrist in Sept. The reading specialist said that D. definitely has reading problems. She has given us oodles of ideas and help to get us back on track. We met with her in June and I can already see an improvement in D's reading.

 

One thing that the reading specialist told me was that we had made the right decision to homeschool. If D. was going to school, he would not be as far as he is in his reading ability. She said that I gave him an excellent foundation in phonics. Now we need to work on the other areas that go together to make a good reader.

 

I am not using any phonics program right now and I don't think I ever will again. We are just using games and books, books and books to help D. with his reading. Programs just don't work for him. He does better with playing games and just reading.

 

I know that there are many children who start to read later. I have read in the past six months of many cries for help from parents whose children are not reading well. Every response has been to just leave it alone, the child will clue in eventually. I have learned, through our experience, that this may be true if there is not any other things happening. In our case, the red flags were severe speech delay, slowness in reaching other developmental marks, awkward pencil grip, horrible handwriting and history of dyselxia in family (my dh has mild dysexia.) These things should send warnings that further testing should be done.

 

Thank goodness I have learned this before my ds became too much older. The reading specialist told me that I caught this at the right time.

 

Thanks to everybody who chimed in. This post helped me to see that there indeed was a reason to be concerned.

 

I'm so happy that you were able to get help. Thank you for the update!