Is this a reading issue or a learning issue?

[luvnlattes]

My oldest is a slow reader. His younger brother can read the same material in about half the time. This concerns me because he'll start 9th grade in the fall and I don't know how he'll get through the requirements without schoolwork taking him 10-12 hours a day! I'm trying to think of ways to help him.

 

I've tossed around the idea of buying a "speed reading" type program like this one http://www.acereader.com/, but I'm not convinced that's the way to go.

 

Friday I had him read aloud to me from his history book, The Story of Europe. He would read one page and I would read one page. We'd stop after each paragraph to check his comprehension because he has told me he often has to go back and re-read sentences to understand what the book is saying. He didn't seem to have a problem reading the sentences to me, but several times after he completed the paragraph I would have re-interpret it for him in order for him to understand what was being said.

 

However, I'm not comfortable chalking the entire problem up to the book, because the same thing happens when he reads for other subjects. We're using Apologia General Science and it takes him a while to read each section. He says it's because he looks at the pictures and is trying to make sure he understands what it says, and he usually does.

 

He also had to read How to Be Your Own Selfish Pig by Macaulay which is VERY straightforward reading and that took forever as well...10 minutes to read 2 pages!

 

Thoughts???? I'm lost :confused: :confused: :confused: .

Edited November 7, 2011 by luvnlattes

[EKS]

Slow reading fluency can be a sign of several things. One is dyslexia. You might want to google "stealth dyslexia" to see if it fits. Another is vision issues. Has your son ever had a developmental vision exam? This assesses more than just acuity in that it also looks at issues like how well the eyes work together. Developmental optometrists do these sorts of exams. Another possibility is that he just needs practice with reading. A way to develop fluency is to do repeated readings. Programs like The Six Minute Solution and Read Naturally can be helpful, but you can also have him read aloud to you every day, starting with material that is easy for him to read. Gradually increase the reading level until he is reading grade level material (or above) easily for about 30 minutes at a shot.

 

My son has dyslexia and also had vision issues before he had vision therapy. I still read many things aloud to him to move things along.

[wapiti]

:iagree:

 

I'd be thinking about the possibilities of dyslexia and/or vision problems (note that it is possible to have both). You can locate a developmental optometrist here to rule out vision problems. Diagnosing dyslexia is a bigger deal, usually involving testing with a psych. Feel free to visit the SN board for further info about both.

 

Also, I'd say that a reading issue is a type of learning issue.

[PeterPan]

Not to scare you, but I have to add to the suggestion of both a neuropsych eval for dyslexia or other issues and a vision evaluation with a developmental optometrist. We did VT with the developmental optometrist which radically improved her tracking, reading speed, etc. etc., but her comprehension is still very much like your ds's. I think it's pretty typical of dyslexia in fact to use the pictures to try to improve comprehension. If they already know about the topic and have a mental image of it (visualization), then that helps too. No visualization, no comprehension.

 

There can also be a few other things like ADHD, working memory, etc. that can cause the comprehension issues. So it's not as simple as just assuming it's dyslexia. It's a neuropsychologist that would do the eval for that. I'd recommend doing both that and the eyes. Start with the eyes, since it's usually faster to get in there. You want a developmental optometrist, not a regular one. http://www.covd.org Then, once you've had that eval and sorted through that, then start looking into the neuropsych.

 

I had a roommate in college who had the honest to goodness SLOWEST reading I've ever seen. A speed reading course did nothing for her. You just need to get the evals and get to the cause.

[luvnlattes]

Thank you all for your replies. I wouldn't have considered dyslexia because when he reads aloud I don't notice anything going on.

 

I know where the VT is done in our area so I can look into that as well.

[PeterPan]

I'm getting my dd evaluated at the end of this week, and I went in saying the same thing as you, that she can read aloud, reads prolifically, but has serious issues with comprehension of certain things (non-fiction, anything she's not familiar with or can't visualize). Out test scores are actually higher than the ones you mentioned in the other thread. This neuropsych never even batted an eye when I said all this. That's his job to sort out what is causing what. You're right that it might not be dyslexia. But that doesn't change the fact that it's happening and that your ds deserves to know WHY and what to do about it. You can't figure out the solution till you figure out the problem.

 

The neuropsych I found is going to do the CTOPP (test of phonological processing) that can identify dyslexia even in adults. It has them decode non-sense words, do things with naming and word retrieval, etc. He also asked about her vocabulary and about whether she's flat when she reads. So there are nuances to it with some of these kids, and that's what they sort out. But diagnostically there are multiple things that can cause the issues you're describing with comprehension. (I'm reading a really soporific book on it right now, "Learning Disabilities" by Fletcher.) So basically you just have to know that SOMETHING is causing it and look for the answers.

 

If you end up pursuing all this, you might enjoy heading over to the SN board. We have a nice comraderie there with people with super-smart kids who have issues. Lots and lots of discussion of dyslexia, VT, ADD/ADHD, etc. :)

[luvnlattes]

The neuropsych I found is going to do the CTOPP (test of phonological processing) that can identify dyslexia even in adults. It has them decode non-sense words, do things with naming and word retrieval, etc. He also asked about her vocabulary and about whether she's flat when she reads. So there are nuances to it with some of these kids, and that's what they sort out. But diagnostically there are multiple things that can cause the issues you're describing with comprehension. (I'm reading a really soporific book on it right now, "Learning Disabilities" by Fletcher.) So basically you just have to know that SOMETHING is causing it and look for the answers.

 

If you end up pursuing all this, you might enjoy heading over to the SN board. We have a nice comraderie there with people with super-smart kids who have issues. Lots and lots of discussion of dyslexia, VT, ADD/ADHD, etc. :)

 

It's funny that you mention this. I used to have him read aloud quite a bit when he was 10 or 11 and this would drive.me.crazy. He would read so flat! I would try to get him to add inflections, but he just didn't. He would put his dad to sleep when he would read aloud to him!

 

Thanks for the tip on the SN board. I hadn't thought of that. :)