staceyobu Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I had a friend (with no kids) approach me about a student he has in a group setting that cannot recognize all his letters at 8 years old. The family does have older children that are literate. Friend was concerned and wanting to know from me if this is okay in homeschooling circles or if the parents aren't teaching. I really don't know. My oldest was reading at 4 and my current 4 year old is reading some already. So, I've never really had to research when things are concerning. The lack of letter recognition seems concerning to me. I don't think anyone is going to say anything either way. I guess it just made me curious about the realm of normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 well, i can only speak for myself but that would be a huge concern for me. i don't necessarily gauge my kids against a public school scope & sequence, but i do expect them to be fully reading just about anything at age 8. we start phonics at age 6 though (and letter recognition much earlier), so that is 2 full year of learning to read. so to still be struggling with letter recognition would not be okay here. i'd assume something was definitely wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 It is rare for an 8yo to have absolutely no letter recognition at all. Some 8yo are not reading at their age levels, but they are not completely illiterate, KWIM? My younger dd was not reading at her age level at 8, but by her 10th bday she was reading well above her age level. I wouldn't make a judgement on this particular child based on the comments of someone who is not a homeschooler and does not have children of his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 That would concern me a great deal. Not everyone agrees, but I think every child should be able to read to some extent by that age. Are they, perhaps, TJEd homeschoolers? :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I would say there is something going on. My 7 1/2 year old knows his letter sounds (most of the time but U, Y and W still throw him for a loop at times) and its is PAINFUL for him to read CVC words, and words with simple blends (stop, fast, cast) He gets all messed up, says vowel sounds wrong when there is a simple blend. I noticed he was not progressing anywhere NEAR what dd's did at his age last year. I didn't worry sooner because all kids are different. I knew that. I tried not to compare. Then I kept hearing how boys are slower at times than girls. I figured that was what was going on. I had only taught girls. So- a year ago in Feb we brought him in for testing because he still did not know his letter sounds at all. (minus a few) He could not count to 10. (or even 5) He did not recognize his letters or numbers. At all. He was 6 1/2 at the time. I decided it was time to get him tested when looking in dd's baby books and saw that dd's were ahead of where he was at 6 1/2 when they were 2 and 3. That is when we found out he had HFA, severe visual/spatial delays, low tone and a huge host of other things including ADHD and possible dyslexia. He was too young to be diagnosed with that though as he was still only 6 1/2. Then we brought him to a regular eye doctor who said he had perfect eyes :glare: 2 months later we decided to take the plunge and get him evaluated by a Vision Therapist. We waited so long for that because the nearest one is over 3 1/2 hours away 1 way and ins does not cover it. Well, his eyes are so bad she said she has not seen such bad eyes in a LONG time. His eyes were developmentally of that of a new 4 year (and he was 7 at this time) He also does not see like we do. One side is (trying to describe this) lifted up off reality and distorted and the other side tries to compensate for it?? We have atleast an estimated 4 years of VT. She said she can not even fathom how he is able to compensate for his deficits and function properly. All that to say- I would get an evaluation with a VT with a doctor from covd.org and I would get testing for any other learning issues going on. This is just what our experience has been! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 For me that would be worrying. I'd expect pretty good letter recognition and at least a start at reading by.... six maybe? Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 It is rare for an 8yo to have absolutely no letter recognition at all. Some 8yo are not reading at their age levels, but they are not completely illiterate, KWIM? My younger dd was not reading at her age level at 8, but by her 10th bday she was reading well above her age level. I wouldn't make a judgement on this particular child based on the comments of someone who is not a homeschooler and does not have children of his own. I think there is recognition of some letters but confusion with some similar ones (such as t and f). I also have experience with this child and think the other person's assessment was probably correct but perhaps a bit more detailed than my own experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommy5 Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I would be concerned ... My 4 yr old is already reading some things and decoding CVC words and knows some sight words ... My 7 yr old was struggling but can definitely read CVC words and many high-frequency words. I was stressed about him turning 7 and being "behind" but couldn't imagine him not knowing some letters and letter sounds at age 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I would be concerned and my first step would be to check vision. (with a specialist like pp did with her son.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 If this is not a case where the family has intentionally delayed academics (Like Moore philosophy) and a child of 8 is still not recognizing all his letters, I would be concerned that there are learning differences. Have either of you spoken to the parents? Something along the lines of- When we were playing (such-in-such) at scouts, I noticed that John wasn't able to participate, because he seemed unable to read. How would you like for us to handle this situation in the future? This will invite as much of an explanation as they are willing to share and give you a clue as to whether they were even aware that there was a problem. If I were concerned, this is how I would have handled it. Sometimes we become so used to/ comfortable with our children that however they are just seems normal to us. Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 There is a friend in our homeschooling circle who's daughter got a REALLY late start with letters,reading, writing. I wouldn't assume the parents aren't doing anything about it without talking with them first. In the case I'm familiar with the whole family is literate, one of the kids is in college and this particular child just really struggles with reading. I'm not sure if there are LD's or not, its really none of my business, but mom and dad are on top of it. Why doesn't he just ask the parent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I would be concerned, but I wouldn't assume that his parents aren't doing anything. My youngest is dyslexic and still occasionally uses an alphabet chart hanging on the wall because she forgets the name of a letter. At age 8, I think she might have been reading cvc words, or maybe not until age 9. It would have been easy for someone who doesn't know us well to assume we weren't teaching her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) It is my understanding that basic literacy by age 8ish is a key developmental milestone and that not reading by age 8 or 9 is usually a sign of developmental delay, learning disability or a serious vision issue or an ineffective education. I was a later reader and my family tree is sprinkled with people like me who did not learn to read even a little till 7 or 8 so it is not that I am saying kids need to read early. I did not learn to read AT ALL until the summer after 2nd grade- but when it clicked, it clicked and I was reading at a high school level by start of 5th grade. My mom finally realized the school was not teaching me in a way that worked for me and ordered Hooked on Phonics by mail and taught me at home that summer between 2nd and 3rd- I turned 8 that summer. Does the family have a lot of books and read to the kids? If that is happening and there is no reading, I would be worried about a developmental delay or disability and have my child screened (probably before age 8). If there is no hint of a developmental delay, learning disability or vision trouble I would wonder about how much reading and printed materials are at home. I agree with PP, he can always just ask the parents. Edited March 10, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I wouldn't assume the parents aren't doing anything about it without talking with them first. Why doesn't he just ask the parent? I would be concerned, but I wouldn't assume that his parents aren't doing anything. :iagree: Unless you suspect educational neglect, I probably wouldn't approach the parent. However, I definitely wouldn't assume the parents weren't trying to address this already without affecting their child's self-worth by constantly tagging the child with a "learning disability" label for everyone to see. (I have been told that some of the kids in our homeschool group struggle with reading, for example. While I'm fairly open with my kids' reading struggles at different ages, others are not. It doesn't mean the other kid's parents aren't looking into testing/assistance/special programs. Some are, some aren't.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamatohaleybug Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Well, that is concerning but not unusual if he has some kind of learning difficulty. Reading is incredibly complicated. If only one small piece of the puzzle is missing or delayed, it can cause a lot of problems. My daughter is a bit behind in her reading (and she's had two full neuropsychological evals, so I'm well aware of where she is), but when I look at the huge amount of developmental, emotional and physical issues she has, it's okay. She's doing great, considering. KWIM? So whether YOU or this other person should be concerned is what I'm not sure about. I like the idea of a PP who suggested you bring it up casually with the parents (asking how you should handle it in the group or whatever). I seriously doubt they are unaware, especially if they have other children who progressed more typically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Well, that is concerning but not unusual if he has some kind of learning difficulty. ... So whether YOU or this other person should be concerned is what I'm not sure about. I like the idea of a PP who suggested you bring it up casually with the parents (asking how you should handle it in the group or whatever). I seriously doubt they are unaware, especially if they have other children who progressed more typically. :iagree: I have a child who has dyslexia-ish issues and could easily seem like what OP was describing. This thread makes me wonder whether I should be telling everyone he would have contact with so they will know that I know that there is something going on, and tell everyone what we are doing to work on the problem. To me, however, that does not make sense, and would be an infringement of my child's privacy rights and needs to be considered ordinary in activities that do not relate to whether he can tell his f's from his t's. (Mine reads now, but just today he had trouble with clarity vs. clarify.) Personally, I would appreciate it if someone noticed something if they would say something direct to me rather than speculate about it--also because in a group setting it might well be very helpful to consider how to handle reading if there were reading involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 i'd say if he is concerned he needs to have a teacher conference and see if there is an issue he needs to be aware of. As a parent i would be very concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 That would concern me, but as pp have said, it's really the business of this person to contact the parents (if this is a school setting and he works with this child) or contact someone in the school who can help. Otherwise, it could just simply be a learning difference that requires more work and individualizing of teaching methods to correct. I would be hesitant to generalize "late reading being the norm" to the homeschooling community at large, whatever method the homeschool family has adopted. Because I just don't sense this is true at all. Especially considering that a lot of parents with children who have special needs and learning differences/delays opt to homeschool. And in my experience homeschool parents are real in tune with what is going on with their kids, and are on the ball when there's a learning situation that needs to be ironed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 i'd say if he is concerned he needs to have a teacher conference and see if there is an issue he needs to be aware of. As a parent i would be very concerned. This is not a school associated activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughingmommy Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I just read the intro to Writer's Jungle this past week, and I believe she talks about her daughter being quite late in starting to write. Was she also quite late in reading? I've known kids who were 8 and didn't read even letters well. I have no problems with that. I wouldn't care if my kids decided to wait until they were quite a bit older than that.... 12 maybe? BUT, here's the thing. Is that actually what the child wants? The kids I knew who did not read, or did not read well, they did not function in the world the way they wanted to. Their not reading did not feed a sense of natural, organic development. They seemed to feel ashamed and sad. It broke my heart. I always just want to go over there and say, "Hey, how's it going? I noticed that you feel weird about not being able to read. It doesn't matter to me if you can read or not. And it shouldn't matter to anyone else, either. But if you want me to sit down and tell you some things I know about reading, I'm here for you." These issues are always so tough to sort out 'cause you always have to look at it case by case. Pei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 With no known impediment to learning I would have had 6 or 7 as a cut off. Although it is worth noting some parents do delay reading lessons until ages 8 or 9... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 not school related oh, I misunderstood, thought it was a teaching situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 :iagree: I have a child who has dyslexia-ish issues and could easily seem like what OP was describing. This thread makes me wonder whether I should be telling everyone he would have contact with so they will know that I know that there is something going on, and tell everyone what we are doing to work on the problem. To me, however, that does not make sense, and would be an infringement of my child's privacy rights and needs to be considered ordinary in activities that do not relate to whether he can tell his f's from his t's. (Mine reads now, but just today he had trouble with clarity vs. clarify.) Personally, I would appreciate it if someone noticed something if they would say something direct to me rather than speculate about it--also because in a group setting it might well be very helpful to consider how to handle reading if there were reading involved. My kiddos have some delays. I make sure that every person in charge of them knows about issues relating to what they are doing. (Swimming, dancing teachers know about gross motor, CC tutor knows about learning challenges, etc.) This allows them to adjust accordingly, rather than be caught off guard, potentially embarrassing my kids more. It also ensures that if other parents go to the tutor and say "why aren't those almost-7 year olds reading?", the tutor can reply "their mom is aware that there are some issues and they are getting help" or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I would be concerned. If her lack of reading is holding her back in the activity he is doing with the group, he should ask the parents for strategies to help her in class. Don't assume they are doing nothing, just say he needs help to help her in the activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I personally would be terribly concerned. But I know that there are parents who delay all academics until even later than that. In my home toddlers start to learn letters and sounds. Four of my 5 children were reading at a second grade level or better by age of 6, at the end of their K year. One child didn't read much at all till he was 8, he could sound out simple words and knew all his letters and their sounds. He just didn't click to blending until later. I was extremely concerned at the time. He just learned in his own time, and there was nothing I could do about it. (I think he was a bit hard headed like his mother, and just didn't want to. One day we went to the library and he found Moby Dick, he read it through to the end in no time. It was the desire he was waiting on. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amayla Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I'd be concerned by age 8, especially if I had been working with the child on letter recognition and letter sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I think it's entirely within the realm of normal for a 7 yr old to still not yet be reading. But by 8... I'd be concerned if they couldn't read CVC and sight words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I would honestly be very concerned. But then again, my experience was not the norm either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I had a friend (with no kids) approach me about a student he has in a group setting that cannot recognize all his letters at 8 years old. The family does have older children that are literate. Friend was concerned and wanting to know from me if this is okay in homeschooling circles or if the parents aren't teaching. I really don't know. My oldest was reading at 4 and my current 4 year old is reading some already. So, I've never really had to research when things are concerning. The lack of letter recognition seems concerning to me. I don't think anyone is going to say anything either way. I guess it just made me curious about the realm of normal. Assuming that the family hasn't delyaed academics on purpose, an 8 year-old who didn't know all letters and who did things like confuse f and t would concern me. If the child was mine, I would look into vision processing issues and learning disabilities, and I would be remediating with an Orton-Gillingham based program. For someone else's child, the teacher really can't know what the family is doing. Knowing that a child struggles doesn't mean you think it's ok, but one may or may not want to announce to the world, you know? So I wouldn't assume that the family doesn't know or isn't concerned just because they didn't tell the teacher. They may or may not be. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicMom Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) I think your friend's comments are too vague to really tell what the situation is. It sounds like for all we know the child could be... a) reading well but makes some mistakes or forgets some letter names, b) Knows only a fraction of the alphabet and can't read at all. Not "recognizing letters" usually means not knowing letter names (to me, anyway), so it's quite possible he can actually read despite forgetting letter names or mixing them up. I think it's hard to tell anything from what was said. You would have to have a lot more info to know if it's of any concern. I know I overheard my then-6 yr old asking someone "What's an uppercase?" or "What's an uppercase E look like?" when I was in the other room. I probably smacked my head, but 1) my ds didn't know what uppercase meant because I always call them capitals, 2) my ds did forget which were capitals and which were lowercase, etc, but was very literate and was definitely reading at that point. He's now reading very well. So this type of thing can be very deceiving... ETA: What does "doesn't recognize all his letters" mean, precisely, ya know? Does this mean he recognizes all but 10? All but 5? All but 2? Did the person quiz the child on ALL the letters? Just sayin it's hard to tell what the reality is without more precise info, IMO. Plus, his parents might have the philosophy that letter names aren't important and it's only the sounds that matter (?), in which case he could be reading and learn just fine, but letter names were never emphasized or even taught. Edited March 10, 2012 by TaraJo29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I personally feel that an eight-year-old not knowing any letters is...disastrous, but that's probably because I just read this warning from the National Institute for Literacy: Educators have discovered that if a child can’t read fluently by the end of third grade, he may not become a strong reader. And the road ahead will be much more difficult. “In fourth grade, students start using their reading skills as a tool for learning other things,†said Dr. SandraBaxter, director of the National Institute for Literacy. “They have to read well because the subjects get harder. Teachers have less time to help kids catch up on reading skills they don’t have.†That’s why parents need to stay in constant touch with their children’s day care providers and teachers from kindergarten through grade three. It’s important to make sure that children’s reading skills are developing “on schedule.†In fact, research has shown that children who aren’t strong readers by the end of third grade are more likely to drop out of school later on. “We should all pay attention to that,†said Dr. Baxter. “Fortunately, the research has also shown us the best ways to teach reading, and how parents can make a big difference in helping their children learn to read." (YMMV) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I'd be concerned about a child not reading at all at age 5. That would be enough for me to follow up with a specialist to determine that nothing was wrong developmentally. Incomplete mastery of letters by age 8 would certainly be a concern for me. This thread is interesting for the absence of anecdotes about children starting to read by age 8 or later and quickly surpassing age peers. Usually those sorts of stories are offered in these threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I think age 6 is a good rule of the thumb to start being uncomfortable about it and wonder what is going on, with 7 being a good red line at which something is most likely "off" with a child not reading at that age (occasional anecdotes aside). I am not talking about "grade level" reading, but the pure mechanics of reading, as discussed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) Not that my experience is proof of anything, but 5 wouldn't strike me as cause for major concern. i really agree with you. but then again, i don't even start teaching phonics until my kids are kindergarten age according to my state. for my daughter that was just shy of 6 & for my son he was 5 1/2. even then, we started the year reviewing letters and learning to write them well, etc. we don't do preschool here, at least not structured or with specific goals. by the end of kindergarten, they were barely reading at all according to standards (think bob books & CVC words). then in grade 1, i focused even more on phonics, but even then both of my kids were not fluent imho (slow reading, lack of basic comprehension at times). yes, they could read - but it was very controlled reading, which i don't really consider fluent yet. not until 7 1/2 did i see both of my kids really take off with reading. at that age is when i really considered them readers, as they could pick most things up and truly read it. my son's ability from the beginning of this school year has changed from sounding out words and reading slow, to easily reading and comprehending chapter books. he'll be 8 in a few weeks. Edited March 10, 2012 by mytwomonkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I have 6 children, 3 of whom are dyslexic. My youngest is just now starting to really read fluently. My 15 yo son still struggles to read high school level material quickly and accurately. One the other end of the spectrum, I had one dd learn to read at age 4, so I don't really think it is so much about the teacher as the student. I would have been concerned if my 8 yo hadn't known his letters. I WAS concerned when he was still struggling to read CVC words at that age. We had been doing phonics since he was 4 or 5. Just because a child is struggling to read doesn't mean that his/her parents aren't doing anything about it. And my opinion on what age is the *magic number* has changed as I watched my ds work and struggle over these last 2 or 3 years. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 i really agree with you. but then again, i don't even start teaching phonics until my kids are kindergarten age according to my state. for my daughter that was just shy of 6 & for my son he was 5 1/2. even then, we started the year reviewing letters and learning to write them well, etc. we don't do preschool here, at least not structured or with specific goals. by the end of kindergarten, they were barely reading at all according to standards (think bob books & CVC words). then in grade 1, i focused even more on phonics, but even then both of my kids were not fluent imho (slow reading, lack of basic comprehension at times). yes, they could read - but it was very controlled reading, which i don't really consider fluent yet. not until 7 1/2 did i see both of my kids really take off with reading. at that age is when i really considered them readers, as they could pick most things up and truly read it. my son's ability from the beginning of this school year has changed from sounding out words and reading slow, to easily reading and comprehending chapter books. he'll be 8 in a few weeks. Do you think that your choices had anything to do with your children's outcomes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 in what way? i'm not sure what you're asking. do i think my children could have learned to read at age 3 or 4 if we had started phonics earlier? maybe. i don't know because we didn't pursue that route. do i think if i hadn't followed through with a reading program that they would have learned by osmosis. no. i do not believe they would have self-taught themselves to read. Do you think that your choices had anything to do with your children's outcomes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Not that my experience is proof of anything, but 5 wouldn't strike me as cause for major concern. Eight would though. I'd assume either major deprivation (absolutely no access to books or TV or anything), or dyslexia or some other difficulty. I guess that like most things, it's context-dependent. I would be concerned if a five-year-old were interested in learning to read, had plenty of resources available, and still had no reading or pre-reading skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I don't think we can know how worried to be without more information. A public school child who is eight years old and can't read has failed to benefit from 3+ years of reading instruction. That's a very different story from a homeschooled child whose parents follow a "better late than early" philosophy, who, at eight years old, may have only received minimal reading instruction. The first child definitely has reading difficulties. The second child may or may not have reading difficulties - there's no way to tell until he or she attempts to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 a good question is whether or not he's been taught letters and sounds explicitly or not. Some people follow their kids lead for years and don't teach reading in any way shape or form until the child asks or they reach like 11 or something. I knew a kid who didn't learn to read until he was 12, by choice and his parents didn't force him. Once he was ready to learn it though, he was reading well and on level within a year. He loves reading still, last time I checked. Theres another homeschooled student who wrote a blog, he didn't learn to read until he was 11 by choice, I think his family unschooled or something. He wrote a book about dogs (that was published) and later went on to do well for himself. I can't think of where I read the blog article, but its on the internet somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 If this is in an environment such as Sunday School, Cub Scouts, or something of the like, then I would suggest to the concerned adult that they bring the topic up to the parents. This is a hard topic, but in my opinion they should discuss it with the parents even if just for peace of mind that it isn't neglect. At 8 years old, a child should be learning to read if not reading already. If not, then there is a cause for concern. In school, kids get early intervention and it is crucial. If they aren't in school, the only people that can seek intervention are the parents. I would be concerned if a 6 year old did not know their letters and beginning reading skills barring a learning disability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I would be concerned, but there are many more questions I would like to ask: are they using unschooling or the better late than early philosophy? Is the child having any difficulties with any other subjects? Does teh child know how to write anything at all - as often writing can be used alongside teaching reading at this late stage? How much teaching has occurred and what methods were used? I know that many children can go through public school and never learn to read despite instruction but usually then there are problems with the entire school set up and the teachers or there are specific learning problems if it is not mulitple children in the classes. I actually think it would be MORE of a problem if the child only knows a few letters rather than that the child knows NONE because if the child knows a few then some teaching has occurred that he has picked up on and why has there not been enough teaching to teach all of them. If he knows none then it is more likely that no one has taught him any or there really is a learning problem that should be looked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I would expect an 8 yr old to know their letters and sounds. Even if they were delayed learners. Even my two middle ones who were born with significiant speech delays knew their letters and sounds. What have they been using to teach him? Have they tried things like Leap Frog videos and such. Sounds like he maybe a visual learner rather than an auditory learner. Sounds like this child needs to be evaluated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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