Odd reading issue...retention/speed

[radiobrain]

I hope this is posted in the right place.

 

My younger son (almost 12) has a reading issue. He was a late reader. He is an extremely slow reader. He is also on the gifted spectrum, and is a perfectionist. He did have a lead issue when he was small (highest level was 7, they don't seem to care unless it is over 10). We keep doing remedial reading/spelling programs to try to help with his reading speed. I have suspected that he has stealth dyslexia, but whenever I investigate it, he doesn't test for ANY dyslexia signs.

 

Anyway.... he told me yesterday that he can't remember anything he reads unless he says it out loud. :confused: This is the first I have head of this, and I find it scary.

 

What do you guys think this sounds like? Is there any place you can point me to?

 

TIA!:D

[PeterPan]

There are two evals that will help you sort this out. One, you need a vision eval to make sure that's not the problem. You would use a *developmental optometrist* not a regular one. He may not be processing well visually and has flipped largely to auditory. Two, as you're saying, he may be 2E. You figure that out with a neuropsych eval.

 

Dyslexia (reading disorder in the DSM) is pretty narrow these days and doesn't involve a lot of the stuff on the online dyslexia symptom lists anyway. I would get his eyes checked and start looking for a good neuropsych. You probably need both. As far as going back to the phonics, I'm all for it, especially with an OG spinoff (WRTR, SWR, AAS, LOE, whatever). I'd get the eyes checked first though. That way you're going in order. If he's not processing well visually, he doesn't have a foundation to build on for the written work. Similarly, if the issue is processing speed, not phonics, you want to know. That's what the neuropsych eval helps you sort out. The np takes 1-4 months to get into and the developmental optometrist (which is what you need, not a regular one), will probably only take a couple weeks. You want a full developmental eval. Get a Fellow off the list at COVD if at all possible. A regular optometrist won't do. There's a lot they don't check that relates to school work (convergence, focusing, tracking, etc.).

 

Keep posting here as you do stuff and tell as the results. We want to know how it goes. You're in the right place, with the people who are going "I know my kid is bright, but what in the WORLD is going on here?!?!" :D

 

PS. What's a lead test? Is that for early intervention or something?

[LaughingCat]

I thought she meant Lead as in the metal, i.e. Lead Poisoning.

[radiobrain]

I thought she meant Lead as in the metal, i.e. Lead Poisoning.

 

yep. this.

[PeterPan]

Did you do something for the lead? It's an unhappy topic for me. We had our straight well-water tested, and there was lead, even though it was below the limits or whatever. We only drink the water that has been through the reverse osmosis. It still makes me scared, kwim? I would think pomegranate juice, cilantro, garlic, things that get the body to chelate would be good. It's probably why I'm so nutty, hehe. ;)

 

Ok, so knowing that it was lead your concerned about, have you gotten any evals? Honestly, that was the big lightning bolt for us, because that's how you find out what you're actually dealing with.

[Guest DaveGalt]

There is a website which addresses reading visually versus verbally: www.readspeeder.com. Others who have suspected they may have dyslexia have found it to be very helpful, and have said that for the first time in their life they could read without sounding out the words. The site is free and basically displays practice text in meaningful word-groups, so the reader can learn to see the text as whole ideas instead of just words. You may like to look at it and see if you think this might be something that could be helpful to your son. Good luck.