Reading / Writing help

[Jan in SC]

How do I know when there is a true problem, versus just waiting and growing out of it? My 7 &1/2 yo ds still reverses letters and numbers on a daily basis. His handwriting is barely legible and spelling, except for a few 3 letter words, leaves him in tears daily. He reads on an average 2nd grade level. Blends are very difficult and remembering short vowel sounds is almost impossible. He is so frustrated and feels dumb. Is it time for testing or tutoring? TIA!

[Zelda]

I'm not really sure, but my instinct says that it couldn't hurt to test and it could hurt to wait so in the absence of a compelling reason not to then I'd probably do it. Testing doesn't automatically imply that you think something is wrong. Just that you don't know.

[Tammyla]

There is no one answer, but following your instinct is a good idea. Has he done daily copy work? Do the reversals appear when he is focusing on a clear model?

[AngieW in Texas]

Your ds is at the age where I would recommend evaluation.

 

My dd was 7.5yo when I had her tested.

 

It was wonderful for her to know that there really was a problem and there were things we could do to make it possible for her to read. She hated reading "baby" books and struggling with those when everybody she knew her age and even younger was capable of reading "real" books.

 

I had my dd tested at the local ps. I know that some have had difficulty getting testing done there, but I didn't have any problems at all. They had an initial meeting with me to determine what tests to do, did the tests, and went over the results all within 60 days without any hounding.

 

The results showed that my dd is actually gifted with a severe learning disability affecting all her academics. She has difficulty with anything involving visual input and especially visual input with a time constraint.

 

I posted her scores on dyslexiasupport2, Beginning-Reading-Instruction, Schwab LD boards (which are going to be closed soon), and READNOW. I got feedback for what programs to try with her and finally started to see progress.

 

1.5 years ago, I heard about a local tutor who did evaluations and then made recommendations. I take my dd to her every 3-4 months. She assesses my dd (only $60) and then helps me come up with a game plan to last us until the next assessment.

 

My dd who had to struggle through sounding out her own name at 7.5yo is now reading at grade level at 9.5yo.

 

She is still dyslexic and always will be. We have to work very hard on reading, spelling, and writing every day. My dd doesn't have a bad opinion of herself anymore though. She knows that she has problems with reading just like her older sister has problems with fine motor issues that make buttons, snaps, and zippers difficult for her to manage.