MommyX8 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 My 11 year old son does not read well. He cannot keep the phonics' rules in his head. And he often times will look at a word and say a synonym. He assigns ending to words without them, no endings where they should be, etc. However, he does much better when he physically points to the word. I can't tell what the problem is so I am thinking that I need to figure out what the problem isn't. Is this a vision therapy issue or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Well certainly I would get his eyes checked just to make sure it ISN'T a vision issue... And the best way to do that is with a developmental optometrist. You can do a regular exam and have them *screen* him. If they find anything else, then they can do the longer, developmental vision exam. Once you get his eyes checked, then you have the rest of the issues to go through. He may have some working memory issues, etc. etc. going on. Some VT places will check that too. Probably not going to be just *1* thing. Usually you can get into the VT doc (find through COVD.org) in just a week or two. Neuropsych/ed psych/any psych testing typically takes 1-3 months to get into. Given his age, I would pursue both. If the vision gets done before the psych testing and explains everything, then you just cancel the appointment. Probably though, you're going to need both. You can check working memory informally by trying digit spans with him. Interestingly, my dd stumbled on digit spans exactly the same way she stumbled when trying to sound out words. Just goes to show the strong connection between working memory and reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Well certainly I would get his eyes checked just to make sure it ISN'T a vision issue... And the best way to do that is with a developmental optometrist. You can do a regular exam and have them *screen* him. If they find anything else, then they can do the longer, developmental vision exam. Once you get his eyes checked, then you have the rest of the issues to go through. He may have some working memory issues, etc. etc. going on. Some VT places will check that too. Probably not going to be just *1* thing. Usually you can get into the VT doc (find through COVD.org) in just a week or two. Neuropsych/ed psych/any psych testing typically takes 1-3 months to get into. Given his age, I would pursue both. If the vision gets done before the psych testing and explains everything, then you just cancel the appointment. Probably though, you're going to need both. You can check working memory informally by trying digit spans with him. Interestingly, my dd stumbled on digit spans exactly the same way she stumbled when trying to sound out words. Just goes to show the strong connection between working memory and reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I agree with having vision issues ruled out. In the mean time, have him use a marker (like 3x5 card) ABOVE the line he is reading (instead of below as "typical". That might help as it did here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoffg1 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 The fact that he does much better when he physically points to the word, is a strong indication that he has a vision issue. Though a simple thing that you could try, is to have him read some text on off-white or colored paper, and see if he can read easier? Or alternatively, have him read text on a PC screen, where you change the background to different colors. A lot of people are hyper-sensitive to glare from white paper, which causes the letters to move around as they look at words. But it is an easy thing to identify, as the difference is immediate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 These are dyslexia symptoms. Here are some more: skipping words, missing/adding endings, knowing a word one page and not the next, difficulties remembering math facts. Using an multi-sensory Orton-Gillingham program (moving at your child's pace, not the pace of the program) like wilson Reading or Barton Reading can help your child make progress. You might want to start with a neuropsych eval to see what is going on. The definition of dyslexia is "characterized by difficulties with accurate and /or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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