Those with sons who struggled learning to read- please help me! : (

[Hebrews3:13]

We have been at this a LONG TIME. I literally started phonics at 4 and now he is 6. We have tried a number of different books and my son is just a tough nut. I fear honestly that there is a problem and am hopeful some of you will have some sort of advice.

 

He really was not ready for Kindergarten. I took it VERY easy. We did some math pages- very basic last year and started handwriting, although it has always been a struggle for him, so I make him work, but don't go nuts with it. We read TONS of books and went to the library all the time. He loves to be read to and loves books.

 

A few months into the year I am noticing that my son cannot seem to remember things well. He can with things he is really interested in, but like addition facts became SO frustrating, so I backed off them. He would do one and then I kid you not we would come to that one again 5 minutes later and just be clueless and in tears when I told him he knew that one.

 

Blending last year was hard for him, so I assumed he needed to stop and took a break. Everytime I came back to it, no matter what I used, it was the same thing. We finished the year having gotten through little of the book.

 

Fast forward to this year, he still knows the phonics sounds, has had those down a long while, but we are having the same issues with phonics. He will sound out a word, then move on to the next one, sound it out. Finally if you ask him to read the sentence he cannot remember the words he just sounded out and must start over again. This seems crazy to me. Could there be some issue? I see no evidence of reversals or anything that way.

 

My son is ADDish and maybe leans a little toward Aspergers socially, but I just take frequent breaks and quit if I see major frustration coming on. I really am fearful about this memor thing and wondering what else to try. It just wasn't like this with DD. Boys are an enigma to me. (Potty training was the same!Ugh).

 

We have used SSWR (he hated because of music- he does NOT like songs and singy stuff), ETC, OPGTR, Alphaphonics and are back to Phonics Pathways again. I have not tried 100EZ, but would if anyone thought it might hold a key.

 

We are basically doing K-5 over again this year since we got nowhere last year. I think there was a lack of maturity last year, but now he is genuinely trying and we still seem to be stuck in mud. We are currently in PP where they begin 4 letter words, which he HATES and have been working there for over a week. Sigh. Same words over and over, with no memory that he just did them or what they say.

 

I appreciate your words of wisdom. This is the first/oldest boy so it is trying to say the least. Will he catch up with grade level eventually, I thought this year he would kick in and we would get into first grade stuff somewhere during the year, but now it is not looking so good. :001_huh:

[Dawn in OH]

Wow. Your son sounds so much like mine. Mine is 7. We are doing first grade. I didn't start him with K when he was 5 because he just wasn't ready. We are still struggling with reading. He seems to forget sounds. His younger sister is working at the same level with him. She's much better at things that require memorization. She learned the abc's, counting, her phone number well before her older brother. He's a frustrating child to say the least.

 

He's writing numbers and letters backward. But he can remember dinosaurs facts and talks about Knights and Medieval Times. I swear he "can" read but just likes to be difficult. I haven't figured out WHY he does it yet.

 

I'd love to hear the responses you get to your question. Everyone tells me to just be patient that it takes some kids longer than others.

[hornblower]

My son is 10 & only just getting the hang of reading. I'm a little calmer this time around as my dd was 10 when it finally came together for her. Within several months she went from barely being able to sound out short words to The Cats of Cuckoo Square and then a few months later to Anne of Green Gables. Now at almost 14, she reads widely and quickly and well above grade level. I don't think it would have 'just happened' on its own; I do believe the work we did in phonics was instrumental but there was something missing for a long time & until she was ready, it was like ploughing a field of boulders.

 

I'm not sure if ds will ever be a passionate reader, but I'm pretty confident that he will eventually get this.

 

The thing about not being able to remember the word they just read - YUP. BTDT, pulled out a bunch of hair over it. Ds and dd are both walking encyclopedias of all sorts of facts and figures but vowel sounds? Took years, years to get those cemented in their brains.

 

I have struggled for years about psych ed testing/not testing yadayadayada & so far I've always ended up NOT testing & just patiently going through phonics, reading out loud, buying memberships in Audible and adapting all 'school' work to oral only or me scribing.

 

What we did test was eyes & both kids had some weird eye stuff which a developmental optometrist helped us with. I also had ds's hearing tested - turned out he had just been ignoring me, he hears me fine. :D

 

FWIW, I wouldn't even think of testing until your son was 7 or 8, unless you see other problems. But that's just me, in my family, with my quirky kids & quirky dh. This is awfully tough as I'm one of those people who learned to read so young that I don't remember ever NOT knowing how to read..... I just assumed that my kids would be the same. Forgot the thing about dh's genes.

 

About resources, I don't think there's one thing that 'worked' for us. My dd benefited from Reading Reflex and WRTR. My ds used PP a bit but doesn't like it. A couple years ago I started Explode the Code and the Key Words with Ladybird series. The combination of those 2 seems to be working for ds so I'm sticking with it.

 

I wouldn't worry about 'catching up'. My experience so far has been that once it clicks, they catch up and race ahead.

[elegantlion]

My ds 10 is a struggling reader. At 6 I wouldn't get overly concerned. I would continue a phonics program, I wish we had tried Explode the code at that age. I would also continue reading aloud to him, that is something I didn't do enough of. Have him follow the words on the page as you read and be encouraging.

 

Kids seem to sense our frustration and my ds balked whenever he felt it. I'm sure it delayed our success for several months. Praise every achievement.

 

One thing I'm glad we did was not hold him back in other subjects because of his reading delay. We did a lot of the work orally.

 

 

(hugs) I know it can be feel overwhelming.

[Hebrews3:13]

Thank you for the input so far...

 

Would love to hear more from others....

[Pink Fairy]

He sounds totally normal to me. I've had two 4yo readers, one 5yo, and now a 6yo beginning reader (boy, of course!).

 

IMO, it's just not a good idea to push. Keep it simple, short, and fun. If either of you starts getting frustrated, take a break. Let him play Starfall (free and online), or try Headsprout. It's probably not the program you're using that's a problem--he's just not ready. My 6yo was like that last year, and then about a month ago something just clicked and all of a sudden he gets it. It's been that way with every single one of my children.

 

It's amazing to see. What he's learned about reading these last few weeks is more than he did his entire kindergarten year.

 

Good luck! :grouphug:

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

After schooling 5 of my 6 boys so far, I have noticed a pattern. (BTW, I also have one w/ Asperger characteristics).

 

When I approached dear friends (veteran homeschoolers at the time) about my issue, they all gave me similar advice. Put away the phonics and do something different for a few months, and then get the phonics out for another try. Repeat this process until child shows readiness.

 

My son (the one w/ Asperger tendencies), didn't speak much as a toddler. Didn't potty train until he was 5 (groan...what a nightmare!), has been a wanderer (yikes), and is always a challenge in many ways. Yet after practicing much diligence and patience w/ his homeschooling, I have seen him make amazing strides and progress.

 

I didn't even get out the phonics book (Reading Reflex....I highly recommend it!), until he was 6 1/2. I did this will all of my boys so far. They are topnotch readers now. My Asperger-type boy is reading on a college level now at age 9. He is brilliant!

 

Howevever, there are certain concepts that are difficult for him. Mainly, the abstract. I have kept him a bit behind in math in order to assist his ability to comprehend. Much of his work is done orally with me in math, which has helped a lot.

 

What you are saying sounds almost verbatim to the words I would have used almost 4 years ago about my boy.

 

Keep at it, Mom. You are doing a good job. He may not fit the mold, but you will learn that clay can be shaped and formed w/ patience and tenderness.

 

Blessings,

 

Camy

[mktyler]

Teaching a child to read who struggles with memory can be like sawing through a log with sand paper! It works--eventually. ;) Clear, incremental instruction, with lots and lots of review will get the job done. As the beginning stages of reading are mastered, his learning speed will increase. I had to make up my own program for my daughter, teaching her every little thing. She didn't learn to read fluently till she was 9 1/2 and now at 10 1/2 reads at a high school level.

 

As for programs. . .

 

100EZ has a different way of writing the letters and teaches a large portion of words as wholes. So if your son is not good at making leaps of logic, I would not recommend it.

 

PP is mostly sound instruction, but you might have better luck making a few modifications. Because of its format, PP makes you feel like you should be moving along quickly, when in fact, each step can be a big jump for kids. I would suggest these things to keep in mind:

 

Do not go on to sentences till his word reading is comfortable.

 

Do not go on to 4-sound words till he is comfortable with 2 and 3-sound words. By comfortable I mean he says the sounds correctly with little emotional upset and can self correct.

 

Write the words on other paper in a less distracting manner. I suggest a format that incrementally builds the words.

 

a n an an t ant ant ant (Tell me about the word ant)

c a ca ca t cat cat cat (Tell me about the word cat)

 

Allow him to use his finger under the letters as he reads. This activity will allow him to stay focused on the sound-spelling correspondences, get comfortable tracking left to right, and feel a sense of accomplishment as he cements the connections. Once 2 and 3 sound words feel good you can move onto 2-word sentences and 4-sound words.

 

You might even go back to the beginning of the book, focusing on the bottom of the pages where they have the 2-sound combinations. Stay on these pages till he is comfortable. You can mix it up with flashcards and games if he likes.

 

With incremental instruction and patience he'll learn to read.

 

Melissa

Minnesota

Reading Program Junkie

[Caroline4kids]

My 9 year old is still struggling to read fluently and it has taught me that I can't do anything accept work at his level. I think it was from years of pushing when he was not ready and now I've gone and made him think he can't do it well. I agree with the above posters that say to put the phonics away for a bit.

 

Frustration in me is like poison to my homeschooilng efforts! If I get frustrated they learn NOTHING except that mom is frustrated.

 

Six is still pretty young and most waldorf schools don't even start letter learning until 7.

 

If I have learned anything in the last six years it is that when a child is ready to learn something it is a breeze. Try too early and it is like eating soup with chopsticks.:willy_nilly:

[Mandy in TN]

My oldest dyslexic ds was in 2nd grade at a school for dyslexics before written language began to make any sense.

 

Then came middle ds. He turned 6 in Nov and by May although he was fairly comfortable with letter sounds he couldn't tell you all of the letter names. In May he couldn't blend a word together to save his life. He worked with a tutor through the summer and by August he was proficient with letter/ sound recognition. Right about his 7th birthday it all clicked! I already had an appointment so I went ahead and had a psyc/ed evaluation. Guess what- he was absolutely normal. :D

 

My little guy is the first one that I have taught to read. I tried a number of different things, but what worked for us was CLE's Learning to Read. It isn't cutesy. It isn't colorful. It doesn't have songs. It has way more than just a few sentences to teach a skill. We did use the letter flashcards, word flashcards, and phrase flashcards along with the workbooks and primer.

 

Three different dc. Three different stories.

HTH-

Mandy

[Haiku]

He will sound out a word, then move on to the next one, sound it out. Finally if you ask him to read the sentence he cannot remember the words he just sounded out and must start over again. This seems crazy to me.

 

My son is the same way, and although it is frustrating, I don't think it's unusual. My daughter, who is not necessarily "smarter" than my son but is usually quicker to catch onto things, also went through a stage where each word was read in isolation of the others, with no real sense of continuity. She eventually moved beyond that and is now a fluent reader. I always understood it to be an indication that the mechanics of reading were still difficult, and that all her (and my son's) focus was on employing phonics to decode words, and that once the physical act of reading became easier and more familiar, the focus of the child's energy became fluency and understanding, not mere sounding-out.

 

All that to say, I wouldn't worry about it for now. Some kids (especially boys) just read later than others (especially girls). I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that "any" five year old can learn to read (just as I disagreed with the idea that "any" 18-month-old could be potty-trained, when my kids were that age). I just see much too clearly the stages my kids go through in readiness to believe that.

 

I wouldn't worry about the math stuff, either. Math facts memorization is very abstract. The best thing to help my son grasp them has been playing card games that require him to add. I also allow him to use an abacus to solve problems until he has the math facts down pat (and even after, if he starts to have trouble again, I let him use it again).

 

Tara

[ElizabethB]

I have taught a lot of struggling boys (and girls, and adults...)

 

Some people just take a lot more repetition than others. We're personally fighting addition facts at the level you describe with my daughter. (Flashmaster is helping, so is oral practice of facts whenever we get a chance, and most times we're in the car. I quiz her, then she has to say any fact she missed 3 times correctly.)

 

And, while she's pretty quick with most phonics and spelling work, anything with a rule takes a long time to memorize. We worked on ca, ce, ci, co, cu, cy and sca, sce, sci, sco, scu, scy and the c as s before e, i, and y rule for 2 to 3 months before she got it.

 

I would recommend Webster's Speller. The link below describes how to use it, and this post goes into more detail. Both the Webster link below and the post have a link to a movie showing how to use it.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70153&highlight=syllabary

 

Starting with 2 letter syllables and learning them so well that he can spell them should help solidify the facts in the brain. If you learn something so well you can spell it, it's a lot harder to forget. If handwriting is still a struggle, he can spell them with magnetic letters, you'll need at least two sets, get uppercase, 88 cents at Walmart. You should also do some oral spelling. Do a mix of both oral and written spelling.

 

You could do oral practice of spelling syllables while in the car along with math facts. For example, you say, "spell the syllable re," if he says r, e, good, if not, tell him, then have him spell it 3 times "re, r, e; re, r, e; re, r, e;"

[southmetromom]

...in addition to all the great advice above:

 

Have you read Raymond Moore's classic book Better Late than Early? I find much reassurance in his well-researched conclusion that children, especially boys, simply aren't ready to learn certain things before, say, age 8, 9 or 10.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Sandy in CO

southmetromom

[Lenora in MD]

He is now almost eleven and reading at a very high level. There were so many times when he was younger when we were both in tears. This is what I learned from my experience:

 

keep phonics lessons short, 10 minutes a day is fine. But be consistent and do a bit each day. Keep reviewing until he knows what you are teaching before moving ahead. don't worry if it seems to take forever. I do have to admit that I personally just gave up on this and there were some things my son just never got, but eventually he ended up reading anyway.

 

keep reading to him all the time. I read to my son alone (I have three other children) and had him narrate back to be each time. This really seemed to help for some reason. This was probably the most important thing I did for him.

 

look for books as you go along that really interest him, and encourage him to read a little bit to you each day. Maybe just a word or two at first, or you read to him and he just reads a couple easy words like "at" or "the" as you go along. Once I found a book on Thomas Edison that I worked through very slowly with my son, it really sparked his interest. He loved the subject matter. This also helped tremendously. he also really identified with Edison, who was kicked out of school for being unable to learn! His mother patiently taught him to read at home. That story actually really helped both of us.

 

we loved explode the code, great reinforcement.

 

you could have him do some short (only a few words) of copywork each day or twice a week if that is too much. That helps too.

 

Just relax and give him time. He will eventually get it. You need to let him know that you understand him and will always encourage him. Appreciate him for his differences. You have probably already noticed that he has other remarkable traits. The love you give him is the most important thing you can do for him.

 

If you wish, when he is a bit older, you could get him tested for dyslexia if you think it might help you deal with his issues better. I also have a 12 yo cousin who struggled for years with reading and after a one week intensive course with the Davis Program, went from a 1st grade to an 8th grade reading level.

 

Best of luck, and just remember this is not abnormal, love that little guy and make sure he always knows you are on his team!

[MicheleinMN]

My youngest ds is 7, and can only now sound out short vowel words. He actually prefers sight words (to, you, of, etc.). I am so glad he is my youngest and not my oldest!! (At least I know it's not something I am doing wrong!)

 

He does better at math, but still reverses several numbers.

 

Dh, ds 16, and ds 12, are all dyslexic. And I'm convinced that ds 7 is too. We just keep working....slowly....I know he'll get it .... *I* just need to be patient.

 

HTH

[siloam]

keep phonics lessons short, 10 minutes a day is fine. But be consistent and do a bit each day. Keep reviewing until he knows what you are teaching before moving ahead. don't worry if it seems to take forever. I do have to admit that I personally just gave up on this and there were some things my son just never got, but eventually he ended up reading anyway.

 

I agree with Lenora here. Consistent, constant review, but for short periods of time.

 

My 2nd dd is like this. She could spell long before she could read. She could actually remember the sounds for spelling, but ask her to sound a word out and she suddenly couldn't remember it to save her life. For her it took a lot of practice over a long period of time using multi-sensory tools. Writing letters in sand while saying their sounds, using scrabble letter tiles, or having them write out the letters while saying their names all helped her. Eventually it did click. Then we did some vision therapy, which also helped. Now she is 3rd grade and 9yo. She can read at a 5th grade level if she chooses, but reading still isn't a passion for her. I am hoping with time and additional work to build fluency that will change.

 

Heather

 

[camibami]

I'm going to chime in with another "relax, he'll get it". My youngest is 7 1/2, and just lately is reading actually making any progress here! Until now- and we started at 4 1/2!- its been the same htings, over and over, not sticking. Long vowel words/rules took a year, I swear, for her. Sight words? Forget about it. In one ear, out the other.

 

I *knew* she was ok, as she has been steaming ahead with math just fine, and could remember odds/evens, math facts, etc. Just not, you know, letter sounds.:glare:

 

She is reading on a 1st grade level now (in second grade) but the fact that it is finally really, truly "clicking" means that from here on out, I expect she'll progress faster. Or at least I certainly hope so, as I have grey hair from this kid already!!

 

He is 6- 6!- and he will get it, I promise. Last year a cousin started PS kindy and started reading really well ASAP (she is a year younger than DD). Oh, the flack I caught from the in laws for that, when my DD couldn't read yet. But, what I never pointed out to (but would love to!!) them is that: kids learn at different rates. They just DO. My DD potty trained early, and rode a 2 wheel bike at 4. Would it be reasonable to think other kids are "dumb" or "behind" because they don't do those things at the same time as DD? Of course not! Those are developmental stages children hit when they are ready. As is reading.

 

Could there be real learning disabilities? Sure, but I really think 6 is too young to make that call. If the same thing is happening at 8, maybe revisit it. But not 6.

 

:grouphug:I sure can relate to your post!!!

[Mountain View Academy]

My ds started K after turning 6 and had little interest in reading. We did phonics and he just didn't get the blending, etc. He also wasn't retaining sight words.

Fast foward to beg of 1st grade and I switched to R&S phonics and readers. The first reader is very simple - we flew through it and it boosted his confidence. I slowly added books that I thought he could read from the library while we continued with R&S - the workbooks really helped him. He needed to read and write to retain. He is now in the middle of 1st grade and is reading the Boxcar Children and Little House in the Big Woods.

 

Keep the faith! The lightbulb strikes everyone at different times.

[Hen]

I went into this school year trying to still teach a 6 yr old girl, and 2-8yr. old boys (now 9yr old) to read, and we've been at it since the boys were 5- gently, several starts and stops. We found out last year one of the boys (our bonus student) has an auditory processing disorder and it plays out in his problems blending- over and over it was choppy and just not happening. He had help this year from a tutor, called Learning RX, which really helped him.

 

My magic ticket this year for all 3 is Headsprout phonics, it is online and they enjoy using it. I like that it works the reading from different angles, they do clicking to identify the sounds, they here it said correctly, they sort of memorize what it looks like, they read sentences and find the picture for the correct comprehension and then the story is read back to them at the end, so they hear it. They are told to click a sound or word and say it. I am really glad I found it.

[Teri H.; Oregon]

Hang in there, he will get it. My first two boys practically taught themselves to read and were doing so by 6yo. My third born still wasn't reading at 8 and I was starting to panic. Something happened in his brain at 9 and all the repetition that we had done just clicked and he took off with it. My forth boy is doing the same thing as number 3. I still have to fight the panic, but he is getting it. My 5th born is 5.5 and ready to wiz past her two older brothers. They all just seem to learn when they are ready. Not saying to not be watchful for problems, but the majority of the time that is all they need,..more time. :001_smile:

[coffeegal]

We are basically doing K-5 over again this year since we got nowhere last year. I think there was a lack of maturity last year, but now he is genuinely trying and we still seem to be stuck in mud. We are currently in PP where they begin 4 letter words, which he HATES and have been working there for over a week. Sigh. Same words over and over, with no memory that he just did them or what they say.

 

I appreciate your words of wisdom. This is the first/oldest boy so it is trying to say the least. Will he catch up with grade level eventually, I thought this year he would kick in and we would get into first grade stuff somewhere during the year, but now it is not looking so good. :001_huh:

 

Have you checked his eyesight? Because teaching one of my ds was very similar. He had trouble remembering sounds and letters, and we started phonics over and over and over for years. After fretting over various learning disabilities and wondering if we should test for dyslexia, it turns out... he's extremely farsighted. :banghead: He can see a page and focus on it, but it's really difficult and he can not do it for long. Now all those phonics lessons did work. He was able to read at a 7th grade level once he could see the page.:hurray: Another child we know sees double close-up. This child has also had trouble learning to read. So it might be worth taking your ds into an eye doctor and checking for vision problems. Many can be easily corrected with eye exercises or glasses.

 

As far as remembering math problems, have you tried drilling him while playing ball or catch? Sometimes children will remember things better if they're jumping or moving while drilling.

 

Best of luck!

[Beth in SW WA]

Bribery :)

 

Every time my ds read a book when he was 5, I gave him a treat. He was obsessed w/ Bionicles back them. We had tons of them. When he read the first box of Bob Books he got a little Lego kit (the cheap ones). It might seem wrong, but it worked. :)

 

He was a boy who had no interest in reading. He wanted to run around and play, rather than sit and decode words -- until he realized there was a payoff.

 

He eventually discovered that it was much more fun to read Calvin and Hobbes on his own, rather than someone reading to him. That helped spur him on. (I know, its image-based, but I didn't care. It got him reading for hours/day.)

 

What sealed the deal was that his sister, then 4, was reading the newspaper and Time Magazine. To this day, he still competes w/ her.

[RootAnn]

It could be your child has a learning disability or it could be he is completely normal and just won't "get" reading until he is older.

 

A homeschool veteran friend of mine said teaching a child to read is very similar to potty training. You can start too early (for that specific child), be very frustrated, make your child upset repeatedly, and after a lot of time and hard work succeed. Or, you can wait until they are ready (well past when YOU are ready for them to be ready) and it only takes a short time with very little frustration on both your parts. Something has to "click" in their head for both things.

 

Some kids potty train very early and very easily. Some kids learn to read on their own early and easily. Other kids are like mine and it is a long and painstaking process. I'm on my third kid to potty train and I'm more stressed and pressured about that than I am about teaching #2 to read! I know it'll come in time.

 

100EZ probably doesn't hold the "key". Time will be the key and making sure your son doesn't have any developmental issues (visual processing disorder, for example). As tough as it will be to do this, I'd wait. :grouphug: Good luck!

[Terabith]

Have you pondered trying Headsprout or Read Write Type?

 

I might look into Bearing Away by Sound Reading Solutions. The I See Sam readers can be helpful to kids struggling with learning to read. Lots of repetition, but actual stories.

 

Six is very young. I wouldn't be particularly worried. I don't think you would go wrong by stopping and waiting for three or four months before trying again. It might give some maturity time to kick in. I might try working on oral blending and segmenting words, without using written words. Just play word games: /c/..../a/..../t/. What's that? I Spy with sounds "I spy something that starts with a /t/. What's the last sound in frog? How many sounds are in the word clock? If he can't do it orally, it's going to be almost impossible to do it with reading.

 

In the meantime, I might try something to work on fundamental processing skills. I think I'd try Balametrics and then move onto Audiblox to work on memory and processing speeds. But I'd give the Balametrics awhile to work.

Edited January 5, 2009 by Terabith

[SonshineLearner]

I have a running, jumping, crazy 5 year old son. He jumps up and down as we do his phonics. Can your son sing songs that he's memorized? We do all of his learning by repeating, chanting, singing songs.... Even though he'll only write when he wants to, he can sing a ton of info. And, we can check out cds from the library by readers such as Jim Weiss. (Yay! For free!)

I've thought of buying one of the balls that kids squeeze when they need to release energy; he uses his ball that you jump around one...to jump around the front room while we're learning.

My son likes the little magnet that sticks to our fridge, that you use to put letters in it...and it says the sound. It's actually pretty accurate. I'm not sure if you'd want to try something like this... If he likes computers, he could use the computer to do some reading, maybe? If it's a problem, I'd hate to dissuade you from getting help, but....I've heard that if it doesn't become an "issue" that children without learning disabilities will learn to read by the onset of puberty.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I had the same issues with my ds, now 10 and reading really well with good comprehension.

 

My oldest 2 are girls and I don't even remember teaching them to read. They just "got" it. I remember thinking to myself, "What's the big deal? Teaching reading is easy!" Then along came my ds, bless his little heart!

 

It was the same type of thing: not remembering things from one minute to the next, not able to blend, phonics was a complete bust, and even when I read aloud to him, he couldn't narrate back to me what I just read. I was really worried.

 

When he was 7 I got super concerned and wondered what to do next. By that time we were living here in Guatemala and getting a reading specialist to help or getting tested was really out of the question. So, I just really plugged away at it. A little at a time. I found books that he was really interested in and tried to read them aloud to him and see if he could read back to me (fwiw, we used Calvin and Hobbes believe it or not!).

 

We revisited phonics and it started to really click with him. It took time. I thought maybe he was ready when really, he wasn't before. I worked with him a lot everyday in small 10-minute segments on his reading and writing. It took about a year, but, I can honestly say that now, 3 years later, he is reading at or above grade level. His comprehension is really good. He can narrate back to me whenever I read and ask thoughtful questions about what we've just read.

 

I don't know if you have access to a reading specialist or not. If you do, just talk to them and see what they have to say. But, just keeping going at it, even through the frustrations, really worked for me. I realized that we had to review a LOT. But, it did eventually click.

[Dee in MI]

My son talked late, potty trained late, does not memorize easily, took forever on math facts, and, yes, did not read fluently until he was nine. Now he is nearly eleven and is reading at least on grade level.

 

We used just about everything you mentioned, and nothing really worked. In third grade, we dropped much of our content subjects and concentrated hard on reading, using The Writing Road to Reading. It worked. I'm not sure it was the program - it may have just been the timing. But I know it is a good program.

 

When he was reading little, we did almost all subjects orally, but he was required to do handwriting and copywork each day.