if your child was a delayed reader, when did it "click"?

[SkateLeft]

My older ds didn't start reading until he was 10. At 8, I had him tested for an LD at the local California State University education department, and the results were, "He may have a language based learning disability, but because we can't verify the hours of instruction due to him being homeschooled, we're unable to make a conclusive diagnosis." Why, thank you for that useless information!

 

He just ended up being a delayed reader. Now he's my most avid reader! He had to find his spark. He started out reading Rick Riordan books (slowly and painfully working his way through), but he really took off a few years ago, when he read the Dragonlance books. Those are what took him from a slow reader to a fluent, adult level reader. He always has his Kindle in his pocket, and he reads everywhere and anywhere. We enjoy a lot of the same stuff so it's super fun to talk about books with him, though he really likes modern political history and thought, which isn't my thing.

 

He's young for his grade (August birthday) so red-shirting him for a year before high school was always a possibility in our heads. He ended up not needing it though, because his skills took off so much during his 8th grade year.

 

He just took the ACT as a 10th grader for admission to dual enrollment, and scored in the 98th percentile on the reading section. He's talking about pursuing law school. 

 

As a delayed reader, his vocabulary was pretty limited for a while, but that's no longer an issue.

 

He's still a terrible speller, though that's improved a bit over the last couple of years, probably due to his constant reading. He doesn't see the words in his head the way most people do. I decided a few years ago to buy him a little electronic spelling dictionary and stop fighting the battle. He went through Logic of English at 12 years old and that was the end of our spelling instruction. He actually did better with spelling once I decided it wasn't a hill worth dying on anymore.

 

His writing skills have lagged also, but they're rapidly catching up. He's taking classes through Bravewriter, and that's working well.

[alisoncooks]

I don't know what to call a late-bloomer and what to call *more,* but my oldest DD did not read until 8.5 (halfway through 3rd grade).  That was the point at which she went from struggling to read Frog & Toad... to reading Magic Treehouse and other chapter books on her own (and wanting to).  That was the point that I saw the leap from "do I have to?" and fighting our lessons, to wanting to read and being a reader.

 

Youngest DD is 7.5, and she is still slowly gaining fluency with simple words (has been through ETC4 but cannot read those words fluently).  She's not able to read "real" books yet (aside from controlled vocabulary readers).  Having been through the thick of it with her sister, I'm trying to let it follow its course.

 

 

A year later, I just wanted to update that this child (my oldest) is now a voracious reader.  She's finished several series (Warriors, Survivors, Seekers, Wings of Fire - obviously she has a preferred genre ;)).  Also, her spelling skills have improved with her reading (with little other work on my part, other than just plugging along).  She heavily identifies herself as a "reader/lover of books" (which is my goal).

 

Youngest DD (mentioned above) is still not fluent.  At 8y9m, she is already "behind" her sister in reading ability, however she lacks the internal motivation that oldest found.  That said, I see progress; I think she will reach 9 before she is an independent reader but I don't doubt she'll get there.

[Another Lynn]

Late by some standards, I guess.  At 7 1/2.  Which was the same time dc starting losing teeth.  

[MeganW]

Are you putting in the time, every single day?  EVERY day?  I did it maybe 3 times a week during kindergarten and it wasn't enough.  4 times a week during 1st grade wasn't enough.  We went through 100 Easy Lessons, and most of OPGTR, but EVERY DAY was the key for us.  

 

We finally moved from CCCCCAAAAATTTT to reading Magic Treehouse around age 8.  It took more than a year of solid daily work (on top of the prior years' less focused work), but when they did get it, it was overnight. All four are very strong readers now, and will choose reading over almost any other freetime activity.

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by MeganW

[8Arrows4theLord]

What a good thread! I have used Barton with 3 of mine and parts of Barton with the others. Very helpful. Love the spelling rules and the syllable division rules! My 9 yr. old is finally able to read an easy reader without sounding out every word! Happy day!  :hurray:  Hope the lady who originally started the post was able to find something that helped her son.