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9 year old can't read, need cheap/free suggestions


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Sweet2ndchance:

 

Please see my later post.

 

But I actually think homeschoolers need to create a culture of accountability. Too many people are afraid to draw a hard line and it is failing the children. I've seen enough to feel compelled to speak when it seems appropriate, even if it makes someone uncomfortable.

Edited by Faithful_Steward
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Dawn,

 

It might be a good idea to start with a checklist like this. http://www.literacyresourcesinc.com/assets/1/7/Kindergarten_PA_Assessments.July_2014.pdf (Just google phonological awareness checklist if you don't want to click on the link.) If the girl does well then your friend could follow up with Phonics Pathways and lots of reading. Otherwise, time for testing.

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We are dealing with a very small amount of third hand information. This mother seems to understand she is not providing enough and is asking for help. You would dump more on her already full plate by reporting her?

 

We don't know anything about the situation except that this mom has just been through a divorce and is now asking for help. It is possible the reason she divorced her ex-husband has something to do with the reason why adequate instruction wasn't provided before and now that she isn't under his control anymore, she is reaching out for help, but the answer she should be given is to make her send her child to school against her will because her daughter can't read? That sounds to me like a good way to make her not ever reach out and ask for help again.

 

If the mother didn't see a problem with the situation at all, my opinion might be different but the fact that she is trying to reach out and get help tells me there is more to the story than we are getting here and I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps for now, the only help she is ready to accept is the help of a friend. I know after my divorce from my control freak ex-husband, it was very difficult for me to ask others to help me even though I knew I needed it. 

 

I say give her all the help you can give and encourage her, but don't push her, to do what needs to be done for her daughter's education, whatever that may be. Even if she has received no type of formal education before now, her daughter is not "ruined for life" at ripe old age of 9. With the right help and encouragement, she could be up to grade level by the end of the year possibly assuming she's neurotypical. My oldest son was a very late bloomer with reading but it definitely was not for lack of  reading aloud to him since he was an infant and trying every thing under the sun to teach him to read from the time he was 5 years old. He tested neurotypical at age 9. Finally started reading on his own at the age of 9.5yo and caught up and surpassed his peers by the time he was tested again at age 12. He is graduated from high school now and is following his dream of being in the military. No one would know from talking to him now that he couldn't read when he was 9. 

 

My son didn't read until age 9 either and still struggles.  He has an LD.  But he is getting a 3.9 GPA in college right now and academic scholarship offers!  I am glad no one called to turn me in!  

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My son didn't read until age 9 either and still struggles.  He has an LD.  But he is getting a 3.9 GPA in college right now and academic scholarship offers!  I am glad no one called to turn me in!  

 

No, I don't think the mom should have CPS called on her unless there is some actual neglect or suspicions of abuse.

 

It is my opinion based on my Communicative Disorders coursework that a 9 y.o. who is not reading should be evaluated for LD's. Certainly there are some "late bloomers" who will catch on fine once they are ready to read. But the tests are designed to discriminate between "late bloomers" and those with LD's.

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I was thinking about this last night and thinking that it is quite possible that the girl is doing the online program just fine if she has an LD.....I believe those computer programs/curriculum choices have a "read to me" feature and she could get by with computer the reading to her.  I should tell my friend to ask her about that.  

 

 

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A virtual program would have required reading, writing, and projects. How did she do on those? How much was mom involved? Was she providing accomodations like reading to the child? Was she disengaged and letting the child muddle through on her own? Hopefully mom and the teacher were both involved and can provide documentation; it will make the testing process so much quicker!

 

 

My son didn't read until age 9 either and still struggles.  He has an LD.  But he is getting a 3.9 GPA in college right now and academic scholarship offers!  I am glad no one called to turn me in!  

 

I did not say that your friend should be turned in because she has a child that does not read. Please do not manipulate what I said.

I have a child with dyslexia and dysgraphia, too. I knew there was a problem because I was working with him on a daily basis. We pursued testing through qualified professionals, not tutoring through our neighbor.

 

Teachers and parents are the most critical element in a child's academic success. It makes sense for this mother to start with self-examination. We take on that burden when we choose to homeschool.

 

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I am thankful everyday that after my divorce no one blamed me for any of my children's perceived academic short comings. My oldest son was reading and reading well by that time just like his siblings but my second oldest was dysgraphic and I thought sure my oldest daughter had some type of LD too but come to find out she was just testing the limits and was actually better at math than I even guessed (I knew she was good but I never imagined she would be labeled as gifted in math. She fought me so hard on it at times. She still under achieves at times even for teachers she adores so I know it wasn't just me.) Everyone just met the kids where they were at, helped as best they could and for the most part, they are all doing just fine now.

 

I think what struck a chord with me was the notion that this mother has ruined this child's life based on what little information we have here. No child is ruined for life at the age of 9 no matter what educational philosophies the parents follow. Yes, Faithful_Steward, you did come back and rehash your words a little but only after more information was given about there being an online school involved. As of your most recent post, you still seem to be of the opinion that this mother is not doing right by her daughter by asking for help when we still only really know very little about the situation as a whole. We don't know if she is trying to get the online school involved. We don't know if she has asked more than just the OP for help and possibly been shot down or shunned. We don't know the attitude of her local school district toward homeschoolers in general and whether that plays into her fear of public schools. We don't know what her situation was during her marriage, during her divorce or after her divorce.

 

All we know is that she is reaching out for help, possibly in the only way she feels comfortable with right now. She should be applauded for being brave enough to take these baby steps and directed toward even more help if that is truly what this situation calls for. Telling her that she is ruining her daughter and that she should be held accountable for not only that but also for not asking the right people for help isn't likely to bring about the changes needed for this mother and daughter. In all honesty it is likely to have the opposite effect of making her not want to ask for any more help because she feels like no one wants to actually help, they just want to judge and take away the last shreds of dignity she has left while she is trying to rebuild a better life for her and her daughter.

 

I think we may just have to politely agree to disagree because while I have no problem with accountability, I do have first hand experience with what this mother is likely going through right now and I know first hand how much farther a little kindness and support can go when it feels like all the world simply wants to judge and dictate.

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A virtual program would have required reading, writing, and projects. How did she do on those? How much was mom involved? Was she providing accomodations like reading to the child? Was she disengaged and letting the child muddle through on her own? Hopefully mom and the teacher were both involved and can provide documentation; it will make the testing process so much quicker!

 

 

 

I did not say that your friend should be turned in because she has a child that does not read. Please do not manipulate what I said.

I have a child with dyslexia and dysgraphia, too. I knew there was a problem because I was working with him on a daily basis. We pursued testing through qualified professionals, not tutoring through our neighbor.

 

Teachers and parents are the most critical element in a child's academic success. It makes sense for this mother to start with self-examination. We take on that burden when we choose to homeschool.

 

Manipulate what you said?  What are you talking about?

 

I do not even  know this family, I am simply trying to help.  I don't know ANY of the answers to ANY of your questions and may never know.  

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I was thinking that nothing would be said about testing until she had gained a rapport with her, by working with her daughter for a length of time.  Hopefully Phonics Pathways with some early readers is all she would need and nothing further would need to be done-KWIM, but if she did show signs of a disability she would at that point have a place in the discussion, as her personal tutor.  The mom may even become less defensive about the public school if she knew that what she could do for her daughter she did (allowing her to be tutored), and that the public school wouldn't be looking down on her-KWIM.  If she is on Medicaid she may not even need to use the public school, but could go through her pediatrician for referrals to appropriate testing.  May God bless this situation.

 

Around here, asking the pediatrician to recommend a referral to appropriate testing for a school age child gets you referred back to the schools -- They expect you to use the schools for certain tests (even speech testing!)

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Around here, asking the pediatrician to recommend a referral to appropriate testing for a school age child gets you referred back to the schools -- They expect you to use the schools for certain tests (even speech testing!)

 

My insurance will only cover medical testing.  When we went for Autism testing, we had to pay out of pocket for the IQ and academic testing, which needed to be done first.

 

It was expensive.

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I had a child who couldn't read much at 9, it was 10 when he was diagnosed with Scotopic Sensitivity Disorder. The difference in his writing/reading was remarkable after that. You could use the free short/long test online {or your friend could} to decide if it might be worth looking into.

What about checking at the library? We found 100 Easy Lessons at our library way back in the day.. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Around here, asking the pediatrician to recommend a referral to appropriate testing for a school age child gets you referred back to the schools -- They expect you to use the schools for certain tests (even speech testing!)

Wow.  I went through the public school for my sons speech testing, but it was my choice; I would not have been happy if my pediatrician made me use them instead of an insurance referral.  I know that the school I am working with is already insinuating that if I don't enroll him for K that they won't help us anymore.  I don't know what parents would do in a situation like that, if the school doesn't want to help, but that is where they are being referred to.  I know legally the public school is supposed to help, but it may be hard to enforce. 

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I think I would probably  go to a private SLP if the schools around here wanted to be catankerous about providing services that my child needs simply because we homeschool. The law is on my side and I could lawyer up and force them to provide services but I just don't think that would be conducive to a good working relationship and just make everyone, including my child, uncomfortable. It's 3 hour trip once a week and a co-pay for us to go to a private SLP but I think it would just be a better situation all the way around. So thankful that not only is the public school here amenable to working with homeschoolers but the SLP my son sees at the public school is a homeschooler herself lol.

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What does she mean by 'can't'?  Does she slowly sound out with phonics?  Have no idea what to do with print? Has been haphazardly taught and doesn't have the skills?  Mixes up basic phonetic sounds?

 

If you can get your friend to be more elaborate about the problem I'm sure the responses will be more tailored to that.

 

 

This.

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I think I would probably  go to a private SLP if the schools around here wanted to be catankerous about providing services that my child needs simply because we homeschool. The law is on my side and I could lawyer up and force them to provide services but I just don't think that would be conducive to a good working relationship and just make everyone, including my child, uncomfortable. It's 3 hour trip once a week and a co-pay for us to go to a private SLP but I think it would just be a better situation all the way around. So thankful that not only is the public school here amenable to working with homeschoolers but the SLP my son sees at the public school is a homeschooler herself lol.

I feel so blessed to be getting any help, as we presently have no insurance.  The speech pathologist is fabulous, and is working against the public school in regards to amount of therapy each child receives, as they only want to give severe phonological disorders one 20 minute session weekly.  It is the special education department that stated that at our IEP meeting- that when he began Kindergarten they would have to "reevaluate" his qualifications as he will be homeschooled; I felt that she meant that they would not want him to qualify.  I love the school principal as he attends my church, and the superintendent of the school system is awesome as well and I was his top student when I took his science classes as a kid, so we are friendly.  They made the comment that he was the first homeschooler they ever worked with, so I feel that they don't really know what they are supposed to offer once he gets in kindergarten.  I will advocate for my little man, if I feel that we still need help that I can't afford independently.  Elizabeth has mentioned in another post about PROMPT, and once taxes come in next spring, I plan to set up several summer sessions for him; I have to budget for the transportation/therapy as our income is low.  I feel so blessed that I can afford the extra sessions that I am being offered right now by our present speech pathologist, and I know a Prompt season of sessions will only help him more.  Sorry about hijacking the thread. 

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All of Sam Blumenfeld's books were put online for free when he died. May he rest in peace and God bless his children.

http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/Tutor.htm

 

I use Sam's smaller version of Alpha-Phonics called Phonics for Success. I order my copies from the seller RemnantMan and get speedy and excellent serve from him. I love, love, LOVE this book!

https://www.amazon.com/Phonics-Success-Samuel-L-Blumenfeld/dp/1495144216

 

I use How to Tutor as a supplement for the above book and especially for the math. 

https://www.amazon.com/How-Tutor-Samuel-L-Blumenfeld/dp/0941995011/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0941995011&pd_rd_r=NRSFJKS123QB19EQGB6G&pd_rd_w=ykGaC&pd_rd_wg=XFlyt&psc=1&refRID=NRSFJKS123QB19EQGB6G&dpID=51lQiYHS1%252BL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=detail

The second page of this pdf shows how to combine How to Tutor with Ray's, and links to some other free stuff for math. Scroll down to the second page.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwa0bk9o4pA3cU1DRWo5WlBsMFk/view

 

Don Potter sells an anthology to match Alpha-Phonics and I like it very much.

https://www.amazon.com/First-Readers-Anthology-Blumenfelds-Phonics/dp/1481169556/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1481169556&pd_rd_r=9TZ7KJG467G0Q7S002M5&pd_rd_w=DvQBG&pd_rd_wg=9zPpM&psc=1&refRID=9TZ7KJG467G0Q7S002M5&dpID=51OsnEZeTyL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=detail

 

Don Potter has free resources to supplement Alpha-Phonics, including handwriting resources, both cursive-first and manuscript. 

http://www.donpotter.net/reading_clinic.html

 

Even though Sam advocated cursive first and a right-slanted hand, I no longer do that. I use Don potter's manuscript and then switch over to Spalding cursive, a vertical hand, if I'm going to teach cursive to that student. Writing in cursive requires a level of multitasking and thinking ahead that is beyond some LD students, who do better writing each letter as a single unit.

 

http://www.donpotter.net/pdf/shortcut-to-manuscript.pdf

 

http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/11gth.html

 

https://athlosfifth.weebly.com/uploads/8/3/6/5/8365772/beginner_handwriting_packet.pdf

Edited by Hunter
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It doesn't sound like the girl will be tested since the mom doesn't have any money.    

 

 

 

The girl is signed up for online schooling through the state  

 

 

She should be able to get free testing through the school system. You can generally get testing done even if you are not in public school, but online schooling through the state equals public school. 

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