I need help figuring out how to teach my 8 year old, auditory and comprehension issue

[Annie Laurie]

My recently turned 8 year old son, who is in second grade, seems to have auditory and reading comprehension issues. Here are specific instances I'm concerned about:

 

When we do WWE, he never knows the answers to the questions, I have to go back and re-read the passage with the answer every time. This has not improved in the three months we've been using it.

 

When I read aloud, he often can't tell me anything about what I've just read. Except when there are pictures or it's something he's very interested in, (such as Henry Huggins recently, ds eagerly described everything that happened when Henry tried to get Ribsy home on the bus). He can read well but still prefers picture books or DK style books with lots of photographs.

 

When he reads directions, he often gets frusturated and says he doesn't know what is being asked of him. Example, from his spelling workbook: "Write these words. Beside them write the spelling words that are formed from these words." Then there is a list of words to write on the blanks. He always asks me what he's supposed to do.

 

Today I had him take a reading assessment, and while he scored low 12th grade for things like word recognition, he scored mid 1st grade for comprehension. This is down from last year, and he was getting wiggly and this part was toward the end, so I should have broken the test up and let him do the rest tomorrow. But I still think his score in other areas compared to the comprehension part seems very uneven, and comprehension was his lowest score last year also. His score in phonemic awareness also went down, though still above average, and we were using ETC last year when he took the test so now I'm wondering if just hearing words this year is part of why that has gone down- he's not seeing phonics on paper anymore.

 

Other things about him:

 

He has an amazing memory and knows everything, I mean everything, there is to know about the US presidents and he has done the same with other "kicks" in the past. If it interests him, he soaks it in. However, it's always a visual component that catches his interest- the presidents kick started because of a poster I had on the wall in the school room.

 

He is a strong reader. He reads to me everyday and reads about as fast as I do without mistakes. I do think he retains a lot more about what happened in the story when he reads it himself rather than hearing me read it aloud.

 

He is very kinesthetic. He paces and hops around all day. Often, when it's too cold or hot to play outside, he will jog back and forth from one end of the house to the other. He has a need to climb and move a lot I get on him a lot for standing and climbing on the back of the sofa. When he's excited, he hops and jumps and can .not. sit still.

 

He spends hours doing things with his hands, like building stuff with snap circuits, making lego creations, playing chess and other board games. He loves board games!

 

He doesn't read for pleasure much unless it has pictures and is non-fiction.

 

He does enjoy Jim Weiss cds and listens to them every night and seems to remember those word for word, so that one throws me for a loop. Maybe it's the repetition in that case?

 

Anyway, thanks so much if you've stuck with me through all that. :tongue_smilie:

 

Does this sound like normal young 8 year old boy stuff?

 

Will he outgrow the comprehension issues with time, continuing with what we're already doing- WWE, SL readers, oral narration. Should I work through a reading comprehension program with him?

 

Should I be concerned about an auditory processing disorder?

 

I just want to help him enjoy learning and reach his fullest potential and am using things like Sonlight which might not be a good fit, so am looking for input. How can I help him strengthen his auditory and comprehension skills?

Edited January 2, 2009 by Annie Laurie

[Kathy in NC]

Even when he was in 6th grade, he would practice his spelling words with a ball between his feet! On, off, dribble from foot to foot...When I'd ask him to stand still, he was able to tell me he remembered better if he was moving! (Come to think of it, I had to drill math, vocabulary words, and whatever with his sister while she did handstands)

 

So, I'd let him move while you read - within reason, and stop frequently to have him summarize. Perhaps even paragraph by paragraph at first. If that doesn't help, I have some books I used with my oldest dd, who did have processing problems. They work on teaching kids to visualize what they are reading/hearing. They are up in my attic where I can't access them tonight, but I could grab them early next week if you need the names of them. (I think the author is Linda Mood Bell, or something like that. The one for math visualization is called On Cloud Nine. I just can't remember the name of the reading one.)

[Mandamom]

My dd8 has similar issues and I've started reading books at her tested comprehension level (about 1st grade) and we read through them together with me asking comprehension questions on page. We go over words and phrases that she doesn't know. She has never really cared to read even though she started reading at 4 and usually prefers short non-fiction pieces if at all.

 

The other thing we are doing is working on developing her ability to visualize what is being read. She has to "draw" a picture of a scene with her finger. Then she draws the next scene and then puts together the scenes when she narrates back what she just read.

 

This technique is one that we use at the school that I teach at in order to improve comprehension. The ability to visualize what is being read helps the students remember what it is they are supposed to be reading.

 

As far as outgrowing it, he might. But since many of my students at school have extreme comprehension problems and I've seen what it does to them to be 14 years old be able to read on a 6th grade reading level but have r no idea what they've read and hearing how it affects their self-esteem, I'd much rather be proactive in making sure that my dds comprehension skills increase now.

 

The other problem is that as they get older the reading level gets higher and if they are struggling in 3rd grade what's going to happen with the 4th grade material.

 

So, I am making sure that each book that we read is just slightly above her reading level and then we'll increase the reading level as she gets better at demonstrating comprehension both when she reads and when others read outloud.

[Annie Laurie]

I have some books I used with my oldest dd, who did have processing problems. They work on teaching kids to visualize what they are reading/hearing. They are up in my attic where I can't access them tonight, but I could grab them early next week if you need the names of them. (I think the author is Linda Mood Bell, or something like that. The one for math visualization is called On Cloud Nine. I just can't remember the name of the reading one.)

 

Thanks, I'll look for the one you mentioned and would love to know the name of the other one when you have time, thanks for offering! I appreciate your other suggestions also.

[Annie Laurie]

My dd8 has similar issues and I've started reading books at her tested comprehension level (about 1st grade) and we read through them together with me asking comprehension questions on page. We go over words and phrases that she doesn't know. She has never really cared to read even though she started reading at 4 and usually prefers short non-fiction pieces if at all.

 

The other thing we are doing is working on developing her ability to visualize what is being read. She has to "draw" a picture of a scene with her finger. Then she draws the next scene and then puts together the scenes when she narrates back what she just read.

 

This technique is one that we use at the school that I teach at in order to improve comprehension. The ability to visualize what is being read helps the students remember what it is they are supposed to be reading.

 

As far as outgrowing it, he might. But since many of my students at school have extreme comprehension problems and I've seen what it does to them to be 14 years old be able to read on a 6th grade reading level but have r no idea what they've read and hearing how it affects their self-esteem, I'd much rather be proactive in making sure that my dds comprehension skills increase now.

 

The other problem is that as they get older the reading level gets higher and if they are struggling in 3rd grade what's going to happen with the 4th grade material.

 

So, I am making sure that each book that we read is just slightly above her reading level and then we'll increase the reading level as she gets better at demonstrating comprehension both when she reads and when others read outloud.

 

All very good advice and ideas, thank you!

[SkiMom]

This sounds a lot like my son. He struggles with reading comprehension too...both with books he has read, and books that I read aloud to him. He also has trouble with oral narration. We are doing WWE as well, for remedial work, and he still has trouble answering the questions and really isn't improving. My son is in Grade 6 - almost 12 years old and has had these struggles all through his school years so far. I have seen some improvement with maturity, but reading comprehension is definitely his weakness. When he was in Grade 3 - around age 8, I had him tested and found out that he was both ADHD and gifted. It answered a lot of my questions about what I was dealing with...and helped me understand my son so much better.

 

My son reads very quickly and tends to be sloppy reader, even though we have done lots of phonics work every year since K. The problem is that he really doesn't care if he doesn't understand what he is reading or not....unless it is something he is interested in. My son is extremely interested in the weather right now, and can read anything about it, with no comprehension issues. The best advice I can give you is to let him choose his own books and let him read what he is interested in. The other thing I did was to have my son use Bob Jones Reading for a regular reading program. With this program my son reads a variety of different genres that he may not have exposure to if it was left up to him. Each lesson includes tons of oral comprehension questions that we work through together, as well as vocabulary work which is important to comprehension. The program also teaches a variety of different reading skills (like reading fiction, poetry, or reading non-fiction for information, reading charts, graphs and maps, how to skim, etc.) So... if my son spends the rest of his life only reading about tornadoes and hurricanes at least I know that he has had some training in how to read other material.

 

I also noticed that your son likes to listen to book CD's. My son does too, and although his oral narration skills are not very good when it comes to a book he has read himself...he can repeat almost word for word passages from a Jim Weiss CD, or an Adventure in Odyssey CD. The key here is repetition. My son has listened to these CD's a gazillion times, so he knows them very well. You could try repeated readings of the picture books he likes and see if his comprehension improves.

 

When my son was around 8 years old he often preferred picture books too. My son is very visual so those pictures were important for him...which I didn't realize at the time. Instead, I tried pushing him to read more challenging, longer chapter books. Looking back I wish I would have let him read easier material to gain better fluency and to develop more of a love of reading. If I could do it over I would change that. Even today he tells me he doesn't like to read...but when he finds a book that interests him he really does enjoy it.

 

Because my son is visual I also do lots of highlighting in his workbooks. The bright color keeps him focussed on what is important. You could try highlighting some of the key words in the instructions in his spelling workbook.

 

Sorry this got so long, but this has been a challenge that I have been dealing with for many years and is constantly on my heart and mind. I really had to spend lots of time working with my son, getting to know him better, thinking about how he learns, and not getting hung up on "doing it the right way". Your son is unique too, so learn from him and do what works for him. HTH!

[kellycbr]

I'm facing some of these same issues with DS8, and am very interested in all your collective wisdom. Any curriculums or books that worked would be helpful.

[Annie Laurie]

This sounds a lot like my son. He struggles with reading comprehension too...both with books he has read, and books that I read aloud to him. He also has trouble with oral narration. We are doing WWE as well, for remedial work, and he still has trouble answering the questions and really isn't improving. My son is in Grade 6 - almost 12 years old and has had these struggles all through his school years so far. I have seen some improvement with maturity, but reading comprehension is definitely his weakness. When he was in Grade 3 - around age 8, I had him tested and found out that he was both ADHD and gifted. It answered a lot of my questions about what I was dealing with...and helped me understand my son so much better.

 

My son reads very quickly and tends to be sloppy reader, even though we have done lots of phonics work every year since K. The problem is that he really doesn't care if he doesn't understand what he is reading or not....unless it is something he is interested in. My son is extremely interested in the weather right now, and can read anything about it, with no comprehension issues. The best advice I can give you is to let him choose his own books and let him read what he is interested in. The other thing I did was to have my son use Bob Jones Reading for a regular reading program. With this program my son reads a variety of different genres that he may not have exposure to if it was left up to him. Each lesson includes tons of oral comprehension questions that we work through together, as well as vocabulary work which is important to comprehension. The program also teaches a variety of different reading skills (like reading fiction, poetry, or reading non-fiction for information, reading charts, graphs and maps, how to skim, etc.) So... if my son spends the rest of his life only reading about tornadoes and hurricanes at least I know that he has had some training in how to read other material.

 

I also noticed that your son likes to listen to book CD's. My son does too, and although his oral narration skills are not very good when it comes to a book he has read himself...he can repeat almost word for word passages from a Jim Weiss CD, or an Adventure in Odyssey CD. The key here is repetition. My son has listened to these CD's a gazillion times, so he knows them very well. You could try repeated readings of the picture books he likes and see if his comprehension improves.

 

When my son was around 8 years old he often preferred picture books too. My son is very visual so those pictures were important for him...which I didn't realize at the time. Instead, I tried pushing him to read more challenging, longer chapter books. Looking back I wish I would have let him read easier material to gain better fluency and to develop more of a love of reading. If I could do it over I would change that. Even today he tells me he doesn't like to read...but when he finds a book that interests him he really does enjoy it.

 

Because my son is visual I also do lots of highlighting in his workbooks. The bright color keeps him focussed on what is important. You could try highlighting some of the key words in the instructions in his spelling workbook.

 

Sorry this got so long, but this has been a challenge that I have been dealing with for many years and is constantly on my heart and mind. I really had to spend lots of time working with my son, getting to know him better, thinking about how he learns, and not getting hung up on "doing it the right way". Your son is unique too, so learn from him and do what works for him. HTH!

 

Not too long at all, I really appreciate hearing from a hsing mom who has btdt. The highlighting idea is great, thanks for sharing that and the other ideas that have worked for you.

[Kathy in NC]

I finally found the box in the attic! The book is called Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking and it is by Nanci Bell. (Could I have been any more wrong about the author?) It was published by the Academy of Reading Publications. ISBN is 0-945-856-01-6. Hopefully this is helpful to you. Kathy

[Annie Laurie]

Kathy, thank you SO much!

[Mandamom]

I finally found the box in the attic! The book is called Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking and it is by Nanci Bell. (Could I have been any more wrong about the author?) It was published by the Academy of Reading Publications. ISBN is 0-945-856-01-6. Hopefully this is helpful to you. Kathy

 

That's what we use -- the technique I described in my earlier e-mail. It has produced great results.

[Mom0012]

My son has struggled with both reading comprehension and his receptive language. His problems were pretty severe, so we had him do a program called Lindamood Bell's Visualizing and Verbalizing. My son wasn't picturing things in his head and that was really affecting his comprehension. The V/V program really helped him with that. There is a more parent-friendly program called IdeaChain which can be done at home to help with this problem as well. Something like this should also help with following directions.

 

I currently have my son working through the McCall-Crabbs reading comprehension book as well as Early Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter from http://www.epsbooks.com. I bought the second one because I had heard a number of positive reviews and I know epsbooks usually carries high quality products.

 

At this point, my son is very good at answering factual questions, but does not do as well with inferential ones. I've noticed the McCall-Crabbs ask a lot more factual questions rather than inferential, so he scores a few grade levels above his grade in this book. However, when we've done standardized testing, there are a lot of more inferential questions and he hasn't done as well.

 

One last series that I am considering for the future if I think he needs it is SRA's Corrective Comprehension series. You can find them on e-bay if you watch.

 

I hope there is something helpful in here for you.

 

Lisa

[Annie Laurie]

That's what we use -- the technique I described in my earlier e-mail. It has produced great results.

 

That's good to hear, I am definitely looking into that.

[Annie Laurie]

My son has struggled with both reading comprehension and his receptive language. His problems were pretty severe, so we had him do a program called Lindamood Bell's Visualizing and Verbalizing. My son wasn't picturing things in his head and that was really affecting his comprehension. The V/V program really helped him with that. There is a more parent-friendly program called IdeaChain which can be done at home to help with this problem as well. Something like this should also help with following directions.

 

I currently have my son working through the McCall-Crabbs reading comprehension book as well as Early Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter from www.epsbooks.com. I bought the second one because I had heard a number of positive reviews and I know epsbooks usually carries high quality products.

 

At this point, my son is very good at answering factual questions, but does not do as well with inferential ones. I've noticed the McCall-Crabbs ask a lot more factual questions rather than inferential, so he scores a few grade levels above his grade in this book. However, when we've done standardized testing, there are a lot of more inferential questions and he hasn't done as well.

 

One last series that I am considering for the future if I think he needs it is SRA's Corrective Comprehension series. You can find them on e-bay if you watch.

 

I hope there is something helpful in here for you.

 

Lisa

 

Thank you very much, Lisa! I will take a look at all of those.