General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTime to bite the bullet and see if my son has a reading disability.
When it comes to school, my 8-year old son is like two different kids in one. His math skills are above grade level and he can already beat some adults in chess. He can remember small details from events that took place years ago and knows all 50 days by sight and location. But when it's time to read, he sounds like he's way behind and struggles to describe what he just went over. It's frustrating and worrying. The teachers from kidergarten on up say he's just fine, but I've always had this nagging doubt. Fear of learning the truth has kept me from having checked out, but we can't put it off any longer. Wish us luck.
MineralMan
(146,331 posts)After testing, you'll know, and if there's a reading problem, you can begin working on it. Good parenting. There can be many reasons for difficulty with reading. Most can be solved.
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)It sounds like your son is bright, and you're a supportive & involved parent - both those factors will be beneficial, if he does have a disability.
wyldwolf
(43,870 posts)Had/have the same issue with my daughter. Turns out she has convergence insufficiency. Eye therapy has helped tremendously.
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/treatments-therapies/vision-therapy-learning
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)frustrated and unhappy in school.
malaise
(269,157 posts)If you watch TV with him add the text and have him read it with you.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)struggles.
IdaBriggs
(10,559 posts)My daughter's reading has improved substantially over the summer thanks to the "closed caption/subtitles".
I highly recommend "Empress Ki." We also loved "Gu Family Book" but "Empress Ki" was our first and blew us away.
Good luck to the original poster!
malaise
(269,157 posts)for several years and was amazed at how well caption/subtitles helped the slower ones. One of my friends allowed her kids to watch an hour of TV before bed but only if they wrote down and looked up three new words from the closed caption every night.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)That struggled through school in my early years, until I was diagnosed, I strongly encourage you to follow through with the testing.
I, now, possess 2 undergraduate degrees, a Master, s Degree, a Professional Degree and a successful career; none of which would have come had I not been tested in the 3rd grade.
Good luck.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)I was dyslexic too. Got my masters anyway. In my day, you were slow, not dyslexic. Slow to bloom.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)I was called slow too. But could do math in my head and could recall just about anything told to me.
Thank the Universe Moms knew better and cared.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I was able to get help and by the 9th grade was in all regular classes, by the 10th grade I was pushing myself hard. Made honor roll the last semester of high school.
I have an undergraduate, MBA, and am a doctoral candidate.
I totally agree, if I would not have been tested I'm not sure all of that would have been possible.
I encourage the OP to share these stories with his child if it is determined that he has a disability and reassure him that there are plenty of people who have done well in life and overcome it.
randome
(34,845 posts)Sometimes experts leap to a fortuitous conclusion (for their practice), or are too stressed for time to do a proper diagnosis.
And different evaluations, even if reaching the same conclusion, may bring important details to light that might otherwise be missed.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Sometimes it seems like the only purpose in life is to keep your car from touching another's.[/center][/font][hr]
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)nowadays, there is also bullshit.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Making sure he has a correct diagnosis is important if he does have a learning disability. The diagnosis will determine what kind of help he might need.
lindysalsagal
(20,730 posts)Teacher here. Since almost everything in your child's life depends on reading, we've learned that the younger we can help, the better. Schools are about 1000x better at diagnosing and helping than schools were when I was in school. Don't let your own childhood impressions fog your judgement, because things are totally different, now.
With your help, your child will be fine.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)try looking at his eyes and how he sees. my partner used to get plastic sheets of different colors, clear plastic sheets, then put them over the page. Usually yellow helped clear up the 'eye noise' that made reading difficult. Even if it doesn't cure it I think you need to try. Could be his learning style for symbols hasn't been found yet. I used to do flashcards with my classes, all the abc's in order. I would say all the different sounds for the letters (about 46 sounds if I remember ... its been a while) correctly, then they would repeat them back to me, usually in a happy chanting rhythm. We did it five times a day for two weeks, rested a week, then did it again. I never, repeat never had a kid who couldn't read independently by Christmas and here's the reason why. I was old school and didn't know it was normal to have non-readers by mid year. My kids loved the cards, we often raised the roof and had fun.
Make sure to ask questions, cut through the BS that is typical in education now and hang in there. Get this going now. As they get older, they are harder to motivate. Kids WANT to learn. They give up when they fail without help for too long. You are doing good here. Don't wait. You wouldn't wait on a broken leg, don't wait for this. Good luck, honey.
Reading is magic. It was the greatest thrill I had as a teacher to finally see my five and six year old kids read on their own. Give them the skills, rote it out until they get it, then watch them go. No one gives kids enough repetitions on anything anymore because they (the teachers now) find it 'boring' (for them). This is work but it is only work for a while. -RVdss
kcr
(15,320 posts)If you haven't already, rule out eye problems like amblyopia (lazy eye) My older son had this issue.
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)He was about 6 when we figured it out. He ended up going to a special school for a few years where the treatment was one on one and advanced. He grew in leaps and bounds with their techniques.
He had to start with just one word at a time showing on any page he was reading - along with other exercises.
It's odd how we put off doing something about it. In our case his father insisted there was nothing wrong when I started noticing something was wrong several years earlier.
Good luck to you and your son. You are doing the right thing.
Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)My son is 8. He is the exceptionally bright, has a way above average IQ. He is very scientific. He also has a master grasp on vocabulary. He struggles with reading and writing. I've been working with his school. He's been through a few evaluations. He now has an IEP in place and receives in classroom support. He's made progress.
It's been very frustrating for him because he's so smart and has great ideas, but he can't express them through writing yet and he struggles with reading. It's hard on the kids.
Keep on top of the school. Many are very good at working through these challenges. Be a very strong advocate for him.
Good luck to you both.
Quayblue
(1,045 posts)He's really good in math (second grade this year), but I'm gonna bust ass with him and see what results we get. He associates words with memories, so I will work with him this way.
Good luck to you all.