reading problems

kimberley wrote: my oldest son, Jacob just turned 7 last thurday. he is in grade 2 and has been stuggling in school. he is able to sound out words phonetically and nows about 20 words by sight, but he still tends to need help reading anything. he also writes him numbers and letters backwards. Like "s" or "b" or "7". he does math with ease, just writes the numbers wrong.

i am taking him in asap to get his hearing tested and eyes checked but i am almost positive that is not the problem. his school told me last yr that he was a little behind the other kids, but would be fine. this yr, they are calling in specialists into the school to decide "what to do with him". this meeting will happen in december. i am feeling a little rail roaded! i told them i thought he had a problem in kindergarten but was always told that he will catch up. now they are saying he has a problem that may not be dealt with in the school. i want Jacob to get help but i hoped it would happen in his school. i didn't want him going to a special school.

anyone else with a 7 yo care to share where their child is at with school? it would make me feel better to hear everyone else's experiences.

TIA,

Kaitlin'smom replied: wel I dont have kida that age (yet) but I do have a nephew that has had problems in school and he was daganosed with ADHD, but I dont think thats whats your sons problem is, sounds like he might have dislexa (sp). I have an extreme mild verson of it, that in a rush I tent to transpose nubers, I really have to be careful when I am busy at work. I hope yuo do find out what the problem is and he can get the help he need.

I also want to give you lots of

oh and i love the pic!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Nice pic!

I think that maybe it's also the school's fault for not investigating his early delays....instead of jstu assuming he would catch up, it's their responsibility as educators to make sure they aren't developmentally delayed in any way shape or form.

Maybe do some excercises at home and try to see if he always writes those numbers/letters backwards, or if it's jst in a rush - play a game, like a race...then do it REALLLLL slow... see if there is a diference. He's only 7....a lot of kids dont read properly until they're like 10. My brother didn't...and there is nothing *wrong* with him.

kimberley replied: i wish they did something about it then too we work with him at home 6 days a week at least 1/2 an hour a day. he does try to rush through things but seems to make the errors when he takes his time too. he has shown a lot of improvement in the past month but still isn't quite where they want him to be. the bigger problem is keeping his attention at all. it is nearly impossible. i am not sure if he has a problem or if he is just being a 7 yo boy.

thanks for the advice!

jcc64 replied: Hi there,
I don't remember seeing you around. I'm Jeanne, and I have 3 kids, 11, 8, and 14 mo. My 8 yr old has some speech delays, although none that affect his academics. I don't know where you live, or what kind of school district you're dealing with, but if you feel that his needs are not being met, you need to make yourself very well known in the school. Schools are required by law to provide support to students that cannot meet minimum standards. If they have identified him as being delayed, request a child study team meeting, which is sort of a brain-storming session between his teachers, counselors, social workers, etc. You are entitled to be present at these meetings, and I would recommend you do so. Many times, however, a child is behind in some way, but not so much that he requires intervention, and that is the time when you have to step in and make some noise on his behalf. While I'm not a teacher, my parents are, as are many of my friends, and they all agree that the children who are best served are the ones whose parents are most active in advocating for them. If you wait politley for them to help him, it may never happen. Go see the teacher AND the principal, and whoever else will listen, and put all your concerns in writing. Create a paper trail and hold them accountable. And be prepared to be persistent. The squeeky wheel really does get the grease in public school.
Good luck.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I love the picture. My DS is the same way. He is in grade 1 and very smart. But when it comes down to actually printing letters and numbers he is very sloppy! I would talk to your family doctor or his teacher and see if he can refer him for Occupational Therapy. This is what my DS's teacher did, we are on a waiting list though! Hopefully you can get some help for him.

mummyof2boyz replied: I am kinda in the same boat with ya except my son is 4. They are telling me that he is only at the speech level of a 18month-2yr old. He just started headstart 2 months ago and they already have a "team" of people that are going to help his speech get better. They say that he will get caught up with the other kids soon, but I am not sure. I hope it helps him. I hope that you get the help that your son needs.

Hug to you and Jacob

maestra replied: Hi-
Second grade is actually a good time to identify and work with these problems. We usually wait until then because children all learn at all different rates. Second grade is the catch up point. It can be the magical year when it all just "clicks" for children, therefore, we wait because we do not want to put labels on a child for things that they may grow out of (for lack of a better expression-I've only had 4 hrs sleep).

If your son has ADHD, that is a medical problem with which the school cannot help. That is between you and your doctor. A teacher or child study team can suggest medical evaluation, but then it is in your hands. However, if he does have it, you can request medical adaptations, called a 504 plan in the US. (You are in Canada if I remember correctly)

The reversals of letters and numbers tends to be a mental maturity thing ( a developmental level) and not dyslexia. However, it can be dyslexia. Meet with the team, who are there to help you and your son, and not to blame. Mention your concerns, and what you have done to work with him. And, be open to any testing they suggest.

Also- for reading strategies, phonetics are the least effective strategy to use. After trying to read a word, also ask him to look at the pictures, skip the word and come back after finishing the sentence, and discussing what other words could fit there based on the sentence and/or story.


HTH! Michelle- 2nd grade teacher for five years, moved to kindergarten this year in my 6th year. A public school teacher and PROUD of it!

Mom2_my3boys replied: I have a 5 year old son who started kindergarten this year. He has been writing some of his words and letters backwards. We had practiced alot w/ him before school started and he never had a problem. I don't know if he just gets to rushed and hurried at school or what. I have tried to contact his teacher 2 but she never returns my calls. Wait until parent teacher conferances tomorrow night! Also she never corrects it or even marks on his paper about it. Tyler was diagnosed w/ ADHD about a year ago. I haven't been able to talk to his ped. yet, we go in next week. I don't know if maybe he just forgets to go from left to right or what. I don't have much advice, but I understand what your dealing with. If you figure anything out please let me know. Also it is his name that he writes completely backwards, for the most part.

CantWait replied: Just wanted to let you know that if you could get him into some sort of reading recovery program it would probably work wonders.

In grade 1 Robbie had a problem reading, so his school put him into the program there. His teacher was great and it only took 15 minutes of reading a night at home. He was in the program for a little under half a year. Now he can never put a book down.

Good Luck and I hope his school starts taking it seriously. I'm sure it is bringing his self esteem down.

kimberley replied: i want to thank you all for your advice and support. it helps to know i am not alone.




i am not sure exactly what you mean, but we do go back a few times and try to identify the words again without sounding them out. the problem i find with pictures is that he memorizes what the picture is and doesn't bother to look at the word, so he is not actually reading. if you have any advice on how to keep his attention that would be amazing! mid word he stops and forgets what he is writing.

i will let you all know what happened after the meeting. thanks again for the advice!

maestra replied: Actually, memorizing the picture is a good thing. A good thing to do is take a "picture walk" which is going through, looking at all the pictures, and deciding what is happening in the story based on the pictures. Then, once he reads the words he will be able to anticipate what is going to happen. As he sounds out the words, remind him of what he said would happen.

Also- reading books that are patterned that have a change each page can be great for him. You want one that has a repeating sentence with 3 or 4 words that change on each page. I can't think of an example right now, but I will look.

Hope this is a little help, it's 10:30 pm and I did confrences all evening!

maestra replied:
Just a little info that might help-

Letter reversals (and even whole words) are very common in Kinder becasue the kids don't really understand letters yet. They have memorized their names as a series of marks, and often forget and write them backwards. 9 times out of 10, the child will learn how to write their name the correct way on their own. As their name is one of their first attempts at writing, we don't usually correct it (like writing on top of it or crossing it out or anything like that) because we don't want to crush their self-esteem and keep them from trying future words.

I have a little girl in my class that does the same thing, she came in not knowing any of her alphabet, and has just now started writing her name, but it is completely in reverse. Of my 24 kids, all but 4 write their name perfectly, and the learned how to do it just by labeling everything. Anytime he draws a picture or does anything, have him put his name on it. Provide an example for him to look at as he writes his name. When he's done, compare the two with him. If he notices the difference, let him correct it. Otherwise, just leave it until he does. It will come!

hth!

Hillbilly Housewife replied: If you haven't already....try getting him to read books by Dr. Seuss (Cat in the Hat etc...) they are funny, quick, and they rhyme. So it's easier.

kellykids replied: HI MY NAME IS TRICIA, AND I HAVE A 7 YEAR OLD SON WHO HAS THE SAME TROUBLE YOUR SON HAS. I KINDERGARTEN AND IN FIRST GRADE HE HAD THE SAME TROUBLE AS YOUR SON, AND LIKE YOU I THOUGHT AND TOLD THE SCHOOL OF HIS PROBLEMS AND GOT THE SAME ANSWER YOU GOT, HE YOUNG, HE'LL GROW OUT OF IT AND OTHERS. I AM NOW WITH HIM GETTING READY TO GO INTO 2ND GRADE AND WORKING ON HAVEING HIM TESTED WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR DYSLEXIA. YOU HAVE TO WRITE TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN YOU HOME TOWN AND INSIST THEY TEST YOUR SON. IF DIAGNOSED BY THE B.O.E., HE WILL GET FREE HELP FROM THEM. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ANY FURTHER, U CAN E-MAIL ME AND WE CAN TALK FURTHER. GOOD LUCK.

momof2girls replied: Kimberly
My daughter is now 8 and is an avid reader she loves to read but when she was in 2nd grade she was behind the other students...
We just worked withher at home, and also got her a game to play on the computer to help with phonics... Im sorry I cant remember the name of it, but it really helped her alot.
Kids now learn so much faster then when I was in school, I dont even remember learning to read until like 3rd grade now they learn by 1st grade...
Practice and see if they can offer tutoring at school and get some learning games.

Good luck, I know its hard on the mommy and kids.