He has had fantastic teachers this year and as much support in the classroom as he is ever going to get, but he's only getting further behind. I've had enough and have decided to try something different to address his problems.
For those who are interested in this kind of thing, here's a profile of our boy.
- On the WISC test, he scored - Verbal Comprehension - 98th percentile, Perceptual Reasoning - 90th percentile, Working Memory - 42nd percentile, Processing Speed - 16th percentile, Full Scale - 82nd percentile.
- He has no behaviour problems at school.
- He has a huge desire to read. He loves being read to and after I've said no more, he'll take the book away and keep trying himself. But his reading skills aren't up to books at his interest level.
- He has no problems with comprehension. All of his issues are with decoding.
- He reads for meaning, often substituting words with similar meaning, showing us that he doesn't read phonetically.
- He muddles the order of words on the page.
- He muddles the order of letters within words. This morning he read the word 'yawn' as 'away'. This kind of thing is very common.
- He can't track across the page with his eyes. He struggles to point to words himself. I need to do it for him.
- He is getting pretty good at doing comprehension exercises at school without ever reading the text.
I've been combing the net for scholarly reviews of this method. This one looks interesting and there are another couple, but nothing that makes me feel confident in handing over a significant amount of money. Does anyone out there know anything about any of this?
Wow, that is tricky!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if you've seen a behavioural optomotrist?
I hope this goes really well.
ReplyDeleteI'd certainly agree with Wendy about looking into a behavioural optometrist - they can do wonders for some children.
I haven't heard of the Davis program but I can say that your son is at a good age to tackle a problem like this because he has some skills that someone can work with and also if he is really keen to be reading then you are STREETS ahead.
So go well, listen hard, probably don't sign up for anything on the spot especially if it is expensive -if you are willing to pay they will welcome you when you are ready - and God bless you both tomorrow.
Did the OT send you to a behavioural optometrist?
ReplyDeleteIf it really was that good, everyone would be doing it.
I still want to assess him. It worries me that his high level auditory perception hasn't been assessed.
There is a good practice on the Gold Coast that deals mainly with Dyslexia.
It always worries me when a person with a disorder develops a program. There are so many different profiles of dyslexia and what works for one does not necessarily work for another.
Sometimes there is not a solution, just optimising his abilities, and being made more like Jesus through it.
I have post your ? to my group on Facebook (Dyslexic in America) I will let you know if anyone has info on this. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=139975459302
ReplyDeleteHe fits the visual dyslexia profile better than the dyslexic profile. Have a discussion with him about how he sees text. Is the text clear,uniform and in focus? Are all the parts of the letters there, are letters missing in words, do the words always look the same? Do the words move around?
ReplyDeleteVisual dyslexics often have no phonological or language processing problems and the first sign of any problem is when text is encountered.
Sometimes increasing the text size on the computer will increase fluency for visual dyslexics. Since increasing text size is not related to the more common processing problems of dyslexics it has no effect on the majority of dyslexics.
For more information about visual dyslexia visit www.dyslexiaglasses.com
As for the Davis Program , it is expensive and while there have been some success stories I hear from many that were not helped but paid thousands. Dyslexics generally do not think in pictures.
Every dyslexia intervention has non trivial amounts of non-responders. You need to match your son's problems with an intervention that addresses that problem or set of problems.
Only about 10 % of dyslexics have visual problems as a cause of their reading problems . Visual dyslexics need a visual intervention.
Visual dyslexia can usually be identified in children by having a conversation about how they see text. Those without visual problems will tell you they see the words just fine and the possibility of visual dyslexia can be eliminated.
Visual dyslexics can have their visual problems removed by See Right Dyslexia Glasses which have a money back guarantee .
This post has had me thinking overnight, and I wanted to comment.
ReplyDeleteMy 8 year old son is doing reasonably well at school, and the areas he finds hardest are reading and spelling.
He does lots of the things that you talk about your son doing. He finds it difficult to sound words from a page phonetically and he learns to spell words by memorising them. He reads a word with the sounds in the wrong order and comes up with a similar word (like away to yawn). He reads words in the wrong order in a sentence resulting in similar meaning but inaccurate reading (and sometimes misses meaning).
I can see your worry that your son is falling behind because of the reading difficulty, and I would be searching for any way to help, like you. A couple of friends of mine have taken their sons to behavioural optometrists and found it helpful, especially with visual tracking problems which seem to be part of your description.
I don't have answers but the things I wonder, are...
Are there different ways of learning to read and do schools focus on ways that some people respond better to?
Would music develop some of the sound/listening skills that assist with phonics? Or do some people just have an 'ear' and others don't?
There's probably more, but the list has stalled at 2.
I think it is worth trying different methods of teaching the skills for reading, and going outside the 'regular' system can be helpful. But I would have reservations about a large financial commitment, too.
Your son is really blessed to have a loving, encouraging family and that he enjoys books and stories.
will pray for the consultation
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone.
ReplyDeletere. Behavioural Optometrist
I'm loathe to go that way just yet. In year one we took him to a regular optometrist which showed he has no regular problem with his eyes. Whatever it is, it's not just an eye problem. The whole way that Joel's mind works is different to others (or different to mine at least!)
The specialists (guidance counsellor, gifted and talented expert, reading recovery teacher) have identified him as a visual/spacial thinker and explained that he sees words as pictures - which is why he confuses words with similar meaning - 'boat' can be read as 'ship'. The visual tag he has attached to both words is similar. While a b.o. might help with some stuff, the fundamental difference in Joel's learning style will remain.
But I'll keep the b.o. in mind.
The reason why the davis program appeals is because it seems to be made for Joel's particular type of dyslexia. But that could be me in desperation clutching at anything I can. I'll go along today and listen carefully. I won't be handing over any large sums of money yet.
Helen - I share your concerns. My mum (a pysch researcher) is looking at some journal articles for me. I think that it's quite possible that solid research hasn't made its way into regular teaching practice. Education is driven by so many things apart from best practice... I agree it is probably something we'll just have to bear and grow through. But I need to feel that I'm doing all I can. A trip your way may be coming soon!
Thanks Kath and Wendy and Meredith. I'll keep you posted on developments.
see post above!
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you have considered the possibility of toxicity - heavy metals etc that can interfere with neurotransmitter function. Just read a book that has been helpful for our family about the 4 A's (allergies, asthma, austim and ADD) and the author would include learning disabilities on that spectrum. There is a particular deficiency secondary to toxicity that specifically affects vision and visual processing. Might be worth a read. http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780345494511/Healing-the-New-Childhood-Epidemics-Autism-ADHD-Asthma-and-Allergies
ReplyDeleteHope you find a a solution AND grow to be more like Jesus!!
Jo Charles
Thanks Jo.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I do not have advice. I can only share my sons experience. He was found highly gifted in 2nd grade yet he could not read. Through supportive teachers he pushed through. Always in the lowest reading group, till around 5th grade his teacher realized he should be in the highest reading group. He realized it took my son twice or maybe three times as long to read a book, but his comprehension and ability to discuss the book were on a very high level. He is now in 10th grade with a 4.50 gpa with no accommodations. His Educational Therapist said because of his intelligence he was able to compensate. I know this doesn't give you any answers or suggestions.It may give you hope.
ReplyDeleteyou identify 'decoding' as the issue.
ReplyDeleteauditory decoding is a 'brain skill' that should be performed at a reflex level when reading. most kids aquire this skill naturally, but some don't - maybe due to something as simple as ear infections as a child.
but the brain adapts. if the auditory circuits don't do the work, then the child learns to decode using other parts of the brain. trouble is, those other parts are usually used for comprehension and forming memories. there's only so much horsepower available.
if your child has not learned how to decode fluently by himself, you can TEACH him to decode with systematic daily training. you can do it yourself, at home. it takes about 20 minutes per day.
here's a FREE site that provides auditory decode training materials: http://www.decode-abc.com
it's NOT an orton-gillingham program - OG tries to cover too much material too quickly. a child with decoding issues won't keep up.
our site is free. really. no harm in trying it.
BTW, one of our students, with severe issues, went through Davis with great results. but then he hit a wall until he came to us. Davis seems to be a multi-sensory focus on the alphabet (famously, plasticine shapes of letters).