<p>This may be of no help whatsoever but I would put child to bed a little earlier and sit with them about 45 min. reading every single night- like, Cat In The Hat, and other easy books, pointing out simple words. Did you have an indication of this problem earlier? Is she hyper active? I’ve known parents who find the right sport for their child and this works wonders for their consentration. (Like Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis Center. They have MARVELOUS programs for the little ones.) I would spend the time every day with her and books. Even if this does not help her reading level it would be a great bonding experience for her and she will always associate you with books.</p>
<p>BHG, thanks. Your suggestion is timely becuase that is exactly what we are doing. She doesn’t seem hyperactive normally. But ,she does has an obvious reaction to sugar/juice/ candy/ etc. There are times when she goes to her grandparents home and then comes home bouncing off the walls. When I call my mom to ask what she had, it’s usually juice that did it. The effect is amazing - within 15 mins she’s all over the place. Thus, school lunch and snacks/beverages are always no sugar items.</p>
<p>Anyway, reading time has been increased so that I and read to her and she can read to me - even if she only reads a couple of pages.</p>
<p>I agree that reading at bedtime is a wonderful bonding activity, but if it were going to help her learn to read independently, it would probably already have done so. This seems to be pretty much the basis of the “whole language” approach to reading: immerse a child in books and language, and the child will begin to catch on; then you can build on those first bursts of understanding.</p>
<p>It works for a lot of children, but not for all. (One of mine caught on fine, and the other just didn’t.) When a child is still struggling with even the easiest words by the middle of first grade–as my younger daughter was–I strongly recommend a professional evaluation. But it’s great to keep reading anyway. :)</p>
<p>jym is right on target, a pediatriac neuropsychologist should be your next step for a full assessment. Wish I had known that when my oldest was in first grade. We wasted a lot of time with reading programs and public school assessments until we got a neuropsych eval in 5th grade which told us how to teach him. Good luck momsdream!</p>
<p>An aside, Emerald, I’ve seen you mention Kumon often. It seems to me that it is purely rote and doesn’t teach real math skills. Am I missing something? What do others think?</p>
<p>Thanks, Kirmum. It still surprises me, even though I have been in this field for over 20 years, that so many people do not know what a neuropsychologist is. I am glad you had a good experience with one.</p>
<p>Momsdream, I know nothing about reading disabilities, but I do have a story to share:
A friend of mine home-schooled his son. He was quite worried about his inability to read, until at age 9 it just “clicked”! He became an avid reader after that time. His doctor told the father, that he did the best thing in the world by homeschooling his son, explaining that he would have been “labeled” and frustrated had he gone through the typical education system. Homeschooling gave him the added time he needed.</p>
<p>I’m not pushing homeschooling by any means. I am only suggesting that perhaps time will help heal your fears. In the meantime keep watching, and asking the questions. If there is something that needs assistance, hopefully it will be found. </p>
<p>You’re obviously a great mom!!!</p>
<p>kjofkw - thanks for sharing that story. I have thought about homeschooling and would be all for it if 1. I had the patience to teach, which I don’t 2. I could stop working. But, to your point, finding the right environment seems to be key here. A few parents “in the know” have been PMing me suggestions on alternative learning methods and schools to consider. I am open to the idea of changing schools, as is my D. There is a Waldorf school about 5 minutes away from me - The Waldorf School of Philadelphia - which I am going to consider. It may well be the next best thing to homeschooling. </p>
<p>I think homeschooling is great! Once I know what we’re dealing with, I’ll be asking you all for your opinions on various possibilities.</p>
<p>I agree with the posters that your D needs to be assessed by a specialist to get a handle on the problem. It could be any number of things from vision issues, learning disabilities, ADD, and a multitude of other labels. It could also be a combination of all of these things, or none of them. </p>
<p>It seems to me your daughter has a lot going for her as she is enjoying reading at the more elementary levels, and she is really only in first grade. I’ve always had a problem with some schools’ “watch that first step” situation. They don’t teach kids to read in kindergarten and stress that this is totally unnecessary. Then all of a sudden, in first grade, nearly every kid in the class is reading chapter books except for your kid and a handful of others sent to the reading specialist! What the heck did I miss here? That is the modus operandi of a number of schools I know, public and private. Our neighbors who are husband/wife physicians were just fuming about this with their daughter, and their kids go to a very highly regarded Jewish school. No reading taught in Kindergarten, and this is told to the parents upfront because they don’t want to hear about this. But all of a sudden in 1st grade, everyone is reading. My neighbors felt that they had to hire a tutor this summer (they were aware of this situation as this is their third child through this system), but they were quite resentful of the way this school operates. A lot of this is because parents start teaching the kids to read regardless of what the school says, so that when the reading books are cracked open, many of the kids are already way ahead. I was blind sided this way myself since I believed what the teachers were saying to me, and ended up having to work with my oldest son as he too was not reading until he was about 7 and a half years of age. Had I known that everyone in first grade would be reading at that level, I would have told the preschool-K teachers to go jump in a lake and pushed him to learn to read. And invested in those Doman flashcards that everyone seemed to be using when he was a toddler. But I can also tell you that I have one who really was still on level 1 type readers until he was 8, and another who was a poor reader up until he was 9 and a half, but both picked up and really moved after a point. Both are strong readers now–S1 graduated college this past year, and S5 is in 5th grade and makes 2nd honor roll, and reads well beyond his grade level. I believe the younger one has some learning issues, but after many assessments from many specialists no one can pinpoint his problems other than he is slow developmentally, but appears to be on a normal or even slightly accelerated learning curve. I probably should have put him back a year, but this school really did not feel this was necessary. Some vision issues were discovered, among other things, and he does wear glasses now. Reading out loud is a problem because he has a stutter. But he is working his way slowly up the aptitude chart, jumping 10 points each year, and he hit the 75th %tile last year. Because of a number of other issues that he had as a toddler, we really did not worry too much about the slowness, and he looks like he has made really good progress. And the reason he is in a private school is because he is not labeled and pulled out here as he would be in the public school. </p>
<p>The other curious thing about our public school is that it seems that about 65% of the 1st graders read at about a 2nd-3rd grade level—at the beginning of first grade, but the kids who graduate are not a lot to brag about given the socio economics of the area. The average SAT1 is below the national average (yes, just slighlly), but more incredibly there are not many kids in the higher echelons .</p>
<p>jamimom, you hit the nail on the head! What you’ve described is just what happened. Everyone was bumping along just fine in kindergarten - arts and crafts - practicing letters - writing their names, etc. No reading. Suddenly, first grade starts and I <em>thought</em> everyone was on the same page - learning “on” “yes” “cat”…then, all of a sudden…whoooooooosh…they’re all reading chapter books…and the teacher sends home a note in Oct saying that each week 1 student will be “author of the week” and will read in front of the class. And the weekly spelling words started to get harder and harder. And my D says “mommy, so and so came in today and read a whole book to us”…and I wanted to call so and so’s mom and tell her that she cheated over the summer, I know she did! And by Nov the teacher was calling me in and giving me the pity look becuase my D wasn’t reading the Chapter books. I felt like I was the only one who didn’t know the summer secret - have 'em reading by Sept 1. </p>
<p>I’ll show 'em. Gonna teach my D some advanced math and ask the teacher why the rest of the class isn’t keeping up! ;)</p>
<p>Also add in the fact that so many kids are arbitrarily held back in pre-school for one extra year to give them an “edge.” That can mean normal kids are often with classmates a year older than they are, and can thus appear “slow.”</p>
<p>Momsdream, my advice is not to even look at other schools before an assessment is done. In my experience, most bright kids who do not learn evenly with the others have a learning difference. Only understanding what that difference is will enable you to choose the right learning environment.</p>
<p>My son, now a junior in a highly competitive bioengineering program, has LDs. The lables mean nothng or I would list names. Bottom line for teaching him is that he is a visual learner. When we got a handle on that he was on his way. It was not always easy. The first AP was torture. He did the first 2 years of college at a cc so that we could continue with tutorials and support. He has done so well and his gifts in other areas amaze me.</p>
<p>All this to say that when you have a bright, eager child who is not learning conventionally, you’ll see that unconventional methods will work. You just need to find the ones right for your daughter.</p>
<p>I was wondering Momsdream, do you have her in a private school (like the one your son went to)? You are bound to have many over achievers there if you do and that means stiff competition for her.Could be stressful. Another thought is all those terrific Charter Schools now available, some really have great results. And the sweets, guess you could try to watch her diet. I remember commenting to a friend once that another boy was taking hyperactivity medicine in school and friend said,’ have you been in the school right before lunch ? There is a line of about 20 ouside the nurses office for their meds.!’ Can you believe it! Hate to see your daughter end up taking medicine or branded with a ‘disability’ when she may be just a little bit slower in this area. You know?</p>
<p>Momsdream, since I have one kid who was dyslexic and another who was a precocious early reader, I can assure you that it is not a matter of who “cheated” over the summer. I did everything possible to get my #1 kid to read - I read to him in utero (seriously!) - he was in Montessori from age 2 - the house was full of books and letter blocks & games, I worked & worked with him – and it just never clicked for him. I wasn’t pressuring him either - he loved being read to, all of our “work” was light enough to be fun - I had taken a clue from Montessori to let his level of interest be my guide. </p>
<p>Then after my experience with #1, along comes #2 and all I can think of is - well, I was wrong in thinking I could raise up a little genius by my doting attention - and I put the baby into a family day care home when I returned to work, turning down a coveted spot at the local preschool when she turned 3. She had dolls and music and dance lessons… but she didn’t like being read to, and I figured I wouldn’t push. And she’s the one who was reading anything she could at age 4 – I used to have to put books with anything inappropriate for a 4 year old out of reach lest she get her hands on it.</p>
<p>There were very clear differences in the way these two kids responded to words in print. There are also, to this day, very major differences in the way these two extremely smart kids think. </p>
<p>But my point is that while I agree that the way reading is taught in schools tends to be poor, there are some very bright kids who just aren’t ready to read at age 6 … and no amount of teaching is going to help. It’s all a matter of brain development and neural connections … until the child is ready, they just end up with a lot of information crammed into their head with no ability to connect it all up. More information can just lead to more confusion.</p>
<p>Also, I just want to note that a kid who can sound out CAT but not recognize the same word 3 lines later does not have a problem with phonics, but one with visual memory for words. If a child seems to be able to read longer and more difficult words but stumbles over the small words, it is more likely an issue with the visual or eidetic memory. If this is the issue, then no amount of teaching phonics will help unless the visual memory issue is also addressed. The kid will simply continue to sound everything out but be unable to recognize familiar words. A lot of early readers (including my daughter) are reading well simply because they have memorized the most frequently used words - the same words that show up on lists of basic sight words.</p>
<p>Sometimes all it takes is more time or more focus on actually “getting the kid reading.” But I sense that Momsdream is concerned that her daughter may be struggling with more than that. (In my own daughter’s case, she had already repeated kindergarten, and the more focused reading lessons in first grade weren’t starting to click. Something was wrong, and I wish we had gotten the big picture then instead of addressing little pieces of the problem for the next 4 years.)</p>
<p>A good assessment won’t label a child unnecessarily–it could just as easily say that the issues are developmental and simply need more time. But if there are genuine learning issues to be addressed, I believe it’s better to start early than to leave a child floundering. Kids know when they’re not keeping up with their peers on something as fundamental as reading. Unless they’re living in complete isolation, even home-schooled kids know–they start going places and playing games where other kids are obviously beginning to read.</p>
<p>Calmom-
You have done a good job of describing the difference between decoding a word (c-a-t) and encoding a word (writing or reading the word in context). There is a visual memory component to encoding and decoding, but there is still a sound-symbol relationship to word recognition.</p>
<p>Eidetic imagery is typically a term used to describe visual recall without a language component- somewhat like photographic memory. There is also something called word blindness where you cannot read words secondary to a visual problem. At any rate, there are a combination of lexical and phonological components to reading, and a good eval can help hone in on the issues for each individual child.</p>
<p>An evaluation can also determine if a child is reading on a normal developmental level, which would certainly be reassuring. In that case, additional exposure through reading, with implementation of basic reading strategies may improve reading fluency. But, I’m with Kirmum and Editrix. If a bright child is showing significant discrepancies in performance, and their performance is not on par with their potential, a further evaluation is in order. It is best to assess not only the childs weaknesses, but also a child’s strengths, so that the best type of intervention can be identified, anchoring on the child’s strengths. There are several reading programs used (Ornton-Gillingham, Lindamood- Bell, Wilson, etc) that have slightly different approaches. Good luck- and keep us posted.</p>
<p>“My 14 yr old daughter at the beginning of 3rd gd ( she was 8) didn’t know letter sounds and for all purposes could not read.
Because of her anxiety- she had been in a very small private school K-2 where she did well, except still was not making progress in reading and this really concerned me. I couldn’t afford to pay both private school tuition and a tutor, so we placed her in public school the following year where she recieved an IEP and by the end of the year was reading Harry Potter.”</p>
<p>Harry Potter has been around for that long? Wow.</p>
<p>“two hours is too much for 1st grade
I think the educational association made a statement of 10 minutes per grade
10 min 1st grade- 20 minutes 2nd etc.
I would sit down with teacher and ask how long homework should take.
I can’t imagine anyone assigning 2 hours of homework a night for 6 year olds, when are they supposed to sit like zombies in front of Sesame Street! ( I meant unwind )”</p>
<p>Which is why I wonder why some schools give too much. I had a lot of homework also. There were many parents who did not like the school systems here. Several of the pastors we have had at church over the years either hated the schools but had no choice to put their kids in them or refused to put their children in them and therefore their wives homeschooled their children. I seriously think that these kids had a lot more time to be kids–they could study for a few hours and then take breaks. In school, you have to be bored to death for 7+ hours straight basically, and some kids have to ride the school bus as much as 2 hours a day (one hour to school, one hour back home). I don’t blame kids for being worn out after they get home. I was worn out too. The first thing I did was watch TV…</p>
<p>“Momsdream, I know nothing about reading disabilities, but I do have a story to share:
A friend of mine home-schooled his son. He was quite worried about his inability to read, until at age 9 it just “clicked”! He became an avid reader after that time. His doctor told the father, that he did the best thing in the world by homeschooling his son, explaining that he would have been “labeled” and frustrated had he gone through the typical education system. Homeschooling gave him the added time he needed.”</p>
<p>This is similar to me. For some reason it took me a really long time to understand math completely. One day it just clicked with the right teacher.</p>
<p>As I said, Momsdream, an evaluation is in order, just in cases some insidious problem is there beginning to rear its ugly head. But I did want to share that “watch that big first step” syndrome that just about trip me up. My close friend in Baltimore who started her family late slammed into that wall. Her oldest had to go for special tutoring at a special school because he was not reading up to par in “prefirst” grade. Baltimoreans with kids in private schools will know that term–it was new to me. For kids who just miss the cutoff or are a bit behind for first grade, I guess you redshirt the kid a year to make him stellar later on (I did have one of mine repeat kindergarten whis is the same thing, and for athletics, wow, it does have an effect, especially as he was talented that way anyways). So my friend was paying for a special program along with a pricey private school, the kid was diagnosed with a bunch of syndromes all that vaporized in the next several years. He is now in middle school and is doing fine, and his mom has no idea whether he really had learning issues then that were “cured” or if he just needed a developmental lift off that the school did not want to provide. Sylvan makes a bundle off of that “big first step”.</p>
<p>Okay, dumb question, have you had her vision checked…my daughter at 5 had an eye that would not focus, was causing delay…just covering all the bases… we had know idea something was wrong…</p>