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Help for reading fluency for my son, please?
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My 13-year-old son really struggles with reading. I have him read aloud to me almost everyday and it is painful for me to listen to him. It is such painstaking and slow work for him that he hasn’t been able to do much reading for instruction. He can read his own math lessons and other short reading exercises but that is about all. It isn’t that he can’t read every word but it’s like he needs to mentally decode every word before he says it. Another thing that has been happening is he has been mixing up “the” with “and”, “where” with “there”,etc. If I point them out he easily makes the correction. He does much better if I read his lessons to him but the other children need me too. Writing isn’t easy for him either.
How can I help him to develop better fluency? I thought it would come with practice like with my other children but it simply hasn’t. Any thoughts on how to help him?
I only have a minute but will get back to you ASAP. Have you had his vision checked? My ds had needed glasses for quite some time but we did not realize it. Just curious.
My ds, 15, has always been a “slow” reader and seemed to do as your ds does, so I understand where you’re coming from. Listening to my ds was painful and I could barely recognize the story/passage he was reading.
He’s doing much better but he still doesn’t read like I do (or his younger brother). He reads more like his father, but better. I don’t feel I can let him resign himself to that fact. My dh did not have any help so his situation was much different.
We did some tutoring years ago and I guess that helped but, really, he didn’t have a problem with isolated word lists, it was more paragraph form/stories/articles. He still takes in a deep breath when he reads aloud. Almost like he has to gear himself up for it. I have him read aloud to me daily from his history spine and poetry. Now that he is older, and more sure of himself, I enjoy listening to him read. It’s very purposeful, still slower than his brother, and he doesn’t fluctuate his voice much (he’s working on the words too much) but his reading skills have improved. We have more fun now and I’m not completely stressed out like I used to be. The only time I worry is when he is asked to read aloud outside our home. I just keep practicing with him.
I have to go. Hopefully others will give you some practical advice. Your son is not alone in this, just so you know.
I was going to mention vision as well. My 9 year old boy was reading as you’ve described and I was about to have him tested for learning disabilities, but heard that the vision check is a better first step. Sure enough, he has eye convergence insufficiency which is where his eyes do not work together as a team when he focuses. In essence it is sort of like double vision.
If you have a Kindle or an e reader try this: pull up a book that you think he should be able to read, one in which you know he should recognize/know the words. Have him read at a normal font, 7 or 9 point and if he struggles, maximize the font and see if it improves. This is not a proven way to know, but it will give you some idea. We are about to purchase a program from the eye Dr. which will correct the problem, but until we implement the program, my son who struggled to read the First Steps Pathway Reader is now reading books at his level on the Kindle in max font. Hope this helps!
Thank you ladies. Two years ago, we did have his eyes checked for this purpose, and he did end up with glasses but there wasn’t any improvement in his reading at all. It did help somewhat with the headaches he was having on ocassion when he tried really hard with his reading. The doctor he saw didn’t do vision therapy but after doing some research I’m wondering if that may be the way we need to go. Do any of you know if once diagnosed if vision therapy can be done at home? We live a long way from anywhere so being able to help him at home would be a real plus.
I did consider dyslexia but when he writes he doesn’t write letters backwards or anything like that. I could, however, be wrong.
Vision therapy could make a differense – I don’t know much about it.
Reversed letters in writing is not seen in large numbers of dyslexics…. so don’t see the lack of that sign as an indicator that he doesn’t have it.
Here is one list of symptoms – a few symptoms can be normal. And a dyslexic child likely won’t have all. But if you see a lot…. http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/symptoms-of-dyslexia
Thanks suzukimom, for that link. It sure gives me more to think about. He fits a lot of the symptoms except in areas of speech, sequencing, and handwriting. We do use AAS and I have found that it helps with his spelling but his reading has not improved.
My ds has nice penmanship and does not reverse letters, either. But he does have trouble, or some trouble, with spelling. He misspells simple words that I feel he should be familiar with but he promises he’s never seen before. He also has vision problems that are not just near-sighted related.
This issue has been the most troubling for high school. He’s just not able to read as much, or as fast, as most kids. But he has great comprehension and by the time he graduates he will have read and done more than I had at his age.
Your son’s reading problems sound just like my dd’s. She has dyslexia. She will be 11 in May. We went to an educational consultant and she put her in the Barton Reading System. We used it for a while, but it is so costly and the reading is too controlled, so my dd was getting bored with it. She has good phonemic awareness, so she doesn’t have trouble sounding out words, but with dyslexia, they don’t always focus in on every part of the word. They read by shape. That is often why they read a word wrong. When my dd does that, I just point to the word and say look at all the letters. Then she can often say it right. It is a long haul for these kids to be able to read independently.
There is a mom on another message board I am on and she has a son, probably close to age of your son, who has dyslexia, and she said she still has to read everything to him. Other than her reading practice, I read most everything to my dd for the different subjects, and probably will be doing that for a good while. Even directions in math. She does not pay attention to detail, so I need to make sure she is doing her work correctly. There is another mom on the same message board who also has a son(12) with dyslexia. We personal message each other often, sharing resources and ideas. We both are still using a phonics program to help in their reading. Plaid Phonics to be exact. I have begun Soaring with Spelling. The Barton Reading System was loaded with spellign rules. It was very frustrating for my dd to try to remember all the rules. There are many professional educators who will tell you that the best way to learn spelling is by reading and writing. Rules don’t always hold up in the English language anyway, so it can be very confusing for those who are not sight readers and especially those, like our dc, who are struggling. The phonics may be a good option. Plaid Phonics goes to grade 8. You may need to start him lower than his grade level, but that’s okay. I just wanted to give you another option. I hope you can find a breakthough. Be encouraged. You are not alone.
According to my eye doctor, eye convergence insufficiency is a very underdiagnosed eye problem in children. She said that it was estimated that up to 40 percent of children have it but it is never detected and instead treated as a learning disability instead. Her son had it too. You will need to take him to an eye doctor who specifically deals in vision problems related to learning. You can just call around to find one.
My son also started wearing glasses two years ago. It seemed to help with his headaches too, but he still had convergency insufficiency which caused him to not be able to read well at all. The program we will use is done at home, online. Results are sent immediately to the eye doctor so that they can gauge his progress. The program is about $100.
Hope this helps some!
I so appreciate you all taking the time to share your experiences and suggestions. It has been very helpful. I’ll really have to consider my options and make some decisions.
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