Clues to help parents spot reading problems early
The Basic Skills test in Year 3 is a long way to wait to get confirmation that there’s a problem. Here are some clues to look for:
- Do the home reading each night with your kids. If you don’t see a steady advancement in reader levels, talk to the teacher.
- Is your child reluctant to read for fun? Does she excitedly bring home books from the library and then stop after a few pages. Does he complain of his eyes or tummy hurting or being tired when it’s time to read?
- Is your child exhibiting behaviour problems? Kids can act up or withdraw to thwart attention from their reading problems (subconsciously of course!). Our older son had a lot of anger. Our younger son went through full assessments for ADHD but his behavior stemmed from audio processing and dyslexia.
- Look at family history. Is there a history of learning difficulties or dyslexia in the family? Don’t just look at yourselves as parents. Look at uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins.
- Trust your gut! If you think there is a problem but everyone is saying things are fine, it’s worth investigating further for your own peace of mind.
What to do about if you think there is a problem
- The first port of call is to talk to the teacher and possibly the school counselor about your concerns and what help or assessments they can offer.
- My strongest advice is to get an independent literacy assessment done. They aren’t cheap, but if you get the right assessment done early, you will save so much time and money in the long run. And most importantly, if your child does have a learning difficulty, she can be helped before her behavior and self esteem suffer more. So where do you go? Not all tutoring companies provide assessments that can identify a learning difficulty. So go to companies that have specialist literacy resources and remediation like Kids First. Consider talking to SPELD – a nonprofit organisation that specialises in reading problems and learning difficulties. It’s across Australia. Here’s the link to NSW: http://www.speldnsw.org.au/
- Get your child’s eyes and hearing checked.
I’ve seen the impact of reading problems on behavior and self esteem first hand. I’ve known the frustrations of not knowing what to do for my sons. And I’ve talked to scores of other parents who’ve had the same experiences I’ve had.
Trust your gut! If you’re concerned about your child’s reading, have him assessed. There are amazing remedial resources available and they work.
Please feel free to contact me, share your stories and your ideas.
Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
70% of new teachers say they weren't shown how to teach students with disabilities
Dyslexia...
A new report released by the Australian Education Union reports 70% of new teachers say they weren't shown how to teach students with disabilities or those from non-English speaking backgrounds.*
Within the past month, I've spoken with a couple of new teachers (one working less than 5 years, the other working for less than 2 years), and both said they hadn't been taught about learning difficulties.
Yet up to 20% of kids are dyslexic.
The biggest mistake I made with identifying my own son's reading difficulty was not trusting my gut. And I hear the same thing from other parents over and over.
Parents, if you think your child has a problem with reading, trust your gut and get it checked out!
*More than 1500 teachers took part in the national survey which tracked the concerns of those entering the profession.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph, March 8, 2009
Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia
A new report released by the Australian Education Union reports 70% of new teachers say they weren't shown how to teach students with disabilities or those from non-English speaking backgrounds.*
Within the past month, I've spoken with a couple of new teachers (one working less than 5 years, the other working for less than 2 years), and both said they hadn't been taught about learning difficulties.
Yet up to 20% of kids are dyslexic.
The biggest mistake I made with identifying my own son's reading difficulty was not trusting my gut. And I hear the same thing from other parents over and over.
Parents, if you think your child has a problem with reading, trust your gut and get it checked out!
*More than 1500 teachers took part in the national survey which tracked the concerns of those entering the profession.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph, March 8, 2009
Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia
Why are so many kids with reading problems and dyslexia going undetected?
Dyslexia.
I always thought it just meant that someone flipped their letters around and that was it.
Did you know it means "impaired ability to learn to read"?
And that up to 20% of people are dyslexic?
I found that percentage hard to believe until I stopped to think about what I'd experienced in my children's reading groups at school over the years. Invariably, between 3-5 students in a class of 20-25 would be struggling with their reading.
I was at my son's sporting event this morning and spoke with yet another parent whose child had a learning difficulty that went undetected for years. This mum said she'd suspected all through primary school (k-6) that her child's reading wasn't right but was reassured repeatedly that her child was fine. It wasn't until high school that they got the assessments they needed to source a learning difficulty. This mum felt a lot of guilt about not pushing harder to find out what was happening with her child and frustration at having not known what her options were to get help. I've spoken to scores of parents who've had this same experience.
Parents, I'm determined to shout from my soap box about this issue!
The number one mistake I hear that parents have made over and over again is that they didn't trust their gut - they thought something wasn't right, asked questions, but were told things were fine and accepted it. And they say over and over again that they didn't know what else to do outside of talking to the school. Parents, if you think your child has a reading problem, trust your gut. Don't let it go.
In my next post, I'll talk about the clues I suggest parents look for and steps to take if they suspect their child has a problem with reading.
Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia!
I always thought it just meant that someone flipped their letters around and that was it.
Did you know it means "impaired ability to learn to read"?
And that up to 20% of people are dyslexic?
I found that percentage hard to believe until I stopped to think about what I'd experienced in my children's reading groups at school over the years. Invariably, between 3-5 students in a class of 20-25 would be struggling with their reading.
I was at my son's sporting event this morning and spoke with yet another parent whose child had a learning difficulty that went undetected for years. This mum said she'd suspected all through primary school (k-6) that her child's reading wasn't right but was reassured repeatedly that her child was fine. It wasn't until high school that they got the assessments they needed to source a learning difficulty. This mum felt a lot of guilt about not pushing harder to find out what was happening with her child and frustration at having not known what her options were to get help. I've spoken to scores of parents who've had this same experience.
Parents, I'm determined to shout from my soap box about this issue!
The number one mistake I hear that parents have made over and over again is that they didn't trust their gut - they thought something wasn't right, asked questions, but were told things were fine and accepted it. And they say over and over again that they didn't know what else to do outside of talking to the school. Parents, if you think your child has a reading problem, trust your gut. Don't let it go.
In my next post, I'll talk about the clues I suggest parents look for and steps to take if they suspect their child has a problem with reading.
Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia!
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