My just-turned-13yo dd is a painfully slow reader. She makes decoding mistakes when reading aloud, and she doesn’t seem to notice, just keeps stumbling along. I wonder sometimes whether what she’s saying is even sent to her brain. Her CAT scores were low in all subjects except math this spring, but I think it’s mainly the reading level that lowers all boats. (And her spelling is atrocious.) But she does read for fun on her own, even thick books like Harry Potter, so she must be getting something out of it. And she did keep up with most of the SL3 advanced readers last year, finishing several of them ahead of schedule.
I’m not sure if this is a related problem, but she also has trouble with paying attention when listening to me read aloud. She often cannot answer questions after a short reading, and she often gives me a blank stare after I read her a math story problem. I assume she is letting her mind wander, since there doesn’t seem to be any trouble in her hearing. She claims math and history are boring, and she just doesn’t care about it—and she does seem to do a little better paying attention to a story read aloud. I think she would find things more interesting if she could keep her attention focused.
We are working through Reading Reflex now, for the second time. Last time we got distracted about half-way through the advanced code, but maybe we’ll really finish it this time. She doesn’t like the format, however, and really prefers workbooks or computer work.
I’ve been thinking about trying Sound Reading, which seems to be more the type of thing she’d enjoy, and which I think is supposed to cover the same ideas as Reading Reflex, but I’m having trouble finding much information about it. I’ve also thought of trying Victory Drill Book as a way to get her reading speed up, but I’m sure she’ll hate that. (I could put up with her complaining, if I was sure it would help.) I’m considering Megawords, which I think should help with decoding, but that won’t address the speed problem. I suggested trying a reading tutor, but she’d rather find something she can do at home. She needs some kind of help, though, as high school is fast approaching.
Does anyone have any advice, either about these ideas or about something else I might try?
I wouldn't know where to start with evaluation.
She is homeschooled, and we have no contact with the local school system. I think it’s pretty obvious that the reading instruction that worked for her older sister is not working for her, but I don’t know what to try next.
Re: Need ideas for 13yo slow reader.
Okay, well at least the school is not complicating things!
Reading Reflex or any other program like it will not work unless it is done consistently and intensively. You want changes in the brain and it cannot be incidental teaching every now and then. Yes, it may be tedious for a child that age, but I assure you Sound Reading and every other program will have to take her through similar steps. The PG will likely work unless there is an undiagnosed visual or attention disorder.
Have you given her the tests in Reading Reflex? That information is helpful to know where the decoding skills are lacking. You should not really work on fluency until you get the decoding taught. (Same with Megawords, you’ve got to get the basic decoding skills taught in PG first). Are you using a parent support manual with your Reading Reflex book? That will give you some guidance and practice in getting through the lessons. You can also order Super Speller which will reinforce the spelling portion of your PG lessons. Once you complete all of PG, then you could work on fluency using something like Great Leaps and you could use Megawords or REWARDS for more multi-syllable practice.
At this point it sounds as though she is discouraged. She needs to understand that her reading CAN be improved, but it will take hard work on both your parts. You could always have her tested somewhere like Lindamood Bell and see what thier recommendations are. But PG is probably your best bet unless you want to go for training in other programs.
Janis
sound reading
Denise,
I have purchased the Sound Reading Solutions kit for teens and think it could be something your dd could work with. I bought this thinking it was a computer program with a workbook and reader adjunct, but that is not really the way it is supposed to be used. The way it is to be used is a half hour of instruction daily in sound/symbol association—they tell you everything you should do. Most of the teaching is direct instruction, but part of it is workbook-like. The child does not do the pages independently, but rather you ask questions (given) and the child chooses the answers. This part of the program is supposed to take 15 hours.
I can’t quite remember, but I think somewhere along the line during this time you introduce the readers, which your dd would read aloud timed a couple of times and chart how many more words she reads per minute with each rereading. Going through all the readers is supposed to go on a much slower track. Each lesson in the reader in addition has some other read aloud exercises—phrases said quickly, reordering of words into a sentence that makes sense etc. A lot of this amounts to work on reading fluency. There are also short dictation exercises. (The lessons are very scripted, but SRS leaves you rather on your own for the reader part and sometimes it is a little hard to figure out the best way to approach some of the exercises. Also for both the lesson scripts and some of the reading exercises—though not the timed fluency ones—there are frequent typos.)
While you are doing the program, you are supposed to let the child do the computer program as a sort of reward—many different games to reinforce the sound/symbol association and hearing for different sounds (good for auditory processing). (There is no actual reading in the computer games—apart from hearing sounds and associating them with certain letters or groups of letters.) There are 12 levels that I think are to be finished at about the time the 15 instructional hours are finished.
How I am using this. I have a dd who can read silently and aloud very well but is a terrible speller. She will not work with me but will do a computer program. She is doing the CD alone. Previously I had her doing the Earobics adult version (often recommended for APD), but it was incredibly boring and slow and you can’t speed up the pace. Dd found the program a real slog. With SRS you can keep the pace fast if you want and there is a nice variety to the games. She does not mind doing this program at all.
My ds, on the other hand, is an excellent decoder and speller, but is a slow reader aloud and very slow silently. I am doing the reader with him. (We fell off track for a while, but hope to get back on next week.)
So I am not using the lessons at all—but I am thinking of either doing the workbook with dd when she finishes the computer program or possibly go through the dictation exercises in the reader.
I’ve known many kids who have experienced great success with Phonographix, but it does entail a lot of teaching from a parent, which, believe me, I know can be difficult. This component is much less in SRS. Although there is still a lot of parent involvement, a lot of it is things like timing and asking scripted questions rather than actual teaching. My kids have reached an age (10 and 13) where they don’t want me teaching them, but don’t mind so much me administering things for them (well at least ds—13 doesn’t. dd is another story).
Perhaps you and your dd could benefit from the different mix of approaches SRS offers. If I were a hsing mother in your position, I would certainly give it a try for a month or so. That would give you enough time to do the instruction, CD, and perhaps the firsst reader. If it didn’t work, you’d be out the month and $135 (as I recall), which isn’t that big an investment if it doesn’t work out. (They may also have a money-back guarantee—check for that.) It’s certainly a lot cheaper (time and money) than other things you may have to look into. Based on what you said, you might do well to look into Lindamoodbell’s Verbalizing and Visualizing, or mind prime.com (a more parent instructor friendly, though more expensive, version) to aid your dd in comprehension. But you’ll probably want to get the decoding and fluency down first to see if that takes care of the comprehension bit before looking into further comprehension work.
boosting reading speed
That your daughter reads for fun is the best thing she can be doing to improve her reading speed. Encourage her to read for fun 20-30 minutes every day. Working with a reading tutor could help but shy of that, there’s no ‘quick fix’ or ‘sure cure’ for reading speed.
Allow her to read in books that are comfortable for her. I wouldn’t have her reading out loud to you but I would continue to read outloud to her or…. rent tapes from www.rentedbooksontape. com. Those tapes are made by professional readers/actors. Listen to them together while you’re driving in the car. Not every person can absorb what’s being read outloud to them but a way to get better at this is to listen to engaging books read very well by professional readers. Some such tapes can often be borrowed from your local library as well.
And www.rentedbooksontape. com or your library or www.listeninglibrary.com or books for the blind can all be sources to rent the books she’s assigned to read in high school. My own son was a very slow reader and to keep up with the assigned reading in high school, he listened to the assigned books on tape.
Good luck.
Has she been evaluated, Denise? Does she receive any services at school? It sounds like she could be evaluated for auditory processing disorder for one thing. It also sounds like the school is not using an effective reading method with her. She also could have attention issues. I personally feel like evaluation comes first and then therapy. I like and use Reading Reflex, but that may not be all she needs.
Janis