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fluent reader who hasnt a clue....

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

I read about all the different programs people have tried-Fast Forward, PACE, etc-and I would certainly like to do something to help my son but the more I work with him the more one thing confuses me

He is an excellent reader. He reads quickly and fluently. He has no problems with word recognition unless it truly is a new word for his age level.

But he cant pass a comprehension test for anything. Hes failing reading despite B’s in everything else. He started Adderall for ADD in Augsut and I do believe it has made a big difference in English, Geography….

Do your kids struggle with words-hesitate, not know what to say? Mine doesnt-he reads so fast the words blur together as he reads aloud. When we did the vision testing he was tracking and taking in chunks at a level 2 yrs ahead of his grade. But he doesnt know what hes read!!!!!

Every teacher he has had says “he just needs to slow down”. Yeah, like holding your hand up to stop a train. WE HAVE TRIED-begging, bribing, yelling, clapping at the periods. He insists “I cant read slow”.

Anyone have a kid like this? Any of these programs helpful for someone like him?

Has anyone tried “neuro-reading” by David Furr? We’re playing with it-I havent found the exact books he recommends but Im trying to improvise.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/08/2001 - 1:56 PM

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My daughter (now 6th grade) began to have comprehension problems around 4th grade. She has nonverbal learning disorder, and so has great verbal skills and was always an excellent decoder and fluent early reader. But we knew because of lack of visualization and lack of “big picture” that comprehension could/would become a problem.

She was greatly helped in comprehension by the Lindamood-Bell Visualization and Verbalization program — they suggest that one reasons kids have problems with comprehension is that they aren’t visualizing the whole. So they teach visualization in a very systematic way (word, words, sentences, paragraph, page). It really helped my kid.

You might check out their website (do a search, I can’t remember address) to see if there are any lindamood-bell centers in your area. Alternately, and potentially CHEAPER — find a speech/language therapist who works with LD issues and has been trained in LB method.

There is clearly some reason he’s not comprehending — I know lots of kids who have had great reading interventions with speech therapists (trained to work on LD issues, not just “articulation.”) so you might find a couple good ones and explore. HOpe that helps.

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