Originally Posted by mich
Hi mimmy - I have a bright and profoundly dyslexic son - I know exactly what you are dealing with.

When he was younger, it was next to impossible to find high interest books at his reading level (at least 4 years behind is age - never mind his cognition). Finding books for his 20 minutes of oral reading was very very difficult. Many of the early readers are non fiction and deal with science or history topics. He enjoyed many of the DK books. There are some abridged versions of classics that were interesting, and accessible.

You might also check out the Kindle which has text to voice capability on certain books. She may be able to read along with higher level books if she has the voice to guide her. Try to read with her - and give her a word if she stumbles - don't make her sound it out. Oral reading is designed to improve accuracy and rate, and it is better to help her when she struggles so that she quickly associates the oral word with the printed word.

The silver lining to my son's reading issues is that we have enjoyed hundreds of books together. I have always read to him - even in middle school, and we enjoy audio books on a daily basis. He loves literature even though he hates to read. As a result, his vocabulary, comprehension and general knowledge is excellent, even if he does not read books in a traditional way.

On the note of evaluation - not sure if she is in a US public school or not, but it is important that you learn your rights. Here are two websites that might help:
www.wrightslaw.com
http://millermom.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Good luck!

You're right, I've learned so much about science and history through our reading together. It's just frustrating b/c I feel that her reading difficulties are holding her back. And she complains about it frequently as well. I'm sure if her reading was up to par she'd be devouring books left in right and probably never leave her room.