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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 37
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 37 |
Platypus, I've tried him on eBooks before, but it seems to be that there's just too much text - maybe it's that it's all together/too close together and there's not enough white space to give his eyes a break?
The mystery continues - I'd been reading a chapter or so of HP1 to him each night last week - over the weekend he said he couldn't sleep and then finished the book... after checking in with him and doing a comprehension exercise (multiple choice so low-stress and quick), he admitted to skipping most of the last three chapters. He's desperate to watch the movie though, and because I know he's really sensitive, I wanted him to have the self-filtered version his imagination creates from reading before dealing with the movie graphics. But I think the temptation was too great and he just wanted to be able to watch the movie...
The thing is now I'm not sure if the comprehension level was better because he's interested, or because it's multiple choice and it's providing the vocabulary he may not otherwise have been able to piece together himself?
In general though, I do feel his comprehension was better for this than it's been in some time.
So. Hmm. Still not sure. I've been referred to someone to ask who we should see as it seems the neuropsychs here deal mostly with brain injuries and not much in terms of global assessments/evaluations as described here.
“...million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.”
-Terry Pratchett
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 116
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Posts: 116 |
Just out of curiosity--how do you know that he has a high reading level? From your description, I was wondering if you are choosing things for him to read that are just too challenging for him. Have you tried checking his comprehension on easier books?
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 299
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 299 |
Hi all,
Sorry I haven't been here in a while.
Things have been so much better for DS9 at the new school, however I've realised that while he is no longer refusing to do classwork/avoiding work etc as he was at the old school and before we discovered some visual issues, I feel like we are still missing something.
He reads really well - he has done so since kindergarten, but before we found the visual issues, would often skip or replace one small word for another (and for the, leave out an/a/he etc), and had problems with keeping his place. This has all improved drastically since getting glasses and doing some visual therapy.
However - we still have a reading level of (I could have interpreted this incorrectly, but it seems to be) about a 7th grade level (he is finishing 3rd grade now [we're in South Africa]); BUT his comprehension is really poor (I'm not even sure I can say I feel this is at grade level).
His school runs a "reading bingo" challenge offering various levels - i.e. level one has them read a book with at least 85 pages, a Dr Seuss book, a book of poems, a joke book, etc, and then increases to reading Dahl, Diary of a Wimpy kid type stuff and so on.
The most recent level has one of the items as a book with at least 350 pages. We got him one of the How to train your dragon series books with 400 odd pages and he claimed to have finished it in about 3 days - when pushed a little (he reads fast, but not quite that fast) he admitted that he had skipped all the pages with text only...
Surely this isn't normal?
We suspected dysgraphia last year, but he did the edublox programme (old name was audiblox), and his handwriting improved to match grade level. However, his writing ability is also not what I'd call a match for his reading. By this I mean when he's asked to write a paragraph, he seems to have no idea how to do this, even though he's read many of them, and has been taught how, if the instructions say the paragraph must be at least 5 sentences, he will simply write 5 unrelated sentences.
I do realise that all kids are going to have strengths and weaknesses, however, I don't feel that that is the case here - there is just too big a gap, and to me, if reading is really strong, shouldn't it follow that comprehension and tasks like paragraph writing should be similarly good?
Please, if you have any ideas or can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it!
(Just want to add that while he has done much better at the new school, he has not been skipped/accelerated etc, and the only extension he has really done is the reading bingo. I think the teacher is open to offering and helping with extension, but I think something is keeping him from tackling this. There is definitely a discrepancy between demonstrated potential and performance. We are going to be homeschooling next year and want to skip him in the areas where it will best serve his needs - at the same time we don't want to do this if it's just going to frustrate him due to perhaps 2e issues we don't know about.) My DS is nine and in 3rd grade. I really do think reading and comprehension can be at two very different levels. Comprehension is complex-- it requires patience, an understanding character development, following a plot arc, *and* in our case, the biggest hindrance as a 2e learner-- the ability to coherently explain either verbally or in writing what the book was about. It's the reason that teachers recommend a bandwidth for "true" comprehension that seems far below what a child reads for enjoyment.
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 37
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Posts: 37 |
Cammom that makes sense to me. I do think there is some kind of 2e going on. He has to write a speech for school, and when he climbed into the car with hubby after school yesterday, he was excited about it, had planned out what he wanted to look up and talk about, and once home he went straight to the computer, got his pen and paper ready to make notes, and found a site that actually was a great resource for the topic he'd picked.
Then the wheels fell off - right at the point when he needs to start reading, extracting meaning, and writing what he understands. Instead, he will sit and write out word for word everything he’s reading on the web page. And we’ve realized that his behavior from this point (which always follows the same pattern), seems to be an effort to sabotage everything until we call it a night – and he hasn’t had to do much in terms of writing/understanding the material. We always feel so impressed with his motivation and work ethic, but then he hits the same point and something just isn’t working, and it’s amounting to a lot of frustration – I think especially his side, which he’s then showing by slowly balking more and more until he simply refuses to do anything further - and will also push every button so that we aren't focused on the work being done (or rather, not done?).
Please don’t misunderstand. We are peaceful parents, we support and guide where he needs or asks for it, we’re not peering over his shoulder, criticizing and correcting him on everything he does. We offer a lot of encouragement, and we help where and when he needs it or asks.
Flyingmouse, Schonell put his reading age at 11y 6m, when he was 9y 1m. I've tried various other reading assessments over the years (there's also that San Francisco one I think? Sonlight's only goes up to grade 4 and he zipped through that when in 2nd grade) and they invariably place him between 2-3 years ahead. I’ve checked in with him maybe once a year since he started reading, just to try see what I can try offer that he might find less boring than the school readers he was getting.
While I will confess to trying to steer him away from Diary of a Wimpy Kid (which I don’t like), I’m actually just really happy that he enjoys reading, so I usually just get him what he’s into as and where I can. Right now he’s begging for HP2 so he can take it with him on an overnight school camp they’re going on this week. This is not at all directed or pushed from my side – his first thought on waking is HP, and his last before we say sleep tight is where I think we could get the second book (my collection is patchy – I have books 1, then 5-7). So I don’t feel I’m pushing him or only putting stuff in front of him that I feel is appropriate, or that my expectations are off…
“...million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.”
-Terry Pratchett
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