Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Help with Reading

I'd love some suggestions for DS, who can understand almost anything read to him (e.g., A Briefer History of Time, the original Swiss Family Robinson), but doesn't understand what he reads unless it is very short and very simple. He says that's why he doesn't like to read - too much time decoding (he calls it spelling), and I think he doesn't see the forest for the trees.

I think this is similar to the working memory issue re: writing. His teachers did a fabulous job breaking down the writing this year and he's really come along. Even claims he likes it.

It's why I signed him up for EPGY language arts. I know he'll read sentences, but paragraphs with a lot of words on the page are tougher.

Also, he has a reading tutor who is supposed to be doing Wilson with him, but stopped b/c he doesn't like it. Definitely need some help. I'll talk to his teachers and the tutor, but I figure someone here must have some ideas. At least he is now willing to read. Maybe we should just keep to easier books?

He loves computer games, so if you have any suggestions...


Thanks.

Thanks, CFK. He is 2E, but exactly what is unclear. He is 7, and his LD per the school is the discrepancy between his IQ and his achievement scores (except for all verbal areas). The evaluation disclosed difficulty with writing (due to working memory, fine motor, and executive function issues) and no (or poor) phonics decoding system. He fatigued very easily, but has increased his focus and endurance in the last few months. May or may not be ADD inattentive variety.

CFK, forgot to mention, he can whip through early readers - level 2 and 3, but has refused to read a real chapter book. He picked one out for school, and we tried to read it today. He had a hard time with it - and maybe it's because he's been sick, but I've heard the same thing from him before. I believe per lexile level the book was considered fourth grade (Bunnicula), and it's what his second grade teachers picked out for him. Maybe it was too much of a leap to start with that book as his first chapter book, but he really wanted to read it. We ended up reading the whole thing to him to help his comprehension when he reads it in school next week.

He plans to read Invention of Hugo Cabret - and I'm sure he will. Fewer words per page, black letters on a clean white page, lots of graphics to put the relatively brief story in context.

I think the "Magic Treehouse" series is 2nd grade, if that helps.

Nate the Great series.

For my suggestion how about Cam Jansen? They have a young Cam series and an older chapter book series. If you got him interested in the younger series he might move more easily to the older series??

I will comment on the visual problems Dottie mentioned. I have told this before so for those of you who are yawning, just skip this paragraph. My DS appeared to be very gifted from a very young age but when he got to school it just didn't play out like I thought it would. He didn't like to read at all until 2nd grade and then when he did read (Goosebumps was THE favorite) he would skip words and reverse words (saw for was, etc) and be reading on one line and then go down to the next in the middle of the line. He also has problems with handwriting and was writing up in the air or below the line and reversed letters. Well after having teacher after teacher tell me it was developmental and he would grow out of it we discovered that it was really a visual perception/tracking problem. I won't go into the whole story here but if you want to know you can pm me. Anyway, he is in therapy now and is showing much improvement. So if this sounds like something that could be going on, it could be worth investigating. I wish I had figured all this out earlier and saved many, many hours of frustration for him and me.

Thank you, everyone!

I will ask his OT about visual tracking. I suggested he use an index card below the line so he doesn't get lost, but he refused.

I think the font, color illustrations and type of paper do have something to do with it. He doesn't like newsprint books like Magic Treehouse. He read Nate the Great fluently and with feeling, making different voices for all the characters in 15 minutes straight, then had a complete meltdown at the end saying he hates to read and can't do it. Turns out he hadn't eaten lunch that day, but it was weird - and sort of frightening.

I think it's partly self-confidence for him. He reads beautifully when he agrees to do it. Maybe he'll be like CFK's son and he'll just be fluent all of a sudden. Problem is that I'm nervous he won't read at all. But in more rational moments, I realize he loves books, has always loved books, and will learn to read. Right?

Thanks for all the great hints. EandCmom, I will pm you. We have a fabulous OT, and I'll speak to her about the visual tracking. As I recall, it wasn't a problem in either of her evaluations, in kindergarten or first grade.

I downloaded Reading Blaster the other night, which he enjoys. He has no problem reading those books because there are not many words on the page. (And level 1 and 2 are simple.)

Oh, and when we did the evaluation last year, I also brought him to a pediatric ophthamologist (where's spell check when I need it?!!) and she said his vision was fine.

colored overlays

What are they? I'm all for experimenting. And thanks for the encouragement.

Thank you. Btw, i'm sitting here reading Ruf's book and she says not letting kids watch TV shows on reading delays reading. Well, we had absolutely no TV until age 2, per AAP guidelines, and like you, my only book was the what to expect series. Which I loved by the way. I was just concerned about DS meeting the milestones. Never occurred to me to focus on the fact that he was meeting most things very early. Who knew? I knew nothing about kids. Even had to have a lesson on disper-changing in the hospital! LOL!

I'll check out those links when I get back on the computer. Thank you!

My kids were all reading fluently before age three, and none of them watched a lot of tv. My current wee one didn't watch anything before two, except Signing Time dvds. She did know many signs and the whole ASL alphabet before turning two.

If I think on it more, my earliest reader started watching Sesame Street in the mornings when I was getting his brother ready for school when he was about 11 months. That was all he watched for the first two years, and it's funny I hadn't thought about it much before. I was stricter with the other kids, but guiltily resorted to the "electronic babysitter" when in a pinch. School mornings were tough with my oldest, who has AS. We didn't know why transitions were so hard for him at the time.