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mrsdgason
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| Posted: Aug 14 2013 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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I have a twelve year old ADD son who is really still struggling to read. He gets so discouraged and impatient sometimes and I don't really know how to help him.
Anybody else deal with this? How did you cope? Trying to set realistic expectations and keep a good attitude for his sake...
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 5:28am | IP Logged
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I've been thinking about this but I don't know what you have tried so it's hard to make suggestions.
Some general things that come to mind are:
a) Is there anything else that could be causing the problem like vision issues or dyslexia?
b) Keeping the reading times short would be important for a child with ADD. Maybe scatter a few short times throughout the day.
c) Pegging the reading times to something else that happens during the day would help. Like just before, during or right after a meal. This makes it easier to become a habit and these kids really need routine.
d) What program, if any, are you using? Knowing that would help with suggestions as well.
e) With an ADD child you probably already know this, but eliminating distraction is important. Noise cancelling ear phones (my son likes to listen to very quiet, calm classical music) might help. Also keeping the chaos of younger siblings at bay is super important. If my son sees his brothers wresting, playing with Legos, running around outside, etc. I can forget the reading.
Just some initial thoughts.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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MichelleW
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We used Reading Assistant with my severely dyslexic son last year and it helped. I purchased it through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. We pay $14/mo (because we were afraid to be stuck with something that might not work) and it was money well spent. We are going to do it again this year.
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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We struggle too. Our road has been long and laborious and unfortunately too long to even try to share here or I'll get nothing done myself this afternoon.  Just want you to know that you're not alone. Accepting him where he is and trying to move forward instead of feeling stuck and like there is no end in sight is good advice. Accepting that not everyone will "love" to read, "want" to read for leisure or ultimately BE a great, efficient reader puts things in perspective. Finding audios, good, short stories, attempting 1 great book instead of 3-4 during school are good substitutes.
Ok, well there was a little advice I'm hoping to follow this year. Hope it helps you.
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 3:13pm | IP Logged
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MichelleW wrote:
We used Reading Assistant with my severely dyslexic son last year and it helped. I purchased it through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. We pay $14/mo (because we were afraid to be stuck with something that might not work) and it was money well spent. We are going to do it again this year.
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Michelle...did he complete the Fast Forward program first? I just looked at the site...if I'm looking at the same thing. I've actually been looking for an on-line program for DS too.
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 3:39pm | IP Logged
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Ok...sorry to hijack your thread mrsdgason but I like the looks of this Reading Assistant program and at $14/mo, the price can't be beat. Well, looks like it went up to $14.95/mo but manageable. It looks like it's only available until Sept. 5 at homeschool buyer's co-op.
My question is for Michelle again...isn't your son an older dyslexic as well? My son is 13 and we went almost thru Barton level 4 and stalled. He still lacks fluency and decoding. This program sounds like it will help with fluency. What about decoding? Are there good, quality book choices? Did you have to buy a special headset or did a regular pair of headphones work?
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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MichelleW
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Kathryn,
We couldn't afford the Fast Forward program, so I have no experience with it. I believe that Fast Forward has more of a decoding focus? Not sure. Reading Assistant is really about fluency.
Yes, my son is an older dyslexic. He is 16. I was concerned that this program was really about fluency and not about decoding when we started (hence the month to month option), but for us it turned out that moving more quickly helped with some decoding issues. In retrospect, I think one of the reasons he was stuck with decoding was because he was afraid of getting it wrong and it became a cycle he couldn't break out of. I am way oversimplifying here, and I don't know if it will work for your son but at $14.95 it might be worth a try.
I do have to warn you that my son hated doing this program (though his main objection was our flakey internet connection). However we have survived years of my son (understandably) hating anything to do with reading and he seemed to hate this less than other things he's hated. The results were pretty shocking to all of us within the first month or two. So we were motivated to make it work and set up a simple reward system. He finished and enjoyed (!!) lots of books this year (that he or I picked from the library) and has started reading bulletin boards and cereal boxes for no other reason than they are in front of him! I think that makes him a reader! Struggling reader, still, for sure, but a reader nonetheless. He started the year at a low 3rd grade level and ended at a 5th grade level and with increased confidence in his ability.
We did have to buy a special headset that cost something like $20-$25 dollars. The reading choices are not stellar, but they are not objectionable either. I saw them as a tool. Initially, the program put him in a level that was too high and too frustrating. I went in as the teacher and lowered the level quite a bit. Once we saw success at that level I went back into it and increased his leveled reading choices a bit.
I want to emphasize that this is not the magic bullet that will fix everything, but it has been a useful tool for us.
Ack! Kathryn! Why do I always feel so hesitant to recommend anything to mothers of dyslexics?! I am such an optimistic person in really life, but in this area I am always cautious about giving advice. I know you understand all this. Blessings on your journey this year!
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Remedial Reading - need encouragement
