Please help me teach my child to read!!!

[Anonymous]

OP:

abcdarian placement assessment:

http://www.abcdrp.com/samples/ABCDAssessment.pdf

and Great FAQ

http://www.abcdrp.com/FAQ.asp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no, this does help. I would say my dd is a sightword learner. She does not like to do phonics but can if it is only one word at a time. Not the whole sentence to look at....take the word out and decode. SHe HATES doing it. SHe has a very strong memory and likes sight words best, best these programs are too easy. So, yes I guess she needs decoding first or she needs decoding and then a program for comprehension. ANd that is the tricky one. She likes facts not fiction.
I don't think Kumon wouold work or the other programs, although I wish they would. My DD needs repetition. She is considered high functioning, but we know that doesn't mean much.
She needs work on retelling, connections, inferences, etc.

How much decoding does she have? If it's not much, I would recommend Hooked on Phonics. Hooked on Phonics really does help kids learn decoding. Their "System 44" program is designed to teach rules and understand the system. HOP usually recommends 15-30 minutes per day for kids.

If that still isn't working, I'd find a tutor who specializes in Orton Gillingham. It's the most recommended method for dyslexics and would probably help this kid, too.

My HFA son taught himself to read by watching "Between the Lions" on PBS. It can't hurt and it teaches both sight words and phonics rules in an entertaining way.

If she has a good memory and likes sight words, I would start drilling the heck out of her on sight words, too. There are all kinds of sight word lists if you Google sight word list. I'd find a list from a school district and make flash cards out of it and start her memorizing them 10 minutes a day. I'd also make sure that she knows the meaning of each word. My kid could read a lot of words, but didn't know what they meant. We have to make sure that we explicitly tell him the meaning for most new words.

[Anonymous]

I second the suggestion for Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing - you can buy the materials online at Gander Publishing (or go to the center for tutoring). Lindamood Bell's view is that a person needs three components of reading to work together in order to comprehend what's being read: the auditory piece (understanding that letters correspond to sounds), the visual piece (having a large base of words that are recognized on sight) and the conceptualization piece (creating an image in your mind so that you can comprehend - making a mental movie - of what the text says). For any struggling reader, it's important to identify which piece(s) are weak, and work on those.

You can also work on comprehension by asking your DD questions such as what she thinks the book will be about, what the character will do next, why do you think the character did that, etc.

We have a DS with Aspergers and it is difficult for him to understand themes and the "big picture" of a story. Consistently asking these types of questions will help to get the child in the habit of asking these questions to herself while she reads, although we know firsthand it takes a lot of time and repetition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second the suggestion for Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing - you can buy the materials online at Gander Publishing (or go to the center for tutoring). Lindamood Bell's view is that a person needs three components of reading to work together in order to comprehend what's being read: the auditory piece (understanding that letters correspond to sounds), the visual piece (having a large base of words that are recognized on sight) and the conceptualization piece (creating an image in your mind so that you can comprehend - making a mental movie - of what the text says). For any struggling reader, it's important to identify which piece(s) are weak, and work on those.

You can also work on comprehension by asking your DD questions such as what she thinks the book will be about, what the character will do next, why do you think the character did that, etc.

We have a DS with Aspergers and it is difficult for him to understand themes and the "big picture" of a story. Consistently asking these types of questions will help to get the child in the habit of asking these questions to herself while she reads, although we know firsthand it takes a lot of time and repetition.

My son with HFA read only non-fiction for a very long time because he didn't get the social parts of fiction. People typically try to teach kids to read with "fun" fiction stories because they think it's more accessible than non-fiction, but for my kid with HFA, fiction wasn't accessible because he couldn't get the social stuff in it.

He eventually graduated to fiction through Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the Magic Treehouse series. He was a 4th grader before that happened, though.

If a kid with an ASD has an obsessional interest, I highly recommend giving them books on their interest to encourage reading. It give them reading practice and it helps them in conversation, because at least they have something NEW to tell you about in their favorite topic.

DS read every book on sharks and marine animals that we could buy or borrow.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, very helpful posts.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest prediction chart activities and guided reading activities to help your child read for meaning (comprehension). Also, if she CAN decode, but just doesn't love it, I wouldn't worry about that. Phonics instruction is for a child that can't decode, not for a child that doesn't like to decode. I have some great, easy to follow descriptions of these reading methods I've mentioned, and if you email me at anneklucas (at) gmail (dot) com, I will send them to you.

[Anonymous]

PP here. If your child DOES need help with decoding, it is best learned in context. For the best results, a phonics lesson would follow a guided reading lesson, and the words for the phonics lesson would come from the book you used for the guided reading lesson. . Words out of context, in a list are the hardest words for children to decode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. If your child DOES need help with decoding, it is best learned in context. For the best results, a phonics lesson would follow a guided reading lesson, and the words for the phonics lesson would come from the book you used for the guided reading lesson. . Words out of context, in a list are the hardest words for children to decode.

I disagree with the above approach. I will say though that it is the approach used by our local public schools, and as a reading tutor, I will never be out of a job as long as that curriculum is in place!

Thorough, explicit, direct teaching of decoding is the most efficient way of teaching decoding skills, especially for kids who are behind their peers, and as soon as children have mastered those skills and can use them rapidly, they will be able to fly through any reading material, being held back only by their lack of vocabulary and content knowledge. I have seen very rapid progress with children by using words (especially nonsense) in a list.

The key is not to use the same pattern over and over, ie. don't teach the -at words and then the -in words and then the -ing words -- but teach all the different possible CVC words and move quickly to CCVC and CVCC words -- making sure that the child is able to quickly and easily sound out and blend every word, no matter what, accurately and all the time.

Phonics programs that gather their words just from the previous reading selection in my experience are not thorough and do not provide enough review, especially for a child who is behind.

[Anonymous]

This may have been asked already...

Have you tried Lindamoon Bell? It's expensive, but good.

[Anonymous]

Highly recommend Reading A-Z resources for both decoding and comprehension.
http://www.raz-kids.com/
http://www.reading-tutors.com/

[Anonymous]

Just a warning, LIndamood bell may work for some kids but not all since every kid is different. The program is not guaranteed even tho there is research done. So I suggest you research thoroughly before shelling out $12k. and if you do go thru VV, I suggest you ask for weekly consultation and ask to see/hear the sessions to ensure the program is working for your child. I also recommend buying the manual to engage your child at home the same way they do at the center.

[Anonymous]

Beestar is another great option for learning to read compared to RazKids. It does a great job using classic stories and has great comprehension questions. Great resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no, this does help. I would say my dd is a sightword learner. She does not like to do phonics but can if it is only one word at a time. Not the whole sentence to look at....take the word out and decode. SHe HATES doing it. SHe has a very strong memory and likes sight words best, best these programs are too easy. So, yes I guess she needs decoding first or she needs decoding and then a program for comprehension. ANd that is the tricky one. She likes facts not fiction.
I don't think Kumon wouold work or the other programs, although I wish they would. My DD needs repetition. She is considered high functioning, but we know that doesn't mean much.
She needs work on retelling, connections, inferences, etc.

If you want to do something at home, try the books at yourkidcanread.com

They are phonics books. They give you as a parent a script to follow in the book and exercises.

[Anonymous]

My kid is dyslexic but not autistic, so take this for what it is worth. Orrin gillingham is all about rules and patterns for figuring out words. If your kid likes rules, she might find it better than other teaching methods. My advice is to find an OG tutor who gets your kid. Meet with a few. Our tutor had a special needs kid of her own and just clicked with my kid, and that was everything. She found materials he'd like to read, etc. Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

You can pick up the V&V (Linda Bell) books on used book sites and eBay much less expensively than through the publisher, if you have the ability to do it yourself. I think I paid $35 for the second edition of Visualizing and Verbalizing and about $15 each for a few of the story/workbooks.