My five year old was diagnosed with ADHD (by numerous professionals and school teams, thank you for wondering) and now I am wondering if she should be tested for dyslexia as well. She has just started showing an interest in reading (her own, not at my insistence) and seems to have zero capacity for learning sight words. She can sound out words (slowly) and even if it is the same three (or one or two) letter word, she will sound it out slowly and methodically each time as if she has never seen the word before. Teaching her the alphabet was soooo hard because she could look at a letter forever, trace it with her finger, repeat it over and over and if I put it behind my back and showed it to her a second later (literally) she wouldn't know it. I am seeing the same thing happen as she tries to read. She only sees the words as individual letters and is having a very hard time with the same things over and over. She is incredibly bright, her artistic skills are advanced for her age, as is her athletic ability and vocabulary. But reading, writing and numbers are tough for her! She can write most of her letters but tends to write a lot of them from top to bottom and in strange ways--and not the same way every time. Should I get her evaluated? What would the process be? I am not thrilled with her current pre-K so I am not sure the teacher would be any help at all.
I just had her try to write the alphabet in order...she did A B D H I J P L T V Q W X Y--despite singing the alphabet song. She also just wrote the numbers from 1-5 in order but all were mirror images of the numbers (backwards) except for 5.
I know she is young but she is also very bright and wants to learn. If I was trying to teach this to a kid who did not show interest I would be less worried and say she is not ready but obviously, she is ready in a lot of ways or she wouldn't be wanting to learn. I am very lucky to have such a bright little girl but we continue to see red flags that make me think school will be hard. I am going to wait on the eval for now and see if anything comes up at school. She is the most advanced in her class as she goes to the public Pre-K for her ADHD and has an IEP. ALL of the other kids in her class are either severely special needs or ESL. There is not a lot of pre-reading going on or even working with letters, numbers etc. It is mostly social, working with blocks, art, etc. (which is great but she is getting to the point where this is not enough to keep her from getting bored).
You might peek at the Barton website. There are a couple of videos there that might be helpful. http://www.bartonreading.com/
Before you do that, I have to ask, what kind of curriculum are you using to teach this child to write and read?
Sight word reading is a bunch of crapola. Who on earth can sit down and memorize 2000 words from sight? That's what the public schools do now. What a joke. Sounding out words is the tried and true method of reading, called decoding. If she is trying to decode, then good for her. She understands that much!
When you ask her to form a letter, are you saying the EXACT same verbiage, every time? Are you sitting next to her, guiding with every letter penned? Are you giving demos on a whiteboard while you are next to her?
and lastly, 5 is early for some kids. You ever wonder why the standard age for starting school is 6? It's because they found that 6 yrs old was a golden age for the mind to be "ready" for that type of seatwork.
I homeschooled 3 kids, each of them were prepared by 5 and a half to 6 and a half. No sooner. Sight word learning wasn't an option. The words in the English language follow prescise rules and phonograms. Learn them and you will know how to easily decode english words- even those youve never seen spelled. We used the 'Spell To Write and Read ' program and also the 'Cursive First' program and it brought forth excellent readers and writers, even though my last child had the same issue - not remembering it a second later. In our case, the child needed to mature more.
Hi-- First, I’m sorry this is so long – this is a subject I feel strongly about… I can't speak to the ADHD or specifically dyslexia - but my niece (7 now) started showing signs of visual spacial orientation problems and tracking/focus issues as early as Pre-K, and the only information we got from the preschool or her regular doc was that her eye sight was perfect and we needed to work harder with her on her letters/numbers and how she held pencils and crayons. Yes, her vision is 20/20 but that doesn’t test the WHOLE picture! This past summer we noticed that when she reads she will entirely skip words, like they're not there, or will have a hard time remembering a word, even if she had just read it a few lines up. We had her vision checked again and the eye doc stated she had tracking problems. The website she referred us to was www.covd.org , the other site that I found on my own was http://www.childrensvision.com/reading.htm - this site actually has a wealth of information on vision related learning issues; this site also has a link specifically for dyslexia: http://www.childrensvision.com/dyslexia.htm . My niece is now in vision therapy 2x a month - our therapist is in Smokey Hill - Highline Vision Center. They offer free screenings and they do test for dyslexia at the same time. The covd.org website has a dr. locator based on zip code, there are doctors located in the Boulder area who offer the same type of therapy and screening. It’s not just reading/vision that is affected – most kids with visual learning problems have problems with balance and/or gross motor skills and some will exhibit attention problems (my niece’s eyes would get tired quickly, so she was always looking around the classroom, rather than at her work) – and most schools and even some doctors do not test for anything beyond testing for the need for eyeglasses. I don’t think I’d wait too long to have your daughter screened – the earlier any visual problems are diagnosed, the easier it is to help the child; and if she doesn’t have dyslexia or any other visual learning problems it’s one less thing for you to worry/wonder about. Good luck! :o)
Most kids exhibit signs of dyslexia while they are learning to read, because the brain is trying to figure this new concept out. All kids do some type of switching during the ages of 4 and 8. I would wait to have her tested for dyslexia until she is in the 2nd or 3rd grade. If she is still switching her numbers and letters and words then I would worry about it and test her. Otherwise, she is just being as normal as any other child learning this new concept.
She's five years old and just learning to experience language for the purposes of exploring literacy. What you are describing is entirely normal and also very typical of children with attending difficulties. Because of her age, any educational testing she would participate in at this time will likely be within the average range. I was a school psychologist for many many years and can assure you that testing at this age will tell you very little about your child's future reading ability.
Please understand that developmental ranges are very broad and with good reason. Children learn to read at very different rates and using different methods. The primary school years (K-2) are all about exploring words and stories. Her teachers will try different methods with her to find out "how" she learns. Most children are reading basic sight words by the END of Kindergarten, but many do not solidify this skills until first grade and most won't generalize phonemic patterns until 8 or 9 years old.
If she's not making progress at a steady rate, then talk to the teacher. If she's progressing (do not expect fluency), then let her enjoy the process of learning to read.
A good resource is Overcoming Dyslexia written by Sally Shaywitz out of Yale. Shaywitz has dedicated her life to studying dyslexia and the book has a lot of useful info. You cannot "cure" dyslexia, but with appropriate intervention a child can learn to read and compensate. Should your daughter be diagnosed look into the Orton Gillingham method for teaching - it is the gold standard for teaching kids with dyslexia.
My daughter has dyslexia, she showed signs as early as kindergarten, I had to fight to get her tested at school, She was tested in first grade. My daughter gets outside tutoring and in school services and reads at grade level now. But there is so much more to dyslexia than just trouble learning to read.
Some of the red flags:
1. not learning site words
2. knowing a word one hour, day etc... and not the next
3. difficulty with sequencing
4. poor time concept
5. low frustration tolerance
6. poor organizational skills
7. not learning the days of the week
8. routine oriented, easily upset if routine changed
9. literal
10. loved books and would memorize entire books after we read them to her and could recite the book, but if we pointed to the word she would get the word wrong
11. read by looking at pictures and guessing
12. I am not sure if this is a red flag but a lot of other parents of kids with dyslexia told me their children also did this --- asked very complex questions at a very young age
I am sure there were more red flags, but that is all I can think of right now.
If your daughter does have it, It's not the end of the world, you will soon discover some of the gifts that dyslexia has given your daughter.
ps: if she is diagnosed with dyslexia, look into the Masonic Learning Center in your area. (I think you will find it if you google it)
Writing and reading are two of the hardest skills to learn for kids with ADHD - they require a lot of being still, and focus.... be patient and try to make it more of a game. With my son I bought a magnetic fishing "hook" and those magnetic letters/numbers. He learned really fast that way. He also like having the blocks with letters on them and using them like dice to learn his letters and start learning some words. Dyslexia is really not something that you can diagnose accurately until a time when most kids SHOULD be able to read, so 1-2nd grade.
You will need to find a private doctor to have her tested. The schools, at least in Texas, won't test until 3rd grade. I had to do this as well. B/c of the ADD she has a hard time focusing and memorizing. Help and guide and be patient - she most likely realizes she has a problem with this as well. You're realizing this early and being proactive, that's a good thing.
It is very normal for kids, through 2nd grade sometimes, to reverse letters and numbers. I taught Kindergarten and a good half of the kids had reversals at this time in the school year. So that is not a red flag, at least not yet.
And what you describe about her not remembering the letter from one minute to the next sounds more like ADHD symptoms than dyslexia (again, from point of view of teacher, AND mom of a child with ADHD ... when a 3rd grader stares at a problem saying "3+1 is .... 3+1 is .... 3+1 is .... " it's not that he doesn't know its 4, its that his brain is literally somewhere else).
I would continue to work with the ADHD symptoms (work on focusing, find things that really do interest her as a good venue for teaching letters & numbers, etc). As she learns how to channel her energy (which will not happen in just one or two years), she will get better with the reversals and such.
As she is learning to read, I would suggest putting a plain paper under the line she is reading. My son's eyes skip all over the page because of his focus issues, and it helps control the bouncing around and keep him looking where he should be, more than just a finger under the word.
You can have her evaluated by one of the same professionals that evaluated her for ADHD or they could tell you who to take her to for an evaluation. Five is still young for reading and writing letters, etc. but some 5 year olds can do those things. Other's can't. My granddaughter didn't really catch on to reading until the 4th grade. Her teacher said that was not unusual. My granddaughter has been evaluated and began medication for ADHD during the 4th grade too. That may have helped her learn letters and reading because the medication did slow her down and allow her to better focus. The difficulties you're describing may be related to ADHD. I'd talk with the professional who did the evaluation about that possibility too.
HI--
Most kids confuse their letters and write numbers and letters backwards through first grade. It's not unusual at all. My son is like your daughter in that he has an amazing vocabulary, is physically gifted, and smart as a wip. We're home schooling first grade and he's just barely starting to read although he's known his phonics since he was three. He still confuses b and d and p and 9, etc. A good friend of mine is a reading tutor and she sat down with him a week ago and surprisingly he is exactly where he should be. She says just give him a little more time and he'll be reading totally on his own. Reading is a tough skill and most kids don't master it until 7 or 8 years of age. So go at her pace and show her what she asks you to, but don't push and don't worry yet.
J.
