Is there a chance that my kid has a reading problem?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have concerns about my nine-year old’s reading abilities, but I don’t know much about what’s normal for 9yos in general. I know we have some elementary school teachers and people who have experience with reading/writing issues on the board, so I’m turning to you all for some good advice.

First, some background. The spouse and I are both enthusiastic readers and, more or less, professional writers. We have tons of books around the house and we have always read to the kids on a daily basis. Kid #1 really enjoys it when we read to him, but he is not very interested in reading on his own. Also, he seems to have a lot of trouble writing. By that, I mean that he seems to have trouble converting the thoughts in his head into words to write down, he has terrible spelling, and he has godawful handwriting. On the other hand, his spoken communication skills seem perfectly normal to me.

He attends 4th grade at a very good public school - the sort where 90%+ of the kids are meeting standardized test criteria and the majority of the fourth graders are doing the fifth grade curriculum. (Kid #1 is not part of that majority. Sigh.) The teachers range from competent to excellent. Kid #1 occasionally talks too much in class, but has never been in any sort of serious trouble. When Kid #1 was in second grade, I spoke to his teacher about my concerns with his reading, but she said he was “on grade level” and that some people just don’t like to read all that much. (Blasphemy, right?)

Now, here are some examples of his reading/writing troubles. Earlier this year, he missed a couple of questions on a math test because he couldn’t read the word “resemble.” He thought it said “miserable,” which of course made no sense in context. Last night, he wrote the following sentence as part of a book report: “The spiter waits intil a bug flys in. When it does the spiter raps it in silk and then, eats it up.” In addition to the spelling errors and questionable punctuation, there were some random capital letters thrown in and a couple of backwards letters. In other homework last night, he was supposed to make five words out of the letters in “Thanksgiving.” Other than “thanks” and “giving,” he couldn’t figure out how to do that. When he reads aloud, he tends to skip short words.

So. Thoughts? Does this sound like it’s within the range of normal 9yo reading/writing development? Are my expectations too high? Or could there be some sort of reading/writing/learning disability going on here? Advice?

2

Thoughts from the perspective of a parent. My daughter, 8, just started reading for pleasure 2 weeks ago. Finally picked up a book & started reading it on her own. She’s a bright girl & has been reading pretty well for years. I was starting to wonder if she would ever read for pleasure. She easily earns “As” in school, yet still spells phonetically, like your kid, quite often. Your child seems on target & in range to me, based on my experiences with my kid & her classmates.
However, if you’re concerned, I’d recommend meeting with his teachers & possibly having him evaluated.

3

As a person without much experience, I’d assume that his spelling and writing problems are largely a result of not having done much reading for pleasure. I think you need to have a conference with his teacher, right? She’s the one who has a very good idea of how he’s performing compared to his peers.

I didn’t start to read for pleasure until I was between 8 and 9 years old. I went on to break my high school’s speed reading record, earn 5s on all the AP English tests, major in English and get a PhD. So there’s always plenty of room for catch-up.

4

I’m the daughter of an elementary school teacher with 30+ years of experience but not a teacher nor expert by any means. I’ve helped her prep, grade and generally discussed the work she’s done in class, and she’s now a school board consultant who has developed an entire K-6 reading evaluation and book rating program…I consider her to be about as much an expert as you can get in this field). Take this for what it’s worth!

Based on what I’ve seen/discussed with her over the years, I’d be a little bit concerned about the fact that there are still letter reversals; this is grade 1-2 stuff that should be resolved by now. Inattention might explain a few, but if these are frequent and the common forms (s and z, e, r, p and q, b and d…) then it’s something I’d want a teacher or an aide to address, I think. If he still doesn’t understand what the characters are, he’ll struggle to improve his reading and writing skills. Does he actually know them all? Does he know what sounds they represent (and which letters have more than one common sound)? Does he know how letter pairs (th,ch) are sounded out? Evaluate first if he understands the mechanics of words, before moving on to his spelling and reading skills, though of course the two are intertwined.

Phonetic spelling is still somewhat common at that age (heck, it still shows up on these boards…sometimes we simply don’t know how to spell something we are trying to express, and a lot of that is learned through reading/writing experience), though IMHO he should have a larger written vocabulary of common/simple words like “spider” and “until”. Things like “wrap/rap” I wouldn’t really worry about yet, but now would be a good time for him to begin to grasp homonyms.

In your shoes, I’d consult first with his main teacher, to see if he or she has noticed that he has fallen a little behind. He might need an Individual Education Plan to help him get back on track; a good teacher should know how to go about doing this. An evaluation by a consultant (what my mom now does) could identify specific areas to work on, fully develop the IEP and follow up throughout the year, and may point towards further evaluation for a learning disability (the reversal of letters could be indicative of something like dyslexia, and there are ways to manage that).

Stay on top of it, and do your 'homework" to help him. You’re doing a good parenting job just in noticing that something might be up and in proactively verifying and correcting the problem before it becomes overwhelming. Sometimes, just a little more work, a little more attention to address something leads to it suddenly “clicking” for the kid, and they go on to have no further difficulties later on.

Good luck!

5

I think you should pursue this aggressively - I’m from a family of readers, too, and normal reading for us was novels by grade four. He might just not be interested in reading, but now is the time to work on any actual problems.

6

Sorry for the multiple posts… a few more thoughts.

By grade 4, if a child is writing a book report, then being able to refer to the book to correctly spell the words/names being referenced is expected, though if the work is being done without the book on hand, falling back to phonetic spelling is still not a big deal. I could chock this up to inattention/unwillingness to use appropriate resources. Teachers are always writing lists of key words related to the theme they are teaching that month and posting them on classroom walls- students are then tested on these throughout the month/year and are expected to write them correctly in tests and in their creative writing. Perhaps when your son does a book report, you can have him identify key words that he needs to practice spelling?

Your son needs to understand that short words (in, an, on, than, then, there, a) matter in a sentence, and that changing them or skipping them may change the meaning of a sentence. Coming up with examples is a little tough, though things like “the cat is in/on/a the box”, alongside a photo and he has to choose the right one could help him realize what these words mean, but also learn to recognize them more. If he thinks they don’t matter when he reads, that might explain why he couldn’t find them in “Thanksgiving”.

I wouldn’t worry too much about punctuation or capital letters until a few of the other issues are sorted out, although the minimum of starting a sentence with a capital and ending with a period or question mark should be enforced.

Teacher supply stores and websites have all kinds of worksheets that you might want to consider looking at if you want to work on this stuff at home. Your son’s teacher and/or a consultant also have tons of these.

7

Too late to edit - when I say “novels,” I mean kids’ novels, not “War and Peace”. Don’t want to get accused of Doperland-style aggrandizements. :slight_smile:

8

My first instinct is some form of dyslexia, honestly. The big tell is mixing up “resemble” and “miserable,” and in not being able to reorder letters in “thanksgiving.” It very much fits the “jumbled up letters” idea that I’ve heard about. And the idea of not really reading entire words is something I’ve heard lots of dyslexics say they find they have to do, because otherwise it takes them too long to figure out the word.

The thing that gives me pause is his writing–it definitely seems closer to phonetic writing, which is usually used to identify someone as not being dyslexic. But, still, I don’t see any harm in having him tested. Even if he’s not dyslexic, they may figure out better ways to teach him.

Good luck.

9

Your son sounds behind but it doesn’t sound irreversable or permanent to me.

I understand that this is the 21st century and that this will go against all that most parents stand for but you say ‘he is not very interested in reading on his own.’

My daughter is definitely not interested in reading. There are TV shows to watch, video games to play, other kids outside and toys.

Basically, we drew a hard line and she has to read for 15 minutes (in addition to her normal homework) each night before she is allowed to do anything else. We have been doing this for about 6 months.

Guess what? Her spelling, reading and writing are now at grade level AND she even voluntarily reads more now because she can.

10

As a non-expert, but an experienced parent, I third or fourth the motion to have him tested. Maybe he’s just inattentive, maybe bored, maybe dyslexic, but the problem should be addressed now, before he is hopelessly frustrated with school.

And as someone from a family of readers, yes, it’s weird when the non-reader shows up, but it happens. My father’s middle sister is the cuckoo in our nest: I never saw my grandparents, oldest aunt, or father without a book (Daddy’s standard for buying a pair of pants was “must have back pockets large enough for a paperback,”) but my younger aunt was actively offended by the sight of a kid reading a book. Weird.

Oh, and one tip that may (or may not) help. My school-age kids have a weeknight bedtime. All electronics must be turned off at that time, but they are allowed to keep the lamp on for half-an-hour for leisure reading. I don’t care if it’s library books, comic books, whatever, so long as it’s words printed on pages. That has particularly helped my son, who didn’t necessarily love to read when he was younger, but he hated bedtime even more. He felt like he was “getting away” with something, and I am happy with the results.

11

Hi! I’m an elementary school teacher, and while my most of my experience is with early childhood, I have been a teacher-librarian (grades pre-K to 5) for a few years now and I thought I would give my 2 cents worth.

First a couple of questions, to what extent is he able to retell a story after he has read it. Do you notice a difference in his retelling based on whether he has read the story himself or you have read it to him? I wonder if decoding the words is getting in the way of his comprehension.

Has he made similar mistakes to the one you mention in the math test before, or was that the first time? Generally speaking most mistakes on math tests come about because of reading errors.

Boys at this age can be very reluctant readers. They need books that are at the right level, or slightly (slightly!) easier and that are about things that they find interesting. By reading these they build up their reading stamina and gain confidence as well as enthusiasm.

It does sound to me like your son may need some testing and help. Although dyslexia is a possibility, so is dysgraphia. I would suggest having a chat with his teacher and expressing your concerns.

Please let us know how it goes!

12

I will also add that for some kids it’s not the reading that doesn’t interest them, it’s the types of books. A good friend never got into pleasure reading, until they discovered non-fiction, they just preferred it, I am sure you have tried it, but maybe a different style?

My daughter (who is 8) just discovered Junie B Jones, Geronimo Stilton and Captain Underpants, she likes them a lot, we are reading “A Wrinkle in Time” together, but she reads those on her own from time to time.

13

I will say that the OP could have been written to describe my daughter, who is 9.5 and having all of the exact same issues. I would not be surprised to see her write the exact same thing that was quoted in the OP, with spellings, structure, all of it.

The teacher says that she is perfect for her grade level- she is on the curve and slightly below proficent, but right at the basic word fluency.

I think it is bad, and I want to nitpick, but the teacher, with whom we are in close communication with, says that she is just fine, and we need to maintain her interest in reading and writing to communicate, and not to smother her with demands for perfection in the little things, as that will come with practice. Just keep her interested and build the love of reading to read and of writing to write.

It seems to be working, and she is getting better and better over time. It is mostly that at her age I was trying to write my own novels and had breezed through the lord of the rings five times in its entirety…

sigh

It’s hard, but I think you should just let him keep it up, and give what help he asks for, make sure he knows how to use the dictionary, and talk to the teacher.

I have learned that the only thing that being obsessive about his grammar, spelling, word choice, etc, does is shut her down, and that isn’t my goal.

Hope it gets better.

14

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. It’s nice to know that others have similarly unenthusiastic readers.

Ha! Oh, good lord, is this a problem. He remembers all sorts of details about books I’ve read to him, but it doesn’t seem like he absorbs much of what he reads on his own.

In response to other questions: These sorts of errors are very typical. He definitely knows the phonics - that sort of thing isn’t a problem. Subject matter is perhaps a moderate issue, but there are many things that he is eager for me to read to him that he is unwilling to read to himself. He does tend towards books that are heavy on pictures and light on text when reading to himself.

It just seems to be so difficult for him to get the words from the page into his brain, and the words in his brain onto a page. It makes me sad for him. I’m also spectacularly bad at helping him with it. To compound matters, Kid #2, who is now five, is a much more enthusiastic reader and writer. (She’s in kindergarten.) I think it won’t be too very long until she is better at these things. I’m afraid that will be very discouraging.

I’ll call the school after Thanksgiving.

15

BetsQ, you may be pleasantly surprised as your younger child begins to catch up with your son’s reading level. When he was in sixth grade, my son was appalled that his third-grade sister started reading the Harry Potter series before he did. Sibling rivalry was put to constructive use, and he read the whole series purely so that he could roll his eyes and act very blase when she was on tenterhooks about some episode in one of the books. I just smiled behind my hand a lot…

And for what it’s worth, the boy who didn’t love to read, and whose handwriting remains atrocious, is an honor roll eighth grader who can build a computer faster than I can find a new app for my phone.

16

I think a call to the school is your best bet. Better safe than sorry.

Obviously without reading with him I couldn’t be sure but what you have described, especially the retelling problem, does suggest he may need help.

Children who read books that are too difficult for them are having to pay so much attention to what the words say and mean that they cannot lose themselves in the story and so have difficulty telling you what it was about afterwards. There are of course more things to look at, but this is a fairly good indicator. A reluctant reader may not want to read, but after they’ve read a book (at their level) they can still tell you what it was about, or order the events sequentially.

I hope it goes well. Keep us posted.

17

Not a teacher, not a parent, but your boy sounds just like my 30 year old husband, who has dyslexia and dysgraphia.

He didn’t get tested until adulthood, after a childhood of failing classes, hating school, avoiding reading, and finally flunking out of college. He has suffered greatly from depression (Three sisters are all PhDs, and he couldn’t even get through undergrad? His parents were very harsh on him, as the only boy, and the only one to have difficulties.)

Please please please get your son tested. My husband has learned in adulthood a lot of coping techniques, and done a lot of remedial work since his evaluation to improve his reading and writing, but he’s still a literary mess.

He won’t even write an email without having me or a co-worker proof-read it for him (and they need it), and he constantly makes mistakes when reading that don’t make sense. He is continually getting better, but it is a hard slog to undo years of counterproductive reading, writing, and comprehension habits.

I personally consider the best improvement to be his emotional state - he no longer thinks of himself as an idiot, he likes to read for pleasure now, and is actually working on writing a book.

I really ache inside when I think about how much heartache and self-doubt could have been eliminated by a simple test in childhood, and someone to spend the time necessary to teach him how to work past and improve his ability.

Even if you find out that there isn’t really anything officially wrong, you may find that you can help with a tutor or a few days of intense work on phonics or sight-reading or letter recognition or whatever he needs help with. Or, you’ll find out he’s brilliant but lazy, and then figure out a way to deal with that also.

Just do something now, while he’s still a kid and has all those extra neurons to spare. :wink: