Can I pick your brain?

[ldteach73]

I have a second grader who is LD and I feel really frustrated because he still can't read past a pre-K level. He can't seem to remember words even cvc words without sounding them out every time. He doesn't have many sight words memorized either. I think he may be dyslexic but I don't know. Family says they work with him at home, but he puts up a fight to read simple sentences when mom is at school working with him and with me, he always talks about all he does is play on this Nintendo games etc. I am really frustrated and po'd. He tries to get away with not having to write, type, or read his work. HELP!!! What do I do?

[javamomma]

has he been tested for any specific learning disorder?

[ldteach73]

He is labeled LD already.

[javamomma]

Duh, sorry about that brain lapse there :)

It sounds like the parents talk the talk, but dont follow through at home.

[teacher333]

What about chunking parts of the word, like word-in-word patterns? Can he say simple single syllable words found within a more difficult word?

[ldteach73]

I've tried that a bit, but maybe having them on card all the time would help too to practice. Thanks,

[Val]

Try using music to teach the letter-sound association. Through the use of alliteration, students can learn to recognize and sound out words. There are several good cd's on line.

[SLP]

Have you had him evaluated by your reading specialist? She should be able to give you some ideas for the classroom. Does he already see your reading specialist?

[ldteach73]

He sees me for reading because he is LD but he sees the reading teacher for help with math. yesterday he was to do an assignment from his reg class and we were to read each question and answer to choose the best one and he refused to sound out the words. He said he read them to himself, but I know he didn't and then i asked him to read them out loud and he cried and refused. Finally he read the words he could read I and read the ones that were harder for him. But then when we got to the same word on another line he wouldn't remember it and he wouldn't sound it out. GOD. i don't know what else to do. Alot is refusal on his part, but I just don't know what else to do.

I have had him listen to music, but he hates it and won't continue doing it. He is very manipulative and stubborn!!!!!!!!!!!

[wicked]

You said he has an LD, can you be more specific? Is he on an IEP? His frustration, refusal, and avoidance behaviors is a huge red flag and I would suggest further testing. He is 2 years behind in reading that is another red flag. What reading programs are being used?

[Laoise]

you'll have to forgive me, i'm an irish teacher so lots of abbreviations don't make sense to me...can someone tell me what LD stands for? I am working with a number of children at the moment who sound quite similar to what you describe idteach75....Is it possible there is any issue with his short term memory?

[ldteach73]

Thanks, LD means Learning disabled. He is seeing the reading teacher, may have dyslexia, just has a constant refusal to failure so that I believe is why he doesn't try and avoids everything he does. He is in special ed with an IEp but we are not getting very far with him. We are having him evaled this fall for OT because his fine motor skills are horrible. The parents are divorced. Mom doesn't everything and yet dad buys him all the toys so he really doesn't get disciplined for any negative behaviors.
We use Cove and Phonics books with him and Reading Milestones for his reading. He has strength in Math but we are doing EDM (every day math) so it is language based and it is now getting harder because he can't read the directions to figure out what to do.
His mom said her parents were putting him in the Sylvan program which I hope with seriously help him. I got laid off so the teacher replacing me I hear is a slack off and doesn't make the kids do anything and does a lot for them, so I am pretty worried. Next year he will take the state tests for the first time. I know he wont' do well even with the accommodations because he HAS to read the reading portion on his own and it is 1.5 pages for one story. Right now we;re lucky if he reads one sentence per page. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Wish him luck.

[MrsR]

Have you tried to use the Nintendo games as motivation? Maybe write simple sentences on the computer involving the games and maybe pictures from the games?

[christiw]

I find using reading fluency cards help (depending on his disability). They are a list of words categorized by Pre-K, K, l, 2 etc. I laminate them and practice with the students every day for a few minutes....over and over...Dolch has them on line.

[FourLeggedKids]

Hey everyone! Just wondered if this thread has been dropped, or possibly continued somewhere else. It's a very good question and difficult issue...I'm just curious if anything new has been attempted with this little guy and if so, has anything been successful?

Thanks! :)

[Boxcar]

I know this doesn't specifically address the problem of having an LD, but I'll still suggest it.

You mentioned that this child likes video games. There are many electronic games for pre-readers and beginning readers. Would this child enjoy playing some of these on a computer? Perhaps he would cooperate more if he saw reading as part of a fun activity. You could start really easy and help him build up to new levels.