Learning disibilities at 6?
Answer:
I work at a school and I have a son that has a learning disability. I can tell you one thing, if you feel like there is something wrong then follow your gut feeling and have him tested for a learning disability. The school can test him, but if they don't you can have him tested yourself. Our insurance paid to have our son tested. After that you take the results to the school and then they have to provide your child with the help that he needs.
It is doubtful, but it could be ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), as in he can't keep his concentration on one thing, or it could be a very mild form of autism. What is probably the case is that he is a kinesthetic learner (learns from hands on activities and experience). Suggestions:
1. Make cards where you have printed clearly words like 'chair', 'table', 'clock', 'bench' etc, and stick them on these objects around your house. Play guessing games with the words, eg; take the cards away and get him to place them on the appropriate piece of furniture.
2. Make sure you are picking books that are interesting to him - sometimes kids just don't get into books that they have no interest in and therefore seem to be unable to read them
3. Have routine reading times with him that are free from distraction. Make them special.
4. I used to play little games with my daughter where i would read a story and we would identify certain words (one to start with and then a couple) together, and then i would not say them - she would have to identify the word.and read it, and then i would keep on reading.
5. Another challenging and fun way for kids, is to read with you. Point at the words as you and he read and get him to read along with you. You can drop your timing back a bit so that he has to attempt the word before he hears you attempt it. Go at the child's reading speed.
6 Lot's and Lots of encouragement - not just saying 'good boy' but commenting on how impressed you are with his thinking skills etc
7. Play spelling games in the car
8. Have high expectations - don't talk about your worries for your child in front of him and make sure he knows you think he is a clever and achieving child
9. Don't worry; children develop at different rates - different skills come to them at different times. Einstein didn't speak until he was three!
Its great you are discussing it with his teacher, it means he/she can keep an eye on his progress along with you. 6 year olds are still getting used to new routines at school, try not to measure your child against other people's - you never know what kind of obstacles these children are facing. Good luck, and good nurturing!
You are not over reacting. These are skills that should come easily to a 6 year old. You don't mention where you live, but ask your child's teacher to begin the process of having your child evaluated. The sooner intervention occurs, the greater the chances of success.
My youngest son had learning disabilies at an early age as well. He was tounge twisted and his hearing was very poor. I had those corrected. When I discovered that my son had learning disabilities he was placed in a special program in his public school. It seemed to work for him because now he is in high school and he is still on a special program that gives him school work that is suitable for his needs. He is doing much better and I couldn't be more proud of him. Please look into a program that will best suit your child even as young as he is. Good luck and happy holidays.
I'm not sure what "speech and math title 1" means, so I don't know the implications of that. How much pressure is he under to do well with math and reading?
The skill you are talking about in terms of being able to put sounds together is called "phonemic awareness". In order to put the sounds together other skills need to be in place first. I have included a link to phonemic awareness skills. Your son probably would benefit from some specific instruction in phonemic awareness skills.
Guessing is a normal thing for a child to do when he feels pressured to give some answer and he isn't sure of the correct one. Three letter words can often be the hardest of all. There are not as many clues to help a child figure them out. Words such as "the, and, one, saw, was, not, are, out, etc.) can be very difficult, while bigger words such as "hippopotamus, monster, automobile, etc." are often easier because there are more clues.
Six years of age is rather young to diagnose learning disabilities. He may be developmentally not quite ready yet for the tasks you are expecting of him, and if that is so, you will frustrate him more by pressuring him to work at things that are too difficult for him.
My suggestion would be to pull back a little and maybe make a fresh start. Begin by having him build a word bank at home. Let him choose the word he wants to learn everyday and it can be anything he wants it to be. Print the word on a card, and keep it in a special place. Next day review that word to see that he recognizes it, spell it by looking at the letters and have him trace the letters with his finger, and write the word by copying it from the card. Then let him choose a new word and write that word on a card. Review all his words everyday. Continue in this vein and he will soon have a large collection of words. Plan non-threatening activities with the words - give him activities such as having him fill in the missing letters - if one of his words is "elephant" give him e_e_h_nt on a piece of paper and have him use his word card to fill in the missing letters. Do all kinds of activities with his words, including helping him to practice spelling them, but make sure he CAN do anything you ask him to do. Don't make the work too hard for him. I expect he has experienced some failure with such activities, so you may need to build his confidence.
Consider using a language experience approach at home with him. In this approach you basically write down a story he tells you. For example, have him tell you about his trip to the zoo, or some other activity. Write down exactly what he tells you. Use a tape recorder if you can't catch everything as he says it. Then read it over with him, pointing out that what you have written down are the exact words he said. He will most likely be very quickly able to "read" this story, because it is his own words. Use this story them to develop activities. For example, do a cloze procedure with the story. Rewrite the story leaving a blank for some of the words. Have him fill in the missing words, using the original story to help him. Think of all kinds of other activities to do with his stories and the words in them. Make them into a book. Most importantly, continue to make sure that you ensure he will be successful with activities. You will gradually make activities more difficult as his confidence and skills build.
Learn about phonemic awareness yourself and see if you can incorporate some activities into what you do with him at home. Remember phomemic awareness is about listening and recognizing and reproducing sounds and playing with sounds in different ways. It is a precursor to reading. Some children learn these skills naturally and some do not. Make it fun for him.
For a while focus more on reading to him than having him read to you. Choose predictable books - books with language that is repetitive, as well as others. The Mercer Meyer books are good examples of predictable books, as well as the Eric Carle books. He will soon be able to "chime in" with the correct words when you read these books. You might be surprised at how quickly he might be reading them himself.
It is very early to tell whether or not your son has a learning disability. Try some of these suggestions and take a little of the pressure off, and see what happens over the next few months. If he continues to struggle you may want to investigate a reading approach called the Orton Gillingham approach to reading which is diagnostic, and the Lindamood-Bell learning processes, which are a little different in their approach.
I hope this is of some help.
sounds like he has a learning disability. Go to the paediatrician and get him assessed NOW
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