In the UK, our children start their educational career at a very young age. Even in some nurseries they start learning letters and phonics. Some children seem ready earlier – everyone gets there in their own time but often school doesn’t allow this with immense pressure on teachers to hit targets and goals.
More often than not girls have a more developed language and vocabulary and seem naturally ready to mark make and learn in a more formalised way. Research shows that boys are often 6 months behind their female counterparts initially.
We are already monitoring our children from as early as age 4 to the standards that have been decided for children. With a rapid rise in children disengaging from school and suffering from burnout it comes as no surprise that these young people often have a reported delayed acquisition in literacy skills.
It is well known that children begin learning letter sounds as early as age 3. On starting reception they are rapidly learning a minimum of a letter sound per week, moving swiftly into blends such as th, ch, sh, ay. While some engage readily with this and do well, others struggle.
Research shows us that children may not be ready to blend sounds together to make words until they are much older. This is linked to the two sides of the brain connecting together which is why at Toucan we do lots of work around ‘crossing the mid line’ with our dyslexic learners.
Your child needs to be in the right place to learn to read and write, to put it simply they need to be able to hear, see and speak properly. They need to be able to focus and be ready for more formalised learning. Many children prefer to be playing and that’s the stage they are at.
If your child is struggling to access reading and writing from year 1, try not to panic. There are many reasons for this and there is lots you can do to find out what is going on. Literacy difficulties is not always dyslexia. Other issues can mean your child presents as if they may have dyslexia.
“Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil and yet… the kernels do not pop at the same time. Don’t compare your child to others. Their turn to pop is coming!”
Assessment is best after age 9. Before that, dyslexia is identifiable but there can be many other issues which make the outcome inconclusive. Ask school to carry out a screener. Some schools use one by GL assessment which is good and there is one by Nessy which is also good. They don’t replace a formal assessment carried out by a qualified and trained assessor but can be a good start. Dyslexia is not a yes or no outcome which many people think. It’s a range of different test scores and qualitative and quantitative data gathered by the assessor plus observations and writing samples.
Key points to remember
- If we have to TEACH reading, daily and with effort there is an underlying issue. When most children are ready, it clicks and it really is like magic. If you are slogging away with your child and they have to work hard to decode words and read, it is either too early or something else is afoot. If they are still like this towards the end of year 2 to mid year 3 then I would be looking at reasons as to why.
- Spelling takes longer – the English language is a complex thing – full of rules that make no sense or there is always an exception to the rule. For most children, phonics are absolutely key and they need to be taught to a very high standard. If your child does not experience high quality phonics teaching they will most likely struggle to spell. In addition, if they have not been at the right stage of development to access it – then it should be taught again.
Things to check
- Observe and document any hearing issues. Ask the teacher to do this also. Set out tests such as giving an instruction and asking them to repeat it. Notice if the TV always on loud, do they have a loud voice, is the teacher reporting they are distracted and zoning out. Is their speech clear or is some of it blurred. Pay attention to f and th and how it is pronounced. If you are concerned take them to the doctors and get a hearing test. Your child could have glue ear which is very common in reception and can greatly impact literacy. It can often go undetected.
- Observe any eye issues but take your child to be tested anyway. We send children to a local optician in the North East who specialise in the link between dyslexia and the eyes. It cannot be emphasised enough how important this is. Dyslexia assessors see eye issues all the time in dyslexia assessments – often alongside dyslexia but sometimes the only issue. You need someone specialised. Standard tests in well known places do not do the job – a child may be checked as clear in these tests but have a significant issue. Often exercises can help, glasses etc to help them through that period of time. These issues are usually not long term.
- Check out your child’s diet. Many deficiencies can affect attention and more. It might be good to ask for blood tests to check vitamin and mineral levels – many children have a lack of magnesium, vitamin D and zinc which can affect a multitude of things.
- Check out speech and language. It is very hard to notice a speech issue in your own child because you are familiar with the way they speak. It is also hard to notice specific sounds. Ask others if they can understand your child when they speak. Check if they pronounce sounds with difficulty – often this can be f or th sounds.
- Look closely at motor skills – described as fine (fingers and small movements) and gross (large body movements). How is your child’s hand grip? Check the following: is it a pincer grip, do they hold the pen tightly or is it loose, do they press down heavily on the paper – the pencil marks will feel like indents when you move your finger over them. Are they better with a fat pen or crayon. If it pains a child to write they will avoid it at all costs.
Once all of these things have been checked, it’s time to look at phonological ability. A dyslexia specialist tends to start with the alphabet – does the child know each sound for each letter as well as the name. Can they write the lower and upper (capital) case for each letter. This is the first stage. After this, blends are checked and then we move onto spelling rules.
Reading can take longer for some children, but they do all get there in the end. Some children with dyslexia still enjoy reading, but some don’t and avoid it at all costs. It can be exhausting and though they may read well they may not fully comprehend the content and have to read it more than three times. It’s important to maintain a love of reading – this can be done through audio books, kindles also work well as the print can be enlarged- the book doesn’t feel as overwhelming and they can tap on words to find out what they mean. It can be a beautiful thing to become lost in a story – often an escape or how we learn about the world – relationships, history and emotions. It is always advised to encourage this in whatever form possible.
There are many reasons why a child can struggle with early literacy. We hope this helps to identify some things to look out for and when to seek professional help. If you feel we can support you in any way, you can contact us at Toucan Education here.