Lost for Words

Ive been really interested to see these programmes on Channel 4 about literacy and why 'our' kids cant read.http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/dispatches/why+our+children+cant+read/937947

As a family with three Severely Dyslexic children its very relevant.
Our experience has been that in school the children were taught to read using a 'look and memorise' technique with no phonic based techniques used as far as we could see.(oxford reading tree). Chloe coped fairly well with this initially and could 'read' however as things got harder she just fell to bits. We later discovered that was because she was memorising as many words as possible, as soon as she reached a level where her photographic memory failed her she had no skills to be able to decode or decipher what was being put in front of her. If the word didn't 'match' one she remembered she had no idea what it could possibly be. I believe this led to a huge delay in diagnosing dyslexia and can only imagine the stress she must have gone through.
The use of phonics was being introduced when the youngest was in infants and so it was clearer that Connor had problems however the school felt his problems were because he had a lisp rather than because he couldn't read the sounds, he couldn't say them. Well maybe they were partly correct. He has difficulty with phonics too. After a year of specialist teaching he now knows the sounds only he cannot blend the sounds together, they go forwards, backwards, the wrong sounds( he knows what it should say but a different sound comes out of his mouth!)
We are currently practicing CVC words( vowel, consonant, Vowel- Ie CAT, RUN, TOP, TOT etc) but he's still struggling- only now hes at home it doesn't really matter to anyone but us and his tutor that hes struggling. There is nobody around to criticise or appear impatient, no timescale for him to 'have' to do things and now hes at home he's not missing out on an education because he cant read and write as well as the rest. We just do things differently! He does alot of his learning using DVD's , the PC and with me reading relevant things to him or with him.
I think the aim of the school involved in this programme was admirable and clearly for many children it was effective.It uses exactly the techniques that Connor uses. I thought it was shocking that there wasn't any routine screening for Dyslexia shown( if it was I missed it!) and no recognition that for some children they could work at it every day,they still might not be able to do the business!
I loved the input from the Poet Benjamin Zephaniah and the inspiring work he was doing bringing words to life and the success that all the children were experiencing performing his work.
Its really made me think about the advantages for him of being at home. If he were in school he would be confined to his hour a week as his 'opportunity'( I use the term loosely) to learn to read in a separate room with other children with problems , withdrawn from the rest and missing something he would enjoy ( pointing out he has these problems in a negative fashion) because of course he wouldn't be allowed to miss English or Maths so removing his opportunity to enjoy something he is good at!
There is no way I can even imagine them getting all the children in a programme such as the one featured in Channel 4, That would be seen as detrimental to the children who can already read, which is where their efforts are concentrated while the ones who cannot read after about age 7 are expected to cope( no time to catch up or enjoy). This was illustrated when I bought him a Jeremy Strong book in WHSmith this week (aimed at 5+) and he said "Oh I know this one, T ( his best friend) read it to me one wet playtime in Year 2... he thought it was funny and I thought so too.The school separated he and T in year 3( diff classes) and put Connor on the 'special needs table'( oh how charmingly divisive!) and then wondered why his self esteem plummeted!( its really not rocket science!)

I absent mindedly thought" how fantastic some of that work was Chloe gets lots of this in her school and I can see it works.... if only Connor could..." and went back to the programme. Less than 24 hours later however the opportunity did present itself!
We'd booked to attend an African storytelling workshop at the Wales Millennium centre and he decided that morning he wasn't going, no stories, wasn't playing, would rage and glower and act stroppily if I tried to make him! We set out with a really unhappy Connor and I said he had to give it a go...
He was so glad he did! The storytellers were brilliant!They got the whole group involved in the session held in a Yurt, we sang a traditional song,learned how to respond to the storyteller inviting everyone to share the story and the children really enjoyed the traditional tale of the animals and the journey to see the witch doctor at the top of Table mountain, trying on hats and playing musical instruments, trying all the different sounds to re-create thunder and rain and playing the drums.
Connor threw himself into it with great gusto and his sisters enjoyed too only slightly 'cooler' about it as befits teens but Chloe wrote a long diary entry in her holiday diary about it and said she would ask her year tutor if they could have them visit their school.

The effect on Connor has been amazing he's more fired up about books and stories and has been more willing to sit and share stories( a big no no- books are scary and someone will force me to try and humiliate myself making mistakes).He's even trying that Jeremy Strong Book with me, reading the words he can manage and spotted "Men at work" on a sign the other day, unremarkable for many 9 year olds - a big step for him!
We've also started looking at African stories to try and find others he can enjoy sharing.Its really amazing what can unlock a child's interest... just such a shame this is denied to many school children once it is decreed they have reached an age where they 'should' be able to read.

Sophie's also getting into poetry, enjoying reading some funny poems to us and appears to find it more manageable than a book, although she can read( and is trying to tacke the Diary of Anne Frank), she finds it a chore and will also do anything to avoid it if possible so the nature of poems means she doesn't have to plod on and on, can dip in and out and the more amusing the better. I hope Connor will also start sharing her interest... I'm going to invest in some Spike Milligan and roger Mcgough next!( to amuse me too!)