So, DS1 is 8, almost 9, and has struggled with reading. He's reading at just below grade level and has been advancing on a relative pace with his grade levels, but not catching up. He's been doing resource reading for two years (starting second sememster 1st grade) and he reads to us every night. He is an excellent speller, but only because he is greaat at memorizing. He can spell his entire spelling list correctly but then not be able to read back some of the words to you, and we find that kind of perplexing and almost disturbing.
We're trying to remain patient, we think his classroom teacher and reading teacher are doing a good job, BUT we're not thoroughly convince that there isn't something ther that is beyond their expertise. We realize how important reading is to learning and he's starting to feel the stigma of having to go to resource reading, so we'd really like to get him over the hump. Oh, and the other thing he will do is insert words that aren't there or replace words for the ones that are there (i.e. read an "a," intead of "the," which we think may be focus/attention related.) He also still flips his d's and b's on occasion. Sometimes we'll catch him trying to start a word with a sound from the end of the word...all of this leads us the think there's something more to solving his learning issues than just more practice and familiarity/comfort.
We're contemplating checking out one of those national education chains (he said without naming any names) is offering free evaluation, and we're a fair bit skeptical, because we think no matter what kid you bring in they're going to find something to recommend they can "help" with and then if we don't spring for their services, we feel like bad parents...
thoughts? Ideas? Help us through this minefield. Anybody used one of these places before, what was your experience?
We're trying to remain patient, we think his classroom teacher and reading teacher are doing a good job, BUT we're not thoroughly convince that there isn't something ther that is beyond their expertise. We realize how important reading is to learning and he's starting to feel the stigma of having to go to resource reading, so we'd really like to get him over the hump. Oh, and the other thing he will do is insert words that aren't there or replace words for the ones that are there (i.e. read an "a," intead of "the," which we think may be focus/attention related.) He also still flips his d's and b's on occasion. Sometimes we'll catch him trying to start a word with a sound from the end of the word...all of this leads us the think there's something more to solving his learning issues than just more practice and familiarity/comfort.
We're contemplating checking out one of those national education chains (he said without naming any names) is offering free evaluation, and we're a fair bit skeptical, because we think no matter what kid you bring in they're going to find something to recommend they can "help" with and then if we don't spring for their services, we feel like bad parents...
thoughts? Ideas? Help us through this minefield. Anybody used one of these places before, what was your experience?