87 Words Per Minute!

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."   
Thomas Edison

Our Goals & Progress: Dated November 25th 2013

After 25 Hours of One-on- One Instruction-

1. K.C can now read 150/150 Most Frequent Sight Words...(Began with 54 on Oct.2)
2. K.C read 87 Words Per minute of a Grade 2.1 Text!- (Began with 19 words/minute on Oct.2)
3. K.C can read and identify all letter sounds, diphthongs, vowel teams & front of the board suffixes with 100% accuracy... (Began with not even knowing letter sounds on Oct. 2)
4. K.C. can also read 90% of "back of the board suffixes.(Knew none on Oct.2) (which I understand, doesn't mean much to most of my Blog readers- but to me this is a HUGE feat.)

My main focus and goal for this intervention is getting K.C. to READ at Grade Level- I am thrilled to say that he is meeting and exceeding his READING goals!

Always bring your own sunshine :)

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,always bring your own sunshine." ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

...My Sunshine...(I couldn't resist)

 "Mommy, does Jack get to read with you during the day like I do?" K.C. asked me, wondering if his brother gets the same attention.

"No." I replied

"Is it because he isn't Diff-leckick?" K.C. asked.

"Yep." I said.

"Well then... It's a good thing at I am Diff-leckick. Thanks Mommy for teaching me how to read." He said as he exited my car.

"It's not because of me Buddy, It's all you.."..I replied, as I teared up, kissed the little freckles on his nose and sent him back into school..

I'm utterly amazed at the lessons I've learned from this child.

DRA Level 3 to DRA Level 14! (In only 18 Hours)

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."  ~Scott Hamilton

I need to skip over the last month of intervention and cut to the chase with the progress K.C. has made. I'm way too excited to hold back!

October 2:

Pre-Primer (Kindergarten) Level Text:  32 Words Per Minute   
DRA Level 3

November 15: 

1.5 Grade Level Text:  74 Words Per Minute 
DRA Level 14

What have we done to raise his level of reading over one whole grade level? (While increasing Reading Fluency almost 60%)

1. K.C. has worked 18 total hours (One hour at a time) with me as his Instructor in the morning hours. 
2. He has also worked with me-(as his mother) for 30 minutes to an hour in the evening. (By this I mean he has to do homework from me as the instructor :)
3. He's diligent, He never gives up. I'm simply amazed at his desire to learn to read. 
4. When we're done with his homework he wants to read more. It's like the more he reads...the more he wants to read.!

Off to see our Pediatric Optometrist...

October 14, 2013

"Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth."

--Helen Caldicott, author and peace activist

VISION UPDATE:
K.C. has a huge issue with his vision. He has like a +2.5 prescription in his left eye, and needs no prescription in his right eye- bring on the extra wall to break down while figuring out how to read.

BUT KNOW THIS:  K.C. passed all prior vision screenings at school, and passed a normal basic optometry exam.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't waste your time with a routine eye exam. Have your child examined by a Pediatric/Developmental Optometrist . (This is the link to Doctor Carder in Ann Arbor)

Uphill journey began with a SMILE!

October 8, 2013

When Thomas Edison was six years old his teacher sent the following note – “He is too stupid to learn.”

I've been trained in almost every reading program under the sun. Orton Gillingham, Lindamood Bell, Wilson and F.A.S.T.....etc. FAST offers the best bang for your buck. In that I mean, Kids see IMMEDIATE SUCCESS.

My son and I began at STEP 1 of FAST- to learn correct sounds of letters, build tracking skills and start reading!

On Day Four, K.C. read 70 words per minute in a reading fluency (speed) drill.*

After I counted the number of words he read, K.C. looked at me, gave me a toothy grin, stared for a moment, and said, "Can I do it again ?"  
"Of course...!" I replied. And our uphill journey began....with a smile!


My thoughts on FAST, just in case you are curious!
I've had friends say to me, "Oh, well my son was tutored in FAST and it didn't work."

My response, "If your child had FAST instruction, delivered by a competent instructor, they'd be reading."

On another note, I do believe that "if you love your job, you'll never work another day in your life." 
I love what I do. I give people the gift of literacy....so maaaaaayyyybe it IS more than just training in FAST???

“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” -Thomas Edison

*This rate was a .6 GLE, and also was after his 3rd timed read-NOT a Cold Read)

Journal #3 "Mommy RTI"-Boring Assessment Data

October 2, 2013: My Academic Assessment Data on K.C.

Every student that enters my program is evaluated- and from that data I create goals to reach within 20 hours of instruction.

I felt the need to treat my son like any other client- I needed benchmarks to set goals from.

K.C's academic progress in the areas of Reading Skills, Reading Fluency , Word Attack Skills and Phonological Skills. The results of this diagnostic dated, September 29, 2013, are described below.

K.C is able to identify all of the letters of the alphabet.

In a sound/symbol assessment, K.C. is unable to correctly identify the sounds of:

·        X, V, KN, PH

·        K

·        V

·        KN

·        PH

·        QU

·        CH

·        WH

·        TH

·        DGE

·        TCH

·        CK

·        All Diphthongs (oi/oy, au/aw, ou/ow, oo)

·        Vowel Teams (ee/ai/ay/oa/oe/ue/ui, etc.)

·        All Suffixes

K.C’s Reading scores indicate that he has difficulty reading words with one syllable cVc words like; fit, fun, pal, and also exhibits difficulty with words that have blends (e.g., glad, stamp) and words with suffixes, diphthongs, and vowel teams.  He has a very short sight word vocabulary.  When administered a sight word screener, K.C. was only able to read 87 words of the 150 most common words found in the English Language.          

The Spelling Inventory administered to K.C. revealed that he has some phonics skills to spell one syllable cVc words, but not with words that contain blends and consonant digraphs. K.C.’s responses suggest that has no knowledge of spelling rules, suffixes and is not familiar with the spelling of sight words.  

K.C. was administered a DRA Level 3-4 passage, Reading A-Z Level C (Fountas and Pinnell C, Grade K, Reading Recovery equivalent 3-4) on September 29^th. He reached frustration at this level, having an Error Rate of 1:9, Accuracy Rating of 88%.

His reading fluency rate was 20 words per minute.

DIBELS Data: Administered September 2014 @ Hornung Elementary

§  Non-sense word Fluency (Correct Letter Sounds):  40/142 or 28%

§  Nonsense Word Fluency (Correct Words)- 2/50 or 4%

§  Dibels Oral Reading Fluency-Words Correct:  19 Words Per Minute

No time to waste...

Dyslexia.
The word felt like fire under my feet. I needed to move on this, fast. 
But how?- With four other children and my work, finding a 'quiet time' to work with my son after school, when K.C. wasn't too tired to focus, was impossible. 

"No one loves K.C. more than you."  My sister-in-law said while tearing up, "How can this be left to the school? Why don't you be K.C's RTI? Who better to be accountable to, than yourself? "

It was my 'aha' moment.
A brief second actually, because the next thought that came through my  mind turned my stomach upside down. Sadly, I knew the politics of the game. If we refuse K.C.'s participation in the school's RTI program, in exchange for one-on-one, specialized instruction, with yours truly, we would surrender the future determination of a "Learning Disability" under the eyes of the school; thereby sacrificing Special Education Services.

Do we forgo possible Special Ed. determination, in lieu of immediate acquisition of Reading Skills for our son?

"We don't have one, two or three years to wait and see if the RTI process would eliminate the possibility of a disability." My husband said, "K.C. needs to learn how read....Like Yesterday."

He also needed a 504 Plan.

I immediately reached out to our School Principal to request a 504 meeting, based on my medical Diagnosis of Dyslexia. I also proposed the idea of working with K.C. privately, at my office, during the first hour of school. My  goal was collaboration, and hope that my son's teacher and Principal would understand the urgency, and welcome my offer. Our Principal was gracious, and very understanding, but K.C.'s Teacher was to say the least, very hesitant.

K.C.'s teacher is a great communicator. She adores children. She's organized, experienced and genuinely loves her students. So when we met, I was eager to share the great news of K.C.'s Psycho-Educational Evaluation. K.C.'s has Above-Average IQ. The bad news; K.C. is in <5%ile in most of Reading Abilities, (According to to the WIAT)

I conveyed the criticality and necessity to pull K.C. out of school in the morning, for one-one one, reading intervention. I disclosed my experience and successes with students like K.C. who share the same learning challenges.


The response,

"Isn't this something you can do at home? He needs to be in school. K.C. somehow wound up with a really good RTI teacher this year. If you pull K.C. out of school (for one hour in the morning), he will miss RTI, Calendar and Reader's Workshop- He really should not miss Reader's Workshop."  

"In Readers Workshop students: (1) Receive a mini-lesson on a reading strategy. (2) Read Independently for 30-60 Minutes. And, (3) Share with another person their journal entries on the book their reading, and the other person gives feedback."

 I was flabbergasted. How does a child READ INDEPENDENTLY, if he can't READ?

I began to feel queasy and confused, and spoke out of turn, "This isn't something that can be worked on at home. This isn't something Sylvan Learning Center can correct. He can't be cured. He is Dyslexic. "

I was a bit fired up, and tried to maintain composure, "I gave the school the opportunity to work with my son last year, and he made NO progress in RTI; and other than a report that was sent home, I received ZERO communication from the school about the severity of his abilities."

I had to take a breath. While beginning to tear up, I murmured slowly,"We don't want to disrupt his schedule at all, but our son came home crying because he couldn't read your daily schedule. He came home sobbing because he couldn't read his math test, or read calendar words. So, because of that---- teaching K.C. to decode our confusing written language, using a research-based reading instruction, while immediately boosting his abilities and confidence, during the time of day when he learns best trumps 2nd Grade Calendar and Reader's Workshop."

I was a little taken back at my feisty-ness, because honestly I have the utmost respect and support for teachers. I am very aware of their dedication to all children- but apparently, I wasn't in the mood for a philosophy debate. And so, after my tirade, the conversation wrapped up quickly, leaving the room a bit colder. 

And, without any support from his teacher on October 2, K.C. and I went rogue. 

www.FocusOnAcademics.com

The History...

I will refer to my son as K.C.. He is our #4. We have five children, and he was our baby until the arrival of his sister 8 months ago. My son K.C., is remarkably brilliant, has a huge personality, and is always happy. He has a smile that will melt your heart in an instant. He remembers everything he hears, and has the most painstaking drive to learn. He’s intense, athletic, inquisitive and very chatty. Regardless of the fact that he suffered a life-threatening illness as a 10 day old infant, and was unable to speak a full sentence until he was three; he has the memory that would put Harvard students to shame.

K.C. was potty trained at the age of two. And, at the young age of four, my sweet baby guided me mile -by-mile to his cousin’s house 10 miles away. K.C. is brilliant, but he cannot rhyme or remember sounds that make up the symbols of our written language. He has difficulty remembering letter and number symbols, and always writes and says letters and numbers in reverse.

I consider myself not only a Reading/Learning Specialist, but a Dyslexia Expert. Is there a degree that certifies me as being an "expert?" No. But my resume of experience, education and success with students that are Learning Disabled, Dyslexic, ADD, or students experiencing Reading Delays, etc. is endless. I am not only apt at treating Dyslexia, but I'm good at spotting the symptoms of Dyslexia, and I knew, in the back of my mind that my K.C. was Dyslexic.

I knew that my son was Dyslexic, and so when I received the much anticipated RTI referral note that most parents dread in the Fall of K.C.'s First Grade Year (2012/2013) I wasn't surprised. Although I knew what K.C. needed from an instructional viewpoint, I decided to “see what the school” could accomplish with him in a small group,  receiving "targeted, research-based reading instruction" 30 minutes a day, 2-4 days a week.  "Our school's RTI program is highly regarded. I'll wait to see what they have to say." I thought,

And so, I waited. I received all three of the "Progress Monitoring" reports from the school’s R.T.I. program, including the year-end summary report, and no one 'said' anything.

I can interpret the AIMSWeb jargon that school sent home, because I do this for a living. Iread the report that concluded, K.C. did not meet the goal of, "K.C. will read 51 words correct with 0 Errors from Grade 1 Reading," because K.C could only read 11 words.  I wondered why and how he couldn't have met his goal- especially with the amount and intensity of intervention he received?

K.C. spent anywhere from 30 to 60 hours of his First Grade receiving targeted, Research-Based Reading Instruction at his school, and he STILL DIDN'T MEET HIS GOALS? Wow. 

Did I receive a phone call yet? No.  

I was offended, hurt and angry. 

I know how to build the skills in my son to get him reading, (in less than 30 hours, I may add) so I'm not stressed. I'm very well aware of the political steps I have to take, but I cannot stop thinking, "What about parents who don't know what steps to take? They are receiving the same reports from school and have no idea what the reports mean. Other parents are trusting 'the system.'" 

In August 2013,  K.C. completed a full Psycho-Educational Evaluation. We needed concrete standardized data to give to the school regarding my son’s reading deficits. 

September 2013, 2nd grade: K.C.'s frustration of learning became evident. He became sad and embarrassed. (He told me that boys on the playground called him, 'stupid.') Again, I received the RTI referral note home, requesting MORE time than he received last year. This time I emailed the RTI Specialist for some feedback, and received no reply. I was really praying that the team of Specialists at the school would convey the same concerns and (Professional) observations that I noted above, but the response never came.

Three weeks ago, the results of the Psycho-Educational Evaluation came in just as I suspected: Dyslexic- (or according to the A.P.A., is also called a Learning Disorder in Reading).

I knew it all along, and through the past two years, I would calmly say to myself (and my husband), “If K.C. has Dyslexia, it’s no biggie-I’m here for him. God gave me the amazing gift to teach people how to read. We’ll handle this…. No Problem!” ….

But-- Reality set in. The diagnosis is real. My sunny little man with the biggest heart is Dyslexic. My heart aches for him. Three weeks have gone by and I still have a difficult time making it through the day without breaking into tears. My son will have gargantuan political, social andacademic obstacles to overcome with this disability, and while they are mine to defeat in the near future; the tumultuous journey of going through life with this disability, is his to conquer for his entire life.