Comprehension Problems....?

Question

my son is now in the 3rd grade and he is still having comprehension problems. The school tested him last year and they didn't see enough to say he had a disability. Now that he is in the 3rd grade and still recieving reading intervention. What else can I do?

Answer 1

sorry to answer this with a question, but exactly what was tested when he received testing?  did he merely have academic and cognitive testing?  if this is the case, you may want to submit a written request to the school that you want your child tested for speech & language.  if he is struggling with comprehension of grade level texts, he may have a delay in receptive language.  if this delay is large enough, he may qualify for speech language services to improve his comprehension skills.  

if he qualifies for speech language therapy to improve his receptive language, he legally can be "guested" into resource services since he would have an IEP.  

good luck!

Answer 2

Try (100 Days Reading Program), I bought online from Amazon.com  I used it to my youngest at  age 6, very effective. i think your child needs to go back to basics,no offense, just try. At the end of the chapter it develops good comprehension. I even used it to my level 7 who has problems with comprehension.

Answer 3

WHen the school does testing to see if he has a disabilitty, they also do this testing to see if he qualfies for help thru special ed.

You need to learn the special ed laws and make sure the school is doing the legal process correctly.

Hate to say it, but MOST if not ALL schools do not do this correctly becuase they don't want to help children thru special ed.

You and most parents will NOT know this until you learn the laws and the process and find out for yourself that the school  is probably not doing things right.

It is highly likely that your child DOES qualify for specila ed, but the school did not do things correctly to determine this.

So what you do now is to learn the special ed laws and process at

www.wrightslaw.com

It is a very complicated and time consuming process, but it HAS to be done in order for a child to recieve the help he needs.

If it has been over a year since the school did the testing and said he didnt' qualify for help, you can ask for them to do the testing again. Children can have this testing done once a year to see if they qualify for special ed. Schools will not tell you this becuase they don't want to help.

To get this started, write a letter to the district special ed director stating 'I am writing this letter to request an initial full educational evaluation testing in all areas of suspected disabiltities to determine if my child can qualify for special education services as mandated by IDEA law'.

This contains all the 'legal' phrases that need to be used so the school won't ignore or lie to you. If they do, you can take further action.  

The 'intervention' he is getting will not help if he truly has learning problems.  Schools are only required to help with learning problems IF the child is in special ed. The 'intervention' he is getting is probably NOT to help with reading, but to help the child score better on the state testing so the school will GET MORE MONEY.

Email me at [e-mail]  if you need more help!!

Answer 4

Hey, maybe he simply is not interested in reading, ever consider that?

Answer 5

I can only tell you what I did with my son . . . he is five but the problem seems similar.  Find a book that is below grade level (in my case, I used Pat the Bunny).  A simple, easy to follow book without distracting details . . . think along the lines of any Dr. Suess (sp?) book.  Read the book to your son.  As you are reading, ask questions such as "What just happened?"  "Why did this happen?"  "Who are the characters?"  "Where is this taking place?" "When is this taking place?" and of course"Why is (whatever action) relevant to the story?"  He probably has a problem sorting the details from the relevant story line . . . by using a book that is easier to understand he should be able to grasp the basic mechanics of comprehension and eventually be able to apply them to grade level reading material.  In other words, practice, practice, practice.

Answer 6

ok try this ask the teacher if you and her could setup  something to where he could stay after school for a little bit to get some help on his comprehension to improve it. then ask her or him send home some work on comprehension. so you can help work it to.