Case Studies

Clark: from 2 years behind to all caught up in 100 days

Wow what a week! My 8 year old son Clark has completed 100 lessons with Easy Read and in the same week he got pupil of the week at school, not for just anything but for his reading skills and finding his love of reading.

This is so amazing and I’ll tell you why. Just over twelve months ago when Clark had just moved up to year 3 in Junior School I was disappointed to discover that his reading age was around 5 years old, two years behind his actual age. The school worked very hard with Clark to improve his reading but he didn’t enjoy reading at all, it didn’t matter how we tried to encourage or support him he found it very hard to the point of him having a total melt down on most occasions. As far as Clark was concerned reading wasn’t worth the effort and it didn’t get any easier. The phonics that Clark was taught in Infant School were too confusing for Clark and there are so many rules and exceptions that they just made no sense to him.

When we did manage to get him to read it was very slow and sentences made very little sense. He could read a word on one page but will have forgotten it by the next page. Strangely bigger longer words were easier for Clark, I believe this was due to the fact that he had the knowledge to read but struggled with the basic word structures and sounds.

I found Easy read after a google search. After a very difficult day trying to read with Clark, I felt so upset seeing my son struggle and was desperate to help him. Obviously I was unsure if it would help Clark as we had tried just about everything.

It was the feedback from the parents online that sealed the deal so to speak. So many had described their child’s problems and I felt that they could have been writing about Clark.

I was impressed with the 10 free lessons without having to give any payment details.

The trainertext characters are fabulous and fun and easy to learn. They really do make sense and helped Clark see some letters have different sounds. I really looked forwarded to our training everyday and it was nice to sit with Clark and spend that time with him, working through the games and reading sections. I saw results quite quickly after about 20 lessons (in that Clark would sit and do his lesson without any fuss and actually understood what he was reading) and we progressed up the bookcase smoothly. It was during this time that I realised what an impact Clark’s struggle with reading had had on him. It wasn’t quite overnight but he seemed calmer in himself and started sleeping better. His school noticed too during the first couple of weeks. He liked the easy read programme and looked forward to doing it everyday.

We loved the games and I felt the ‘spy’ theme running alongside the lessons were a lovely touch. Getting a codeword and prizes when getting to a milestone was brilliant. Clark loved getting a letter in the post. I was very impressed with the amount of support and contact from the Easy Read staff. They really do help you get the most from the course. They are available to speak to and email at any time. During our first phone call I was very impressed with their concerns that Clark might have an eye tracking problem and light contrast sensitive (something I had considered) they gave him some exercise to do which definitely helped.

So that’s about it really. Our wonderful journey through Easy Read has been worth every penny as Clark’s new teacher (at the start of year 4 in September) was so impressed with his reading that she didn’t even know he’d struggled last year. So he’s reading has come up 2 years in just over 100 days. During the 6 week summer holidays he was a changed boy and its wonderful to see him wanting to read and trying lots of new things due to his reading ability.

I’m so so proud of him.

Kelly Thoresen Isselhardt

2021-12-24

recommends

As a parent working through the 20/21 school year in distance learning with 3 elementary kids, there were at least some positive upsides. For example, my daughter Laine’s (2nd grade, 8 years old at start) reading ability (when she is such a bright, exuberant, creative, SMART kid) kept me up at night. Something was not connecting. No amount of pressure or more reading was making up for the missing pieces in her ability to read. I was literally awake in the middle of the night, by chance watching Dr. Morgan’s Facebook ad and knew he was talking about my daughter. I started crying and felt I had been given such a gift. By morning in February 2021 she was signed up and on her way to decoding and cracking her reading struggles. It’s not been easy all the time, we have struggled through some lessons with tears and frustration. BUT today, Laine passed her 223 lesson, earned her helicopter (the code words/spy prizes have been a great motivator), and has gone from a 1.5 grade reading level to reading at a 5th grade level with limited assistance in only 10 months. I am so grateful for the Easyread program. Their attention to detail, one on one phone calls and Zoom meet ups, quick response time to questions, and consideration for my kid’s development has made us feel cared for each step of the way. If you have looked into the Easyread program and David’s description of your child’s reading journey hits home, run don’t walk to sign up. It has been one of our favorite blessings of this crazy year and I shout it’s praises to anyone who has a struggling reader.

Laura Stoker

2021-12-21

I was really skeptical about this for my 8 year old, how can 15 minutes a day and video, and games work? He struggled with blending and decoding. He know can use the trainer texts faster then I can figure out the word myself to see if he is correct. The system moves as he needs and the personal support is amazing.

Sara Cunningham-Neuff

What a fantastic programme! Our 8 yr old made such rapid progress I began to doubt myself whether she had had issues in the first place! When we looked at the video recording made at the beginning of the programme, her progress was remarkable within just a few weeks. She asks to do the session every day and complains if I don't have time - a massive difference from a child who used to invent the most incredible excuses to avoid reading before this. She now reads books in her own time and is even starting to get her head around spelling - all in less than 2 months. The personalised support from the Easyread facilitators is much better than I expected from an online course and the prizes are great too! Thank you Easyread!

Jared Amanda Stone

Our daughter has loved the Easyread program. She thinks she is just playing fun games on the computer but she's actually improving her reading and spelling skills. Her Spelling grades have improved from 50% to 90% in only a few months. Thank you Easyread for an amazing program! I would highly recommend your program for any children struggling to read and spell.

Carly Banks

2021-12-14

Wow, this program works! My 9-year old became a more fluent reader within weeks of starting, and she really enjoyed doing the assignments (structured like fun games) every day! She never complained about it once, even 2 months in she was excited to decode the words and play the games in Easyread. And she has so much more confidence now. Thank you Easyread!