Lyn can remember how when her son was at nursery, he was observed as being one of the most promising children in his class. Indeed, Andrew was progressing incredibly well in all areas and staff often commented on how bright he was. Then, he went to school….
From age 5 onwards Andrew’s difficulties with his reading were woefully apparent. All Lyn could do was to hope that the school would guide him home.
But by the end of the next year, Andrew had not reached any of the required target levels. During Year 1 (Kindergarten) his reading and writing skills were almost non-existent and so by Year 2 (1st Grade), Lyn decided to question the school about his reading and writing abilities, to which the Teacher replied: “well Andrew struggles with everything, doesn’t he?”
Lyn promptly took Andrew out of the school and opted for a year of homeschooling. They hired a tutor who assured Lyn that her son was very bright and would catch up. He didn’t.
In Year 3 (2nd Grade) Andrew joined a different school. Mother and son were determined to start afresh and hope for the best. It was a good school and his reading did begin to improve, to an extent. But on the whole Andrew was still well below the average reading level for his age.
Three years went by and then Andrew sat the ‘Kent’ Test. Despite having been above average in Maths, it was clear that without constant support from a Teaching Assistant he simply couldn’t read the questions. As such he failed the Maths portion of the test. It was then that Lyn became painfully aware that something needed to be done.
She began trawling the Internet for solutions and realized that although there was a wealth of information out there, much of it was suggesting she use the same techniques that had failed Andrew already.
Along the way she came across the Easyread System. It seemed different. So she had Andrew try the sample lesson and instantly, Lyn felt reassured. She could really see how it might work. So they took the plunge and signed up.
Andrew did the 5-15 minute lessons nearly every morning; the only exceptions being Christmas day and his birthday. He never once complained and he loved receiving the prizes along the way. After about 3 months a marked difference in his reading was beginning to shine through. Even Andrew’s spelling and writing began to improve!
By the end of primary school, Andrew was halfway through the Easyread course and received a report from the school remarking on a “noticeable improvement in reading”. In his SATs he obtained a Level 4 in both reading and writing-the benchmark for a child who is showing constant progression in literacy.
That’s not all. A few months later Andrew started senior school (middle school). For the first time in his life he took a Maths assessment without the help of an assistant and obtained a Level 5! “We were thrilled. This would not have happened without Easyread.” Said Lyn “It certainly worked for Andrew! “
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For more amazing stories like this, click on our Case Studies category: http://www.easyreadsystem.com/news/category/case-studies/ or visit the daily flow of short testimonials on our website: http://www.easyreadsystem.com/home/testimonials.html
Laura O’Sullivan is an Easyread Coach at Oxford Learning Solutions. Easyread is an online phonics course that provides support for spelling and reading problems for children with highly visual learning styles, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder.