Hannah was stuck in a reading rut as a self-professed non-reader before Easyread. Nowadays, she can’t get enough!
The Problem
Year 1 was a breeze for Hannah. She could easily devour most of the books in the classroom and the school had no concerns. Fast forward a year and the picture couldn’t have been more different. As far as reading was concerned, Hannah was well and truly stuck in a rut. The school refused to admit there was a problem, but mum Sharon had others ideas…
The decline in Hannah’s ready ability was widespread. In a classroom setting she was heavily dependent on her classmates for help with any task that involved reading questions. She was also increasingly disinterested in reading in, and would struggle to identify even the simplest of words. Despite this, learning and school life in general were very important to Hannah, and so Sharon knew it wasn’t a question of her daughter’s personality driving her attitude. Indifference just wasn’t Hannah’s style.
At home meanwhile, Sharon watched in disbelief as the polarisation between Hannah and her identical twin sister grew and grew, to the point that her sister was actually free reading, whilst Hannah was reading nothing at all. She would sit and stare at books for hours! It was clear that she was knocking on a locked door. Even when Sharon compelled Hannah to read with her, she could manage the first four to five words surprisingly well – and even inject some fluency – but after that the house of cards quickly came tumbling down. Avoidance tactics, sulking, fidgeting and tears were generally what characterized the end of any homework session.
Things got steadily worse, until in Year 3 it had reached the point where Hannah would sadly refer to herself as a ‘non-reader’, when she compared herself with her sister. For Sharon this was heart-breaking. And yet the school kept insisting she would catch up! All Sharon knew was that her daughter’s blackened attitude towards reading would soon reach the point of no return, and she couldn’t bear to watch by and let it happen. Doing more reading was the only suggestion the school made, but that just meant more crying and negativity.
The Solution
One evening Sharon was surfing online looking for information on how to help a struggling reader when she stumbled across Easyread. When she viewed David’s videos and descriptions of the causes of reading difficulty it was like he was describing her daughter! The next morning she showed Hannah the trial lesson, and she absolutely loved it. Never had they felt so positive about the possibility of really helping Hannah, and so there was no hesitation in signing her up then and there.
Hannah loved that when she did Easyread, not only was she succeeding in reading words…but crucially she was also a spy! The related gifts were very motivational for her. The pace of each level was just right, with the increase in complexity being suitably subtle. The games were enjoyable, and the Trainertext characters were fun but simple for her to learn and remember. Sharon was continually amazed whenever Hannah read the words without any text! The support from the team was excellent too, and very encouraging, something which Sharon needed as much as Hannah!
The Result
In the past few weeks Hannah has finished the program. In under a year she has gone from being a self-professed non-reader, to a reader! “I feel I can read 100 books” was one of her latest comments. These were words Sharon never dreamed she would hear Hannah say.
Hannah may still have some difficulty with certain words, but she is much more confident in trying to read something she is stuck on. No more tantrums and brick walls; Sharon will simply prompt her to “just decode it” and she does, with no drama or tears.
Sharon is over the moon! “Easyread has given Hannah so much confidence, not just with reading, but in her belief that she can tackle anything she has a mind to. Thank you so much.”
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Laura O’Sullivan is a Reading Specialist for the Easyread System, an online course for struggling readers. www.easyreadsystem.com
