Parent Reviews of Easyread
Our most recent reviews:
I'm happy I kept going…
I liked doing Easyread a lot. At first I found it easy, then it started to get hard. But my mummy told me to keep going and I’m happy I kept going. Thank you for the presents they helped as they made me want to do it again.
– C (age 7)
Case Study: Letter reversals, atrocious spelling, guessing short words
From tears of despair to tears of joy…Easyread was the key that unlocked Louisa’s reading and writing potential.
The Problem
When Louisa started school age 6 it was instantly clear that her spelling was poor compared to other children her age. By the end of the school year it had deteriorated so much that her father Kagema, himself a teacher, could only assume that the fault lay with her schooling. The daughter he knew was bright and energetic – it just didn’t make sense.
So in an effort to smooth over what had been a wholly negative early experience, Louisa repeated her first year of education at a different school. Yet another year went by and as far as writing was concerned; they saw no improvement. In fact things were actually getting worse. Not only was she reversing letters (such as b and d); but she was now reversing certain numbers as well. She desperately needed concentrated spelling help to turn things around.
When her father voiced his concerns to the teacher he was advised that Louisa would most likely outgrow the problem. In many ways Kagema agreed. After all, Louisa’s appalling spelling was an anomaly. As such, they resolved to spend their time focusing on her other studies and so for the next few years things weren’t good, but they were OK.
Then in 2010 the family was uprooted to South Africa. It was during a rigorous entrance exam for a place at Louisa’s new boarding school that her spelling demons came back to haunt her. The Headteacher questioned Kagema about the reason for his daughter’s atrocious spelling. He explained that there was no problem he was aware of – which of course was true.
By the skin of her teeth Louisa got in; but only on the basis of what the school perceived as her “potential”. After all, her spoken English was excellent and although she wasn’t an enthusiastic reader, she was reading at the same level as an average 12-year-old. The school prescribed that simply reading more would remedy to her problem.
As such, father and daughter committed themselves to a strict daily reading regime during the summer of that year. But it wasn’t long before Kagema noticed some very odd reading problems when they read together. Louisa was routinely making surprising mistakes with simple words. It was almost as if she was guessing. This in turn led to frustration, at which point her guessing would start to spiral out of control. The more they read, the more frustrated she became.
For the first time, Kagema understood that Louisa’s spelling problems were rooted in the way that she was reading. Still at a loss as to what any of this meant, they carried on in hopes that the daily reading had helped.
Before long, Louisa was finishing school in floods of tears. Now not only was her writing deteriorating but her reading was too. For her father; this was the last straw. If the school wasn’t going to help then he would just have to do it himself.
Choosing a Solution
It was whilst doing some research online that Kagema came across the Easyread System. As he read through the information on the 7 causes of reading difficulty, he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. It was like his daughter was being described for him; Optilexia and the stress spiral were perfect explanations of Louisa’s difficulties!
Together, they had a go at the Spellmagic lesson, and the two were instantly crying…but this time they were tears of laughter! The Ants in Pink Pants, the Bear with Long Hair: what fun! Kagema started to feel excited about his daughter’s future like never before. They signed up then and there.
Despite the fact that the program was taking things back to basics with learning the phonemes and sounding out letters, Louisa didn’t once complain. After 15 minutes she knew the lesson would be finished, and this really spurred her on. The positive language in each lesson, fun games and engaging graphics and prizes that were sent in the post further consolidated her passion for the lessons. Kagema was stunned by her dedication and motivation.
Before long, she was proudly taking ownership of every lesson she did. For the first time in her life, she felt empowered by her ability to read, interpret and enjoy words.
The Results
Prior to Easyread, Louisa’s reading and spelling were 24 months below average. After 8 months on the Easyread course, she had improved by no less than 21 months and continued to improve all the time. She is now working at the same level as her peers with both reading and writing.
And that’s not all; aside from the obvious improvement in her literacy levels, the all-round confidence and enthusiasm that Kagema now sees in Louisa is, as he describes; “amazing”. After more than 6 years of frustration and mystification, father and daughter feel safe in the knowledge that things can only get better from now on.
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Laura O’Sullivan is a Program Coach for the Easyread, an online phonics course specifically developed for kids with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder and highly visual learning styles who need support for spelling and reading problems. Find out more at www.easyreadsystem.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/easyreadsystem.
She never did that before Easyread…
It has been going well and her reading is improving daily, even with the Christmas break. She is reading street signs and shop signs as we drive or walk along. She never did that before Easyread, and given that her sister was doing this in year 1, it has given her a huge confidence boost!
She has chosen some new books to read over the holidays and has been much happier about reading them.
– M
22 out of 25 correct!
I just got a call from my son’s support teacher…he is 9 years old and has numerous medical problems and learning issues including poor short term memory and dyslexia. He has missed loads of school time because of hosp appointments etc. Until last year he was at a 100% Spanish speaking school ( long story) The teacher told me that last time she tested him on his reading blends ( 2 consonants together) he got 4 out of 25 right. That was in September when he was just starting Easyread. Today he did the test again and got 22 our of 25. I know there is still a long way to go but am so so glad we found ER, wish we’d done it sooner!
– K (C, age 8)
I have learned so much…
I have enjoyed using this programme and have learned so much about how a child learns to read from single sounds towards reading take off!
– C
He rarely has difficulty…
We feel that Jude is decoding very well now. He rarely has difficulty with the Jungle Juggle and is becoming more and more fluent with the stories. His blending is great and after 81 lessons, if still enjoying it.
– H
A major first…
Elijah is starting to enjoy the lessons more and is very proud of himself for being able to decode some words that he wouldn’t normally be able to read. He is really growing in confidence with his reading lessons which is great to see. He does still get frustrated with reading so there’s a long way to go yet but we are very pleased with the progress so far. The initial resistance to doing the lessons has reduced dramatically as his confidence builds. He likes the variety of games and activities, along with the gifts. Yesterday he was disappointed to finish the lesson (he wanted to do more!!!) which is a major first for his reading!
– A
She believes she can do it…
I was really proud of myself that we even managed to do Easyread over the Christmas week, even Christmas day! As we are out of routine with school holidays, we haven’t been consistent everyday during the last week though. She does nag me though when I forget!!
She is still very happy with Easyread. Surprisingly, she has expressed a wish to try reading bigger books now, so we are about to start one of the early reader Horrid Henry books. They will provide her with quite a challenge, and it will be the first time she has read a book where she reads part of the story at a time. We will have to see if she can maintain her interest and patience. However, she believes she can do it, so we will see.
Thanks again for your help and advice.
– A
I am really thrilled…
Just a quick message to say that Rafferty’s reading has been brilliant all over the Christmas break-he has read everything he can find! I also just found out that he has moved into the top reading set in his class of 30 children so I am really thrilled with his progress. He continues to enjoy the Easyread lessons too.
Thanks for the continued support!
– H
Great excitement in the house tonight…
Great excitement in the house tonight when Luke managed to successfully complete Level 3, then Level 4 then Level 5 on the Easyread reading assessor!!!! All on his birthday too, which was amazing. We are all so delighted for him.
– D
An amazing program, I'm so pleased I came across it!…
My son is getting on extremely well with the Easyread program. I am very happy for him. There has been a noticeable improvement in his reading. He is definitely decoding more words vs guessing, and his fluency is progressing very well. It’s been wonderful to see him grow in confidence. He is always keen and willing to do Easyread, and very much enjoying the Ungar & Hoongo storyline. My son struggles with spellings, however recently I begun to notice changes/improvements in his work. We are very much looking forward to continuing the program and unearthing further improvements I think it’s an amazing program and I’m so pleased I came across it! Thank you to the Easyread team.
– R
I am very proud of his efforts…
I am very proud of his efforts this past year and much of that credit goes to you guys. Your program and help and support are tremendous. He still has a way to go, but at least now we can see a big improvement and most importantly, so can he.
Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year.
Kind Regards
Proud Mum…Karen
Really happy
I am really happy with the progress A is making. Before Easyread it was difficult to teach him anything to do with reading. After starting the course,however,he has become eager to read anything on his way. He is rereading the stories several times.
A lot remains to be achieved, but I can see that he is on the right path.
Thank you very much for the priceless lessons my son is receiving.
– F (A, 8)
You have made my year!
Hi Sarah, David, Laura and all at Easyread,
It is not exaggerating to say that you have made my year! To have been able to access a program that is so effective and is building not only literacy skills but self-esteem and confidence through success built on effort is wonderful. So often these children (not to mention their parents and teachers !!) are trying so incredibly hard, but the rewards are very slow in coming, very hard-won, and feelings of self-worth can be damaged along the way.
Thank you for the letters too, which have helped some of the children as they come to bumps in the road, and made them feel connected and part of a wider community who care and are there to help them.
Have a lovely Christmas and a well-deserved break (if you are lucky enough to have one!).
Easyread was the best decision I made this year…
Easyread was the best decision I made this year! Having exhausted many options to try to explain why my sons reading was falling further and further behind, and for two years listening to the teachers at school saying “do not worry reading will just click”, I got to the point that I had to take action. Easyread has been a fantastic, fun way to engage my son with reading and in less than two months I am starting to see real change. I now have a child trying to read signposts, shop signs and opening books to give it a go: a real turnaround. Also, unlike any other system, having the support of experts at the end of the phone/email is a huge strength. The two means of communication means that we get the most out of the process and we can build skills by eliminating potential reading blockers as we go.
– A
He will now try to decode the signs in Tesco's!
I’m pleased with Joseph’s progress with Easyread so far. He is gaining more confidence and will now try to decode any words he can find; whether it’s my reading books or the signs in Tesco’s! He loves the monkey game at the beginning and enjoys the reading and the game afterwards.
– E
The best Christmas prezzie I ever had…
Have a Fantastic NYE and thank you for making my son see that he can read and he can enjoy a story-that’s the best Christmas prezzie I ever had! Apart from the fart machine you sent him of course, which is still making him and anyone in ear shot giggle. Thanks again I don’t know where we’d be without this course.
– B
Better results at school…
Zane’s doing very well with his reading and we have seen better results at school. Also he does find Easyread quiet easy now that he’s built his confidence up.
– A (After 4 months on the course)
About to turn a corner…
So all seems to be going well so far. I think Emma is about to turn a corner – her school reading books are now very easy for her and she is beginning to read more fluently and a bit more quickly. She still tends to guess the odd word with her school reading but I think it’s just that if she’s reading quickly she might skim a bit too much. When that happens I ask her to slow down and decode and then she does it just fine. We are on holiday at the moment so we’ve said we’ll take a break from Easyread and she is choosing to reading books instead. She really wants to do this. In fact she is reading quite a lot at the moment! 🙂
– N (6 weeks into Easyread)
We would like to thank the guys at Easyread…
Lucas is very excited to be receiving his helicopter and to have recognition for all of his hard work on Easyread.
Obviously we will let you know more as soon as spelling and reading results are forthcoming next year. Until then, we would like to thank David and the guys at Easyread for continued support.
– G
Can't thank you enough!!…
Cameron is still improving at school each term. His SENCO teacher is amazed at his progress and the speed at which he is catching up. His reading age at the end of year 2 was 5.5 years; 5 months later and he is at 6.25 years. He is also growing in confidence too and actually tries to read words anywhere and on anything, which is a massive improvement.
We’re all so happy with Easyread as it’s making a difference to how Cameron see’s himself at school. Among his peer group he’s much more accepted now. Can’t thank you guys enough!!
– B
The program is changing everything for her…
I wanted to let you know that we are seeing a lot of differences in Hannah, even though she has only been doing her Easyread lessons for a few weeks.
Not only is she attacking words more confidently and actually trying to read when encouraged, but other things in her life are changing too. Interestingly, it has always been a big effort for Hannah to clean and maintain her bedroom. We had tried many different approaches and rewards systems, but nothing helped – she just could not manage it and was constantly overwhelmed by the task, even if we helped her.
Since she began Easyread, Hannah has decided that her room needs to be clean and tidy! And she has actually been keeping it organised! I know that everything is linked in the brain, but I am still gob smacked by the change in the way Hannah’s brain functions after doing Easyread for less than a month. Last night, she cleaned her younger brother’s room too, I could hardly believe it!
So, the eye-tracking exercises are making a difference, but the whole program is changing everything. I am so grateful to have stumbled upon the program that is actually helping her to not only read, but to allow her to function better in lots of ways in everyday life.
Many thanks to everyone at Easyread.
– S
Case Study: Anxiety, blending issues, reading refusal
From homework hell to ravenous reading…Psychologist and mother Shanel could not believe the transformation in her son’s reading…
The early signs had been positive. Shanel was careful to ensure that reading was well and truly part of her son’s daily routine and Jaydon seemed to genuinely love books. He would take great delight in choosing the books he wanted mom Shanel to read to him, and his comprehension and general engagement were excellent.
Yet as soon as he started school, things quickly went downhill. So much so that after six months of school education Jaydon was painfully aware of his shortcomings with reading. Compared with his peers, he simply wasn’t getting it.
Shanel remembers how anxious and highly resistant he became to all forms of reading – whether it was in a book, on a signpost or in a supermarket. Jaydon’s parents also became increasingly concerned by the fact that their son couldn’t differentiate between sounds such as the “a” in “cat” and the “u” in “uncle”. His writing suffered too since he refused to write down anything that he couldn’t spell.
Despite her very best efforts, Shanel was no longer able to make reading together in any way fun, positive or rewarding for him, and his confidence was slipping away. Reading homework became the very worst part of every day, with both Jaydon and Shanel dreading it.
Shanel used every technique and method that she had learned from her own professional and personal studies. But still, nothing was working. In the end, it was after yet another evening of tears and disillusionment over a standard homework task that Shanel finally knew something had to change; they needed help.
Armed with a determination to change things for her son, she did some research online and stumbled across the Easyread program. After reading the material on the ‘7 causes of reading difficulty’ Shanel was convinced that they understood why Jaydon was struggling. When she had called the team for a chat and discovered there was an unconditional guarantee of success, she saw no reason not to sign up and see how things went.
Easyread renewed Jaydon’s confidence from day one. A previously wary and resistant child was suddenly asking if he could “do his Easyread”. Never in her wildest dreams did Shanel think she would see the day that Jaydon initiated reading!
The letters and prizes that were regularly sent in the post gave him the motivation to stay focused in the early days of the program. However it wasn’t long before even Jaydon recognised the vast improvement in his reading. More than that – he began reading everything in sight!
Just after signing up to Easyread Shanel attended a parent-teacher meeting, during which Jaydon’s teacher confirmed that he was well below with reading. He was only able to access texts intended for much younger children.
Fast forward a year and Jaydon is in the top reading group in his class, devouring books that exceed the national average range for his age. He often gets selected to read items for assembly and is a generally happy and confident little man!
What’s more, aside from giving her son excellent reading skills; the Easyread program also allowed Jaydon to discover the pleasure of reading purely for enjoyment, as well as the confidence that comes from mastering something you previously found hard. “Words cannot describe what this means to me” says Shanel.
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Laura O’Sullivan is a Program Coach for the Easyread System, an online phonics course for kids with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder and highly visual learning styles who need support for spelling and reading problems. Find out more at www.easyreadsystem.com or www.facebook.com/easyreadsystem.
We are so pleased with Easyread…
Oliver is making great progress and we are so pleased with Easyread. He loves the decoding aspect, which has really helped him with his normal reading. He has even taken to looking at his books at night time on his own.
– T
So grateful…
Thanks for your supportive advice. Annica is flying through the learning process and I am so grateful to all of you for developing this program 🙂
– E