My son is going into the 2nd grade. I am having trouble getting him to read. He tells me he cant do it. The school is wanting to put him in special Ed. How can i help my son and his reading?
Before a child is assigned to special education, he must be thoroughly evaluated by an individual educational planning committee (IEPC). For your son, this committee would consist of a school psychologist, his teacher, a school administrator and you. It may also include a speech and language therapist and a social worker. The psychologist gives a battery of tests to determine his reading level and learning style. The committee then meets and considers all of this information, including reports from his teacher, and decides the best ways to teach him. The committee may recommend Chapter I or other in-school help, retention in first grade, or special education. Since a child's parents are part of this committee, they must also agree to any special services.
I suggest that you let the school evaluate your son in the fall so that you and the teachers can learn the best way to help him. You may also want to have a pediatrician and an eye doctor check him this summer.
At this point, the best thing you can do is to read to him a lot. Find books that he likes and just read to him. Don't push him to read them for himself. Talk about the stories and encourage his ideas about the books.
Good luck!!
I agree with what MS Sue stated. It is very difficult to separate capability from motivation at his age. If you sense it is motivation, I suggest a behavioural modification program for him (yes, it includes you too) to get him motivated to read. Typically these involve positive reinforcements for reading habits...very similar to what you alread did toilet training. Yes, it works...if the problem is motivation. There are folks who can help you with this, child psychologists, you might pay a first free visit with one to discuss. Ask one about it.
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p.s. make sure if you go with books that it's a kind of genre he is into so that he enjoys it. i hope i helped