Posted by KPzz on 22:04 Sep 12
In Reply to: My fifth grader is advanced in all areas except Reading. He is reading on a low 2nd grade level. posted by Ali in TX
It sure sounds to me like there is a learning disability involved here, because I can't think of any other situation where a 10-yr-old or so can be advanced in all subjects --which require reading-- while having such difficulties with reading lessons. There could certainly be such a situation, but I being only your regular old homeschooling mother have never come across it. What indicates to you that he is reading at a 2nd grade level? How can he manage History or Science or Latin or even the instructions in his Math book with such a low reading level? Have you had him professionally evaluated? The definition of a learning disability includes testing results that indicate a significant difference between the child's age/level and one or more learning areas. Reading at a 2nd grade level while doing everything else at a 5th grade (or higher) level is a solid indicator of a disability.
But to the question you actually asked, not my gut feeling -- whether to concentrate on reading for a period of time, dropping everything else? I would not recommend this simply because it feels so unbalanced, and it sounds like you're concerned about that, too. However, if your son is working at advanced levels in other subjects, it might be a good idea to slow way down in those areas, effectively "coasting" for awhile, while picking up some reading. That might work.
But I'd still make darn sure there aren't vision or visual-processing or other learning issues going on. --KPzz