- March 1st, 2005:
- Max mentioned that he reads more slowly than some of
the other students, however, he added that he totally understands what
he just read and the other students sometimes have to read their page
again to explain it fully.
- May 1st, 2002:
Max was just re-evaluated by all the
staff at his elementary school. His physical therapy was going so well
that they wanted to see if he could be released from having to do
that. So they did the full evaluation identically to what they did in
March of 2001 (see below.) It turns out that Max has now developed his
muscle tone up to normal levels for his age so he will be released
from that program now. He does still have an issue with left/right transference.
For example: in a card game that requires moves from the right side of
the table to the left Max has trouble making that move using only one
hand. He will pick up the card with his right hand move it to his
center directly in front of him and then after a moments pause he will
use his left hand to take it out of the right hand and then he is able
to place it on the left hand side of the table. His vision is also
affected by this, or possibly is the cause of this, as he also is
getting two messages, one from each eye, compared to our brain which
processes the two images as one message. So this causes him to turn
his head to try to look at things with only one eye.
So the results of this evaluation
are that Max, who is just now completing 2nd grade, reads at a
7.9 grade level which means seventh grade ninth month! Also his math,
logic, and other measurable skills all tested at 4th and 5th grade
levels. A couple areas were in the 3rd grade but none were at 2nd
grade or below. He just read an Ursula K. LeGuin
Science Fiction book. Looking back through this journal I see that at
the beginning of 1st grade he was just reading Ten Apples Up on Top,
so in less than two years he has progressed that far.
- January 4th, 2002:
Max is now wearing glasses! His Rx is
+1.25 so it is surprising he has been doing as well as he has with his
school work. His mother had noticed that sometimes he would add words
to sentences, they always made sense they just weren't what was
written. So it seems it was a good thing he learned to read so young
before his vision started going! Or maybe he was able to learn because
the Easy Path books start out in a bigger print size! His 2nd grade teacher has asked the
school if she can use a different test to check his reading level. Her
test only goes up to 5th grade level and he mastered that test.
- April 19, 2001:
Max's
parents were goofing around at dinner recently reciting words
for Max to spell out loud. They started with simple words such
as 'maximum' and 'absolute' and finished with 'antidisestablishmentarianism'
which he did fine with until the last couple syllables, when
even his parents had some trouble. When they stopped his
mother said, "At this rate he'll be winning Spelling
B's." and Max responded, "No Mom, I'll be getting
Spelling A's!" Max is really doing great in school,
enjoying his physical therapy sessions. His mother is very
relieved that they keep the stigma of being different in any
way very low key.
- March
5, 2001:
-
Max
was having continuing difficulties with his handwriting, his teacher
requested that the school's physical therapist check his small motor
skills. His mother agreed and Max went through several days of
testing; academic, coordination, strength and so on. It was great,
the staff of six made all the testing light-hearted and enjoyable
for him. The results were astounding on so many levels. Max is
7 1/2 years old, in first grade and he tested at 4th grade reading
level, 5th grade for comprehension and 3rd grade for math, several
of the other tests were at 2nd grade level, none of the results were
less than 2nd grade level. His mother attributes this to his
accelerated reading skills, in addition to having a very fine brain!
There was one sad part that was revealed by this testing, Max was
discovered to have reduced motor skills by 2 to 2 1/2 years. The
school staff was very upbeat about this and are sure they can work
with him and get him up to his age level with 18 months. This was
determined to be the problem with his handwriting skills as he has
difficulty maintaining a grip on a regular pencil. The staff of
counselors, occupational therapists, physical therapists and others
will be working with him on these issues, as they progress they will
teach Max's parents the methods for exercising with him and make
suggestions for activities that would benefit Max. Swimming was just
one of the suggestions that was made. We will continue to follow
Max's reading progress as well as updates on his physical progress.
- January
10, 2001:
- Max's
teacher says he is the best reader in the class. The teacher asked
his mother to stop teaching him to read for a while and work on his
handwriting a bit more. So she asked for the spelling lessons
because they include writing so he'll still be able to work on his
phonics while improving his handwriting.
- November 1, 2000:
- Max has now refused to have his parents read to him
at night for the seventh night in a row. He now insists on reading to
them. The other day it got very quiet in the house and his mother started
wondering what he was up to. She looked down from the office loft into the
living room and found Max curled up on the couch reading a book. She said
she got tears in her eyes that he liked reading so much, different from the
tears she gets because her 15 year old doesn't like to read very much at all.
- Every night Max picks up the Easy Path to Reading book that he is currently
working in and one other book to read to his parents. He loves it that he
has reached the level in the Easy Path series that includes poetry and short
stories. He like to read the poetry slowly and then read it again,
practicing reading with rhythm and more feeling. Sometimes he will recite
the poem over and over until he has memorized part of it.
- Max asked his mother if he could get a set of Easy Path books to give to one
of his classmates. He said that child was having trouble reading and he
thought he needed the set. A different student in his class is currently
using the series and his mother has reported that even after just one month, the
student is now able to sound out and correctly spell his spelling homework each
week.
- September 30, 2000:
- Max has just turned 7 today, he has been using the
Easy Path to Reading Program for
about 2 years now. During his first year his mother didn't work very
consistently with him, however, once Max started kindergarten she began to
volunteer at his school and in his class and could see how much better off Max
would be if he had better reading skills. At the end of kindergarten last year he was reading 1st
grade level books and now it is the beginning of 1st grade, during the summer
he advanced so much that he is now reading 3rd grade level books.
- His
school participates in the Accelerated Reader
Program in the library. The students read books and then take a short
five question multiple choice test on a computer. The results are based on
the difficulty level and the number of correct responses. Points are
awarded based on these results and accumulating points allows the student to
select prizes during the year. This program has thousands of books on its
list and they are all catalogued based on the grade level they have determined
the book to be. For example,
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish is considered
to be rated 3.1, this would mean 3rd grade, 1st month. That is the story
that Max read to me last night.
- September 1, 2000:
- Max is a 6 year old now entering 1st grade.
He worked very hard this summer with the Easy Path Program. He enjoyed
each book, being able to work on one concept and finish up a book was a great
thrill for him. He could see his own progress, instead of just having an
adult tell him his math or writing skills were improving. He would be
riding along in the car and he would rattle off the signs as he flashed by
them. His mother has said that she can't hold him back, she has to rush to
keep up with his enthusiasm. The Author of the Easy Path system recommended Dr. Seuss' Ten
Apples up on Top. Max's Mom bought it for him to read. He
carried that book around with him to read to everyone to show them
how he was doing.
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