Should I ask my dyslexic son to try silent reading?

[Sunkirst]

He's just turned 10, and I think we finally see the light at the end of the "learning to read tunnel." He has been working through some Jean Fritz books (Can't You Make Them Behave King George? etc.), and although he's still slow, he's understanding what he's reading for the most part.
I know that I've read (somewhere...) that children should be encouraged to read silently. I know that I read so much faster when I don't have to say each word. However, DS insists that it would make reading more difficult for him. I do suspect that hearing the words as he reads them is actually how he understands what he is reading (He is definitely an audio learner, and will listen to any story, at any time, for any length of time). Any suggestions as to how I can help him over this obstacle?

Many thanks,
Kirsten

[Stirsmommy]

I am not an expert by any means but we did try this with oldest ds before he realized how much faster he could be than the speaker. For practice could he read along silently with an audiobook? Just to build his confidence?

[Lorna]

Some suggestions:

You could try giving him books he has loved listening to as an audio book. This way he won't get lost if he has missed some words.
Another suggestion is to check he isn't just lost in the books he gives up on. Re-read aloud to him the chapter he got lost on and he can pick it up again from there.
Be willing to sit and listen to him read whenever he wants.

[Sixmeadows]

(I am going through an Orton Gillingham program with him right now)

I think one of the things that has and is helping him the most is his oral repeated readings. there is something about him reading out loud that has been so beneficial to him. We read a short passage from an older Mcguffey reader and then I will have him read that same one for 3 days before we move on to the next one.

If he starts reading to himself I think that would be fine but try and have him continue reading out loud as well.

HTH, :D
Cheri

[Claire]

The risk with having a non-fluent reader start reading silently is that he/she will start guessing at words. A guessing habit is one of the most difficult bad habits to overcome in a weak reader. I would stick with mostly reading out loud until he is fluent. The only silent reading I would have him do would be as part of a repeated reading program (develops fluency). Reading along with audiobooks is done a lot in schools, but I'm not convinced it helps reading at all (except possibly at the most basic beginning levels). I prefer to use audiobooks just as audiobooks. In fact, I would use audiobooks in place of silent reading because (1) you eliminate the temptation to guess at words, and (2) the student can be exposed to much higher levels of vocabulary and grammatical complexity. It is the latter that builds comprehension so that comprehension is in place when decoding skills finally catch up.

(Should add my dd is a remediated dyslexic.)

[AngieW in Texas]

My dyslexic dd started daily silent reading in May (end of 3rd grade) at the tutor's suggestion. She started off by reading silently for 20 minutes from a 2nd grade level book (independent level for her). She had to narrate the story back to me after she finished reading. She also read out loud to me for 20 minutes from a 3rd-4th grade level book (instructional level for her).

In August (start of 4th grade), the tutor had me bump her reading times and levels so that she was reading silently for 30 minutes from a 3rd grade level book (independent) and out loud to me for 20 minutes from a 4th grade level book (instructional).

Last month, we met with the tutor again. Now my dd is supposed to read silently for 30 minutes from a 3rd-4th grade level book and out loud to me for 25 minutes from a 4th-5th grade level book.

The crucial thing about silent reading is that your dc needs to do it only with books that are below his reading level. If he's struggling with it at all, then he should read it out loud to you instead.

My dd already listens to audiobooks for a minimum of 15hours/week, so she gets plenty of audio time as well.