Barriers to Reading
Let's Talk Reading believes that many children and adults struggle with reading because they have an underlying condition, like dyslexia, poor eyesight or poor hearing.
We have gradually become aware of more conditions that adversely affect reading, including "sensory integration issues", "Retained Primitive Reflexes" and Irlen's Syndrome.
Currently very few schools check pupils who struggle with reading to see if they have any of these conditions, even though these checks are often fairly simple and there are often remedies that are simple and relatively cheap to deliver.
LTR is working on a programme of screening trials to gauge the scale of the problem in Ipswich schools and to investigate the methods, impacts, and costs of using such screening and remedial activities.
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Retained Primitive Reflexes Trial
Between May and December 2019 LTR carried out a trial of remedies for Retained Primitive Reflexes in 7 schools in Ipswich.
The key partner in this trial was the Multi-Sensory Training Centre (MSTC) team from Colchester, the regional experts in this type of condition.
Outline
The approach was to work with 7 Ipswich schools, 2 secondary and 5 primary. MSTC created a questionnaire for class teachers to complete which identified potential candidates for the programme. These candidates were screened by the MSTC experts for 30 minutes each. This then provided a final cohort of pupils who would undergo the exercise programme for about 5 months to mid-December 2019.
MSTC also trained a small group of staff from each school to carry out remedial exercises on a daily basis with their cohort of children. This regime was based on about 20 minutes of simple exercises which the children enjoyed doing.
The approximate reading age of the pupils was measured at the beginning of the programme, at the end and once in the middle, when they returned to school in September, after the summer break.
To date, results have only been analysed for Castle Hill Primary,and these need to be properly reviewed. However, it appears that over 30% made better then 10 months reading improvement., over and above what would be expected in 5 months from their previous progress pace.
Find the Castle Hill Case Study here
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