The Artist and The Reader

A few years ago one of my ex-students brought her young son to be assessed.

I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was an artist. I’m sure my mouth must have fallen open in surprise!

When I was tutoring ‘her’, we spent a lot of time playing cards (once she couldn't tell a ‘spade’ from a ‘club’), and looking at shapes and drawing them accurately, as she had a severe visual perception problem.

A ten-year old boy came to me with a 13-year-old reading and spelling age but an auditory age for numbers and comprehension of 6 years.

In just over 2 years – his reading comprehension had improved by 4 years. We had spent a lot of time doing dictation and other memory skills. When I last saw his mother he had been to university and become a high school teacher specialising in physical education.