So, how much has Joey's reading improved over the last year?  At the beginning of the year, he would struggle, even after having it read to him first, with the following;

'The goat ate the tin can.
I like this tin can, said the goat'.

Today, he read, without having it read to him first (a relatively new phenomena) the following;

'What is a black hole?

Black holes are the remains of collapsed stars. A tug of war is going on inside every star.  On one side is its gravity, or pulling force, which is trying to make it collapse and become smaller.  On the other side is the energy pouring out from its core, which is trying to make it explode.  For most of a star's life, its gravity and energy balance exactly.  But when the stars core runs out of fuel, its gravity wins and the star collapses.  The gravity around the star is now so strong that even its own light is sucked in, making it invisible - a black hole in Space'.

Quite a difference!  And he is gaining so much in confidence - just the fact that he will try and read something like this without having it read first is a strong indication of that.  He now takes pleasure in achieving this and will give it a try, whereas in the past his fear of failure meant that he would not even try.  Long may the progress continue!