Dyslexia and Coping Strategies that Hinder Learning to Read

[Χά�ων]

DS(10 years old) is severely dyslexic but also wicked smart. I need real suggestions to teach DS how to learn to read. He has developed coping strategies that he tries to hold on to even though they fail over and over and were never strong to begin with.

 

He has reached a point where they (the specialists) want him working on site words. Again, I should say. He has gone through them several times I have worked with no success. He is through the pre-primer Dolch site word list. He seems to know them all. But he still glances at them and guesses. Or if will memorize the shape of the word (For example 'dog' has a tall letter, a short letter a letter that goes down so he will see that pattern and call 'bag', 'dog'), or he will only look at the first letter, or if I put them on the table and have him point to them we will memorize the order and not even look at the words. 

 

I need help with the following:

-I need help teaching him HOW to learn to read 

-How to look at and see the words as an unchanging group of letters, not a shape

 

 

The list is here in case anyone is wondering:

http://www.dolchsightwords.org/dolch_word_list_pre-primer.php

He has a few other words that he knows as well. Not many but a few

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please do not offer up vision therapy or any other type of treatmeant as 'the reason' or question me on if he has been evaluated for it or suggest he needs it. I need real suggestions and tips, not a diagnosis and treatment plan that doesn't do me any good.

[Matryoshka]

Have you tried Reading Reflex?  It was developed as a remedial program for dyslexics (although I used it to teach my kids to read in the first place).  I think it shares some things with the big pricey programs like O-G, but it's very straightforward, and it's a $16 book, so no huge investment.

 

It doesn't make the kid learn huge lists of "rules", in fact, none at all.  But it's completely phonetic, and there's games for phonemic awareness, blending, and it teaches the kid how to track and look at one letter at a time, including paying attention to all the medial sounds. All you need is the book, a white board, and scissors to cut up the letter tiles (I photocopied pages and cut them up).

 

The best thing about it is that it taught me how to teach reading.  There's a nice long preface in the front aimed at the teacher.

[LaughingCat]

The thing that has worked best here for guessing, is the notched card - that allows you to reveal only 1 letter (phoneme really) at a time.  And I believe ElizabethB says that only a very few of the sight words actually need to be presented as 'sight' words.

 

OTH,  OP seems to imply that  maybe sounding out is not an option - and just needs a way to memorize based on actual letters rather than shape.   In that case, maybe that program that makes each letter into a specific picture? or maybe modeling in clay?  or sign language?

 

letters as pictures picture me reading (I have seen others as well)

sign language sight words

[Plink]

Is he using an OG program? If so, are you following the steps 100%? It sounds as if he is using a traditional reading program rather than one designed for dyslexic students. They are very, very different.

 

You may need to go back to the beginning for a little while. Those habits are the ones that we work on breaking first. No sight words allowed until they have mastered the one-letter-at-a-time thing.

 

I would take him back to a level that you know he is proficient at, and not allow him to read anything beyond that level. No worksheet instructions, no "fun" books. Nothing. He should only have access to materials that he is completely capable of reading without any guessing at all. I would also hover over him during all reading time, and ask him to look away from the book (shake his head, walk around his chair, whatever) every time you notice him guessing. Make sure that guessing becomes more time consuming than sounding the word out. I would also use lots of nonsense words in your phonics lessons.

 

I try to frame this as a positive thing and often tell my dyslexic that she is a better storyteller than the author. I make sure that she knows that her goal is to slow down her brain enough to read exactly what is written. There will be time for moving fast and creativity later.

[Plink]

Oh, and I love your description of him as "wicked smart." There is no hiding those New England roots. LOL

[Plink]

Okay, another post by me. Sorry for being a pest.

 

Is this a school reading specialist giving you this advice? If so, you should know that very few of them are trained in dealing with dyslexia. They specialize in reading, not reading disabilities.

[Χά�ων]

Is he using an OG program? If so, are you following the steps 100%? It sounds as if he is using a traditional reading program rather than one designed for dyslexic students. They are very, very different.

 

You may need to go back to the beginning for a little while. Those habits are the ones that we work on breaking first. No sight words allowed until they have mastered the one-letter-at-a-time thing.

 

I would take him back to a level that you know he is proficient at, and not allow him to read anything beyond that level. No worksheet instructions, no "fun" books. Nothing. He should only have access to materials that he is completely capable of reading without any guessing at all. I would also hover over him during all reading time, and ask him to look away from the book (shake his head, walk around his chair, whatever) every time you notice him guessing. Make sure that guessing becomes more time consuming than sounding the word out. I would also use lots of nonsense words in your phonics lessons.

 

I try to frame this as a positive thing and often tell my dyslexic that she is a better storyteller than the author. I make sure that she knows that her goal is to slow down her brain enough to read exactly what is written. There will be time for moving fast and creativity later.

Okay, another post by me. Sorry for being a pest.

 

Is this a school reading specialist giving you this advice? If so, you should know that very few of them are trained in dealing with dyslexia. They specialize in reading, not reading disabilities.

He is working with a specialist for his auditory processing disorder (she suggested he start slowly working with sight words) and he is going to the near by Scottish Rite language and literacy center and is going through the Barton Program. He started in the fall and was just then at a point where he could pass the student screening. 

 

Three years ago I took him to a neuropsychologist and was told he was just slow. She did a standard IQ test and did not take into consideration his language disorders. He was all over the place but still I was told he was just slow.  :banghead:

 

Two years ago I took him to a learning disability specialist. He did a non verbal IQ test and got a number 40pt higher than the NP did. He outlined a plan of action that I have been following. Well, attempting to follow. I used a provider last year who undid a lot of DS's progress and was just a bad fit. My mellow, go with the follow child ran out of the building screaming. Waste of a year.

 

Now we are on the right track! He is is APD therapy, just finished up 18 weeks of interactive metronome (wonderful gains and he is going to do the home program), is at the Language and Literacy center. 

 

 

 

[SKL]

My dad could not learn to read via sight words.  He had to do it phonetically, however painstaking that was.

 

When my kids were younger, someone suggested acquiring raised letter materials that are designed for teaching blind children to read.  Possibly using two senses for the reading input could help.  It was helpful for one of mine.

[Χά�ων]

My dad could not learn to read via sight words.  He had to do it phonetically, however painstaking that was.

 

When my kids were younger, someone suggested acquiring raised letter materials that are designed for teaching blind children to read.  Possibly using two senses for the reading input could help.  It was helpful for one of mine.

Tried it the raised letters. Didn't help

[Terabith]

What does the tutor at the Scottish Rite center say about the sight words?

[Lecka]

I would ask the tutor about the sight words, too. 

 

Is there a reason the auditory processing person wants him to do them, specifically? 

 

Otherwise -- to keep him from memorizing the order/position.

 

Make flashcards.  Mix them up.  You can set out a few at a time, too. 

 

That would not keep him from doing this thing:  "there are 3 words that start with f.  one is long, one has a y in it, and one is short."  If he is doing that kind of thing -- revealing one letter at a time can help, but that is harder when the words are not so phonetical -- like some of the sight words may not be some phonetical, and that makes it hard to do.  But I think it might be really good for the words that are more phonetic and follow phonetics he has covered in his reading program.  If his reading tutor thinks so, too!

 

For phonetical words -- I liked the notched card, and I liked the "error correction" videos from Abecedarian.  I don't follow them perfectly -- but it is like I have a script for what to do when there is an error.  Point out what he said, point out what the letters say.  I search for them on youtube. 

 

But that kinda falls apart too with the sight words.  If there are parts of the sight word that are phonetic and make sense, I focus on those.  And if there are some parts that I don't think follow a phonics rule -- I would say that too. 

 

My son did better with a very small number of words at a time, and staying with them for two weeks or so, but I think it is really easy for kids to do the "the one that starts with l is such-and-such" thing..... he was reading through words pretty well when he did sight words. 

 

Edit -- /crosspost, we did his sight words in the context of the reading program, and the words were in a certain order, and went along with the lessons.  Some words from the early lists, used phonics he didn't cover until later, so he did not learn the words in the order of the lists.

 

Those lists are decided by "frequency the words are used."  They are not decided by "how easy they are to sound out." 

[OneStepAtATime]

What does the tutor at the Scottish Rite center say about the sight words?

Actually, I was going to ask the same thing.  Barton incorporates learning site words very gently.  Are they giving you specific Barton approved site words to learn?  And instructions on how to teach those site words using the Barton method?  If not, that could be really confusing.  Barton is supposed to replace all other language arts curriculum through Level 4.  What level is he at?  How often does he tutor?  Do they send anything home for him to be working on so he doesn't lose anything he has gained?

 

And has your child had a vision screening test through a Developmental Optometrist?  My DS is using Barton, as is my DD.  But DS also has a vision issue that was undiagnosed until last week.  He has better than 20/15 vision, so his overall vision is excellent.  But he has heterophoria so his left eye tracks upward.  Not enough for a layman to notice, but it IS causing some issues with reading.

 

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions.  Best wishes.

[Lecka]

Edit:  Where, away, said, one, you.... were harder words that were later for my son. 

 

little and funny -- I don't remember. 

 

Then some other words are pretty phonetic.

 

He had a hard time with where/there/were.  "were" really threw him for quite a while.  I wish he had been solid on "where" and "there" before getting to "were."  Even "where" and "there" do not follow the pattern for "e at the end makes the vowel long."  So even "where" and "there" were harder for him.  He wanted to do the "make the e long" for all of them.  (Edit -- like in "here."  He did well with "here," it followed the phonics rule.)

 

Ugh, I am having flashbacks. 

 

This is the kind of thing where a reading program will probably make this easier for the child!  Hopefully!     

[Pen]

The program we successfully used when my son was a year younger than yours is now was from http://www.highnoonbooks.com

 

 It was recommended to me by a reading specialist for whom it was the preferred program for children who are 2E--"twice exceptional" or specifically both very smart and also having dyslexia.

 

We started from the beginning of their Reading Intervention program, and moved forward including sight words as the program presented them, also using the companion series of Sound Out Chapter Books to build fluency and automaticity. If you want more info PM me that you do. I'll probably respond here where others could see it, but won't look back without a PM to do so. I've also written about it a number of other times here and perhaps so have others if you do a search. It had a good teacher's manual, I also got some help in understanding what to do from one of the people at the company, from the reading specialist who recommended it, and from a local librarian.

 

It worked well for my son for both phonics and sight words. 

 

We also used some techniques called push penny which I have forgotten now and colors of various types also to help with some of the visual aspects and tracking. But my son tended to prefer the more simple finger moving along to track where he was. to some of the other techniques to help keep order and so on.

 

My son's dyslexia was severe enough that I do not think some of the other methods that rely on learning nonsense words or sight words without quickly getting them into a context and then fluent and automatic would have worked for him.

[Χά�ων]

Actually, I was going to ask the same thing.  Barton incorporates learning site words very gently.  Are they giving you specific Barton approved site words to learn?  And instructions on how to teach those site words using the Barton method?  If not, that could be really confusing.  Barton is supposed to replace all other language arts curriculum through Level 4.  What level is he at?  How often does he tutor?  Do they send anything home for him to be working on so he doesn't lose anything he has gained?

 

 

Sorry to bombard you with so many questions.  Best wishes.

 

He is in 4th grade and does not do any other language arts anything. He is level 1 lesson 3 and moving through it painfully slow. They actually retested him to make sure he retained it all after the holiday break. He gets tutoring 3 times a week, which is the max offered.

[LaughingCat]

Based on the addtl information, I would only continue to do the sight words if the AP specialist can explain their reasoning for suggesting the sight words and that reason was related to AP in some way (which it does not sound like - because why didn't they explain exactly how they wanted you to do it to make it an AP activity?).  Otherwise, I would stick with the Scottish Rite/Barton process and keep reading separate from AP.    You've tried it as they suggested, he hasn't gotten better at it in spite of other improvements so just stick to what is working however slowly.

 

Note: With the slow speed of his progress, I probably would be looking at other  things that might support or replace Barton, but as described, this sounds more like the AP specialist making suggestions outside their area of expertise. 

 

(removed the words 'reading program' in the last paragraph because that doesn't really describe what I was thinking about as I wrote this )

 

[OneStepAtATime]

O.k. Laughing Cat might be right and you might want to look at other programs eventually, but I don't know about as a supplement.  Switching altogether might work better.  Not an expert, though so maybe I am wrong.  I tend to trust Scottish Rite, though.  They have an excellent reputation.  Maybe check out Pen's suggestion because it really is an interesting approach, if you do decide this isn't working, but I would stick with Scottish Rite for the time being.  

 

 I will say my DD went very slllooowwwlllyyyy through Level 1 of Barton.  When did your child start?  

 

My DD also went very slowly through Level 2 of Barton.  Really slowly.  And she went fairly slowly through Level 3 of Barton.  And then we did the post test and additional review before moving to Level 4.  And now, at the beginning of Level 4, we are slowing down again.  But she is now reading 500 page books because she chooses to.  She enjoys reading for the first time in her life.  Her spelling has taken off.  It just took a bit to get here.

 

My DS breezed through the first two levels very quickly, but not all students can.  

 

And Barton doesn't introduce site words until Level 3 because they don't want students guessing at words.  There is a very systematic way to introduce those words AFTER the student has dealt with Level 1 and Level 2 of Barton.  Unless the AP has any experience with Barton and can determine that bringing in site words early is really necessary for other reasons, I wouldn't do it.

[LaughingCat]

To clarify, for supplementing, I was thinking in terms of something that wouldn't interfere with Barton.  I did not mean trying to do two reading programs at once - which is actually what  trying to do sight words while doing Barton sounds like

 

So for example, if I thought DD needed that first sound/mouth portion of LIPS more than the Scottish Rite did - I would be willing to work on that 'on the side' instead of pulling her out -  especially if I thought it might be hard to get that 3x a week back (esp. if free as I've heard Scottish Rite is in some areas).

Working on directionality - differentiating b/p/q/d's  is another thing I might do to supplement. 

 

Note: of course LIPS is a reading program too - but that first part dovetails very well with Level 1 that OP's DS is doing

 

Edited my other post - because I did write 'reading program' in it even though I wasn't thinking about reading programs for supplementing only for replacing

[OneStepAtATime]

To clarify, for supplementing, I was thinking in terms of something that wouldn't interfere with Barton.  I did not mean trying to do two reading programs at once - which is actually what  trying to do sight words while doing Barton sounds like

 

So for example, if I thought DD needed that first sound/mouth portion of LIPS more than the Scottish Rite did - I would be willing to work on that 'on the side' instead of pulling her out -  especially if I thought it might be hard to get that 3x a week back (esp. if free as I've heard Scottish Rite is in some areas).

Working on directionality - differentiating b/p/q/d's  is another thing I might do to supplement. 

 

Note: of course LIPS is a reading program too - but that first part dovetails very well with Level 1 that OP's DS is doing

Yes! Actually, I agree with this and am wondering if LiPS would help.  In fact, I am wondering why it wasn't suggested.  Does Scottish Rite not use something like LiPS when students struggle with the student screening?  It sounds like the student screening was difficult to pass.  Unless there was something from the AP side that LiPS might interfere with, I would think LiPS might actually help.  Although, again, I'm no expert.

[Χά�ων]

By the time DS got in he had progressed to a point where he could pass the screening.

 

Lips was suggested but I cannot afford it. I have looked at it.

[OneStepAtATime]

Do you mean you have looked at hiring a tutor to use LiPS with your child (which can cost thousands and was out of my price range, too) or do you mean you looked at getting the kit for home tutoring and it was too expensive (because $450-500 IS expensive, but possibly more doable for some than several thousand.)?   You might be able to get the LiPS kit cheaper used.  

 

If your child is not progressing with Barton, then LiPS may help him to get to a point where he CAN progress with Barton.  If you were to step away from tutoring in Barton for a bit, would that help with coming up with the funds to tutor your child with LiPS then return him to Barton tutoring through Scottish Rite?  Or even do Barton at home yourself after LiPS?  Is it expensive to go through Scottish Rite?  I know some have said they don't pay much or pay nothing, but I can't remember if that is the norm or a special circumstance.  For us, outside tutoring was costing way more in the long run than just training on the systems ourselves and tutoring at home, but I don't know if that would be cheaper and more feasible for you or not.  I just thought I would mention it.

 

 

My DS did not pass the student screening and would have made very little progress in Barton.  After using LiPS, he breezed through Level 1, 2 and quite a bit of Level 3 before additional issues slowed him down.  

 

I am sorry this is such a frustrating situation.  I hope that something someone suggests on here will help.  Best wishes!

[LaughingCat]

And IMO you don't need to buy the full kit to do LIPS yourself.  I think you can do it with the manual (and the dvd's that come with it) only.  You do need letters & lip cards/tiles - but I made those myself (no doubt the ones they sell are a lot nicer lol!)  I also had the extra dvd's you can get (got them used) - they have longer/more detailed/more clips of the same videos that come with the manual- but you could buy those later if the manual wasn't enough and would only need the first 2 of those if you did decide you needed them.  Most of the rest of the kit is really meant for a tutor IMO

 

There's a bunch of old threads on this board about LIPS too.

 

[Χά�ων]

Do you mean you have looked at hiring a tutor to use LiPS with your child (which can cost thousands and was out of my price range, too) or do you mean you looked at getting the kit for home tutoring and it was too expensive (because $450-500 IS expensive, but possibly more doable for some than several thousand.)?   You might be able to get the LiPS kit cheaper used.  

 

If your child is not progressing with Barton, then LiPS may help him to get to a point where he CAN progress with Barton.  If you were to step away from tutoring in Barton for a bit, would that help with coming up with the funds to tutor your child with LiPS then return him to Barton tutoring through Scottish Rite?  Or even do Barton at home yourself after LiPS?  Is it expensive to go through Scottish Rite?  I know some have said they don't pay much or pay nothing, but I can't remember if that is the norm or a special circumstance.  For us, outside tutoring was costing way more in the long run than just training on the systems ourselves and tutoring at home, but I don't know if that would be cheaper and more feasible for you or not.  I just thought I would mention it.

 

 

My DS did not pass the student screening and would have made very little progress in Barton.  After using LiPS, he breezed through Level 1, 2 and quite a bit of Level 3 before additional issues slowed him down.  

 

I am sorry this is such a frustrating situation.  I hope that something someone suggests on here will help.  Best wishes!

I looked at both hiring a tutor and buying the program. The tutor was reasonable except for the drive. I just spent $600 on the interactive metronome home program and that was not easy to come up with and it will be months before I can do anything like that again. Plus, *I* cannot teach this to DS. This road has been pure hell and I only wish it was because he is severely dyslexic. The hell is from 'professionals' on a power trip who opted to threaten rather than refer to appropriate clinics ie scream at me to put him in school and makes threats if I failed to comply rather than refer DS to the DYSLEXIA clinic at the children's hospital or to see a neuropsycologist for educational testing, or even ask about his establish language and communication disorders. *I* cannot remain calm with that type of pressure and the stakes being so high. 

 

He is progressing, just very very slowly. Level 1 will probably take all of this school year.

 

Scottish rite is done with the local university's speech and language therapy center. They bill one insurance and that is the insurance DS is on so it is free. Otherwise it would have been $100/semester. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I looked at both hiring a tutor and buying the program. The tutor was reasonable except for the drive. I just spent $600 on the interactive metronome home program and that was not easy to come up with and it will be months before I can do anything like that again. Plus, *I* cannot teach this to DS. This road has been pure hell and I only wish it was because he is severely dyslexic. The hell is from 'professionals' on a power trip who opted to threaten rather than refer to appropriate clinics ie scream at me to put him in school and makes threats if I failed to comply rather than refer DS to the DYSLEXIA clinic at the children's hospital or to see a neuropsycologist for educational testing, or even ask about his establish language and communication disorders. *I* cannot remain calm with that type of pressure and the stakes being so high. 

 

He is progressing, just very very slowly. Level 1 will probably take all of this school year.

 

Scottish rite is done with the local university's speech and language therapy center. They bill one insurance and that is the insurance DS is on so it is free. Otherwise it would have been $100/semester. 

Well, since it is free, then that is obviously the better option money-wise. I am just concerned that if it is taking this long to progress with Level 1, then there is almost certainly some other issue holding him up.

 

Barton Level 1, even with DD going really slowly, still only took about a month and a half. DS completed it in a week after remediation with LiPS, but I suspect he may not be truly dyslexic so I take his results with a grain of salt.  But DD seemed to be moving slower than a lot of other kids using this program.  Level 1 is only 5 lessons.  If it is already several months in and he is only on lesson 3, and you anticipate that the remainder of Level one will take months more, then something else is going on.   I really suspect you may be facing another issue that is not being addressed.  Without that other issue being dealt with, whatever it might be, he may not ever make much progress with this program (or any other OG based program for that matter).   And the other issue is he may get so burned out on the program he will resist using it altogether.  Without at least a semi willing participant, it really doesn't work very well.  If he were already in Level 2 I would suggest some of the Barton games that are available through Spelling Success and other sources.  But at Level 1, there isn't a ton you can do at home, that I am aware of...  I really hate to sound so down on this without a lot of alternatives.  What do the people at Scottish Rite say?

 

Level two ramps things up quite a bit compared to Level 1.  Level 3 is REALLY intense compared to Level 2.  And Level 4 is frequently where a lot of people quit because it is much more intense than Level 3.  After Level 4, things are supposed to smooth out, but if Level 1 takes months and months to complete, then the other levels may be really, really hard to get through.

 

You might call Susan Barton!  Email her at least.  Discuss with her what you are seeing and your circumstances.  She might have a suggestion.  Honestly, she is usually pretty helpful.

 

Big hugs.  I am so sorry things are not working out very well.

[Χά�ων]

Well, since it is free, then that is obviously the better option money-wise. I am just concerned that if it is taking this long to progress with Level 1, then there is almost certainly some other issue holding him up.

 

Barton Level 1, even with DD going really slowly, still only took about a month and a half. DS completed it in a week after remediation with LiPS, but I suspect he may not be truly dyslexic so I take his results with a grain of salt.  But DD seemed to be moving slower than a lot of other kids using this program.  Level 1 is only 5 lessons.  If it is already several months in and he is only on lesson 3, and you anticipate that the remainder of Level one will take months more, then something else is going on.   I really suspect you may be facing another issue that is not being addressed.  Without that other issue being dealt with, whatever it might be, he may not ever make much progress with this program (or any other OG based program for that matter).   And the other issue is he may get so burned out on the program he will resist using it altogether.  Without at least a semi willing participant, it really doesn't work very well.  If he were already in Level 2 I would suggest some of the Barton games that are available through Spelling Success and other sources.  But at Level 1, there isn't a ton you can do at home, that I am aware of...  I really hate to sound so down on this without a lot of alternatives.  What do the people at Scottish Rite say?

 

You might call Susan Barton!  Email her at least.  Discuss with her what you are seeing and your circumstances.  She might have a suggestion.  Honestly, she is usually pretty helpful.

 

Big hugs.  I am so sorry things are not working out very well.

 

That is why they retested him after the winter break, to make sure he was retaining it. They do have the LiPS program but did not feel he needed it. I will ask them again.

 

He is very motivated to learn to read. He HATES not being able to read and has worked his tail off for what he does have. 

[OneStepAtATime]

That is why they retested him after the winter break, to make sure he was retaining it. They do have the LiPS program but did not feel he needed it. I will ask them again.

 

He is very motivated to learn to read. He HATES not being able to read and has worked his tail off for what he does have. 

I really am befuddled.  I don't know.  I just have never heard of anyone taking nearly an entire school year to complete Level 1 of Barton.  If they are willing, and it wouldn't cost you anything, they might TRY doing LiPS for a few weeks, instead of Barton, then return to Barton and see if Barton is faster and smoother.  I am just really surprised that they aren't seeking reasons for why this is so challenging for him.

[Plink]

DD has Double Defecit Dyslexia and LiPS was a lifesaver for us. I would definately ask about it again.

 

True confession: Level 1 still took us almost a year even after LiPS. Some kids just really need a lot of time to cement those skills. Those first 50 word cards represent the most stressful peiod of my life, but she can whizz through them now. Level 2 went faster than 1 for DD, and 3 even faster. I'm expecting we will stall out again in 4, as it covers a lot of info., but that is okay.

 

I can feel your discuragement, and I remember being there. Hugs. Keep on working with Scottish Rite, they know their stuff.

[Lecka]

If you look at time spent -- 3 times a week for an hour, for almost a school year -- I think my son took about that amount of time  (edit -- more than that amount of time). 

 

He was doing speech therapy at the same time.  If he had done speech therapy first and then reading, it might have been faster.

 

I am optimistic the Interactive Metronome will help! 

 

So sorry the officials were mean to you also, how horrible!

 

/crosspost -- glad we are not the only ones to have it take so long.  I often feel like people are flying through it!  But since then I think some things have been comparatively easier for my son, to some extent.

 

I agree -- it is very discouraging, but if he has gotten through some of it, that is a reason to celebrate!  I hope, anyway -- I hope it will seem good in retrospect.     

[Ivey]

First, I would stop teaching sight words. You're absolutely right that he is learning to only look at part of the word, which is not something you want to encourage. The words you linked are words that he should be learning to decode. When his decoding has improved, you can decide whether you need to drill true sight words.

 

Had you used a phonics program before starting Barton? I think it's still too early to tell whether Barton is going to work, but the reading "specialists" may not want to admit that phonics instruction, or at least phonics instruction on its own, does not work for every child. Ds16, who is bright, focused and hard-working, received one-on-one phonics instruction for nearly 5 years and didn't progress past a first grade reading level.

 

When phonics doesn't work, some specialists jump to "sight word" or "whole word" reading instruction, which should really only be a last resort. But, there are options between teaching phonics and teaching sight words (linguistically). If a child can't learn to read with phonics, it is likely because they have deficits in phonological awareness, especially in hearing and identifying phonemes. To bypass these deficits, I've taught several of my children to read by teaching them to recognize each syllable as an onset and rime, not individual phonemes. So, "cat" isn't "c-a-t", it's "c-at", "track" isn't "t-r-a-ck", it's "tr-ack" and "mankind" isn't "m-a-n/k-i-n-d", it's "m-an/k-ind". 

 

Glass-Analysis is the only program I know of that teaches decoding this way, and I've been able to adapt it (with the help of a psychologist who researches reading and dyslexia) to meet my kids' individual needs. I've used this program both on its own and alongside a phonics program, so I would discuss it with his tutor and see whether it would be worth teaching at home. 

 

[Pen]

I did check back in after all...

 

On the bottom sig. part where it says 8 months 6 days till The Blood of Olympus, are you referring to a Rick Riordan book? If so, can your son read at that level?

 

 

[Pen]

First, I would stop teaching sight words. You're absolutely right that he is learning to only look at part of the word, which is not something you want to encourage. The words you linked are words that he should be learning to decode. When his decoding has improved, you can decide whether you need to drill true sight words.

 

Had you used a phonics program before starting Barton? I think it's still too early to tell whether Barton is going to work, but the reading "specialists" may not want to admit that phonics instruction, or at least phonics instruction on its own, does not work for every child. Ds16, who is bright, focused and hard-working, received one-on-one phonics instruction for nearly 5 years and didn't progress past a first grade reading level.

 

When phonics doesn't work, some specialists jump to "sight word" or "whole word" reading instruction, which should really only be a last resort. But, there are options between teaching phonics and teaching sight words (linguistically). If a child can't learn to read with phonics, it is likely because they have deficits in phonological awareness, especially in hearing and identifying phonemes. To bypass these deficits, I've taught several of my children to read by teaching them to recognize each syllable as an onset and rime, not individual phonemes. So, "cat" isn't "c-a-t", it's "c-at", "track" isn't "t-r-a-ck", it's "tr-ack" and "mankind" isn't "m-a-n/k-i-n-d", it's "m-an/k-ind". 

 

Glass-Analysis is the only program I know of that teaches decoding this way, and I've been able to adapt it (with the help of a psychologist who researches reading and dyslexia) to meet my kids' individual needs. I use this program on its own, but it can be used alongside a phonics program, so I would discuss it with his tutor and see whether it would be worth teaching at home. 

 

 

In general, I agree. I totally agree about the sight words.

 

My ds's second B&M school used a method similar to the onset and rime method you show above, however, and that had also caused a problem for my ds in looking at the ends of words before the beginning.

 

I think an important point is that not every system will work for every child. But that there likely is a system that will, so keep at what you are doing, but also if it does not seem to be getting there, look for something else, or something in addition.

 

A concern I have is that the OP's ds seems to be having a great deal of desire to read right now, and the slowness of Barton may not be a good fit with that situation, leading to frustration and a feeling of inability. I know my ds was having that with various programs tried, and would have been even more frustrated at 10 than he was at 9.

[OneStepAtATime]

DD has Double Defecit Dyslexia and LiPS was a lifesaver for us. I would definately ask about it again.

 

True confession: Level 1 still took us almost a year even after LiPS. Some kids just really need a lot of time to cement those skills. Those first 50 word cards represent the most stressful peiod of my life, but she can whizz through them now. Level 2 went faster than 1 for DD, and 3 even faster. I'm expecting we will stall out again in 4, as it covers a lot of info., but that is okay.

 

I can feel your discuragement, and I remember being there. Hugs. Keep on working with Scottish Rite, they know their stuff.

 

 

If you look at time spent -- 3 times a week for an hour, for almost a school year -- I think my son took about that amount of time  (edit -- more than that amount of time). 

 

He was doing speech therapy at the same time.  If he had done speech therapy first and then reading, it might have been faster.

 

I am optimistic the Interactive Metronome will help! 

 

So sorry the officials were mean to you also, how horrible!

 

/crosspost -- glad we are not the only ones to have it take so long.  I often feel like people are flying through it!  But since then I think some things have been comparatively easier for my son, to some extent.

 

I agree -- it is very discouraging, but if he has gotten through some of it, that is a reason to celebrate!  I hope, anyway -- I hope it will seem good in retrospect.     

Since Lecka and Ivey ended up needing that much time for their children, I feel better.  Maybe, since Scottish Rite does this a lot, they know that some kids just really do need this much time.  I had people making me feel like DD was not progressing fast enough with taking the nearly 2 months (just a little over a month and a half, really) to get through Level 1.  But that seems to be three endorsements right there (if you include Scottish Rite) that this system may still work, especially if he did seem to retain what he learned in the first three lessons.  On the other hand...

 

In general, I agree. I totally agree about the sight words.

 

My ds's second B&M school used a method similar to the onset and rime method you show above, however, and that had also caused a problem for my ds in looking at the ends of words before the beginning.

 

I think an important point is that not every system will work for every child. But that there likely is a system that will, so keep at what you are doing, but also if it does not seem to be getting there, look for something else, or something in addition.

 

A concern I have is that the OP's ds seems to be having a great deal of desire to read right now, and the slowness of Barton may not be a good fit with that situation, leading to frustration and a feeling of inability. I know my ds was having that with various programs tried, and would have been even more frustrated at 10 than he was at 9.

Pen, would the High Noon system be something that could be used instead of Barton for a couple of months or so just to see if progress were better with that?  I don't know if QGOTD would be interested but thought I would ask.

[Χά�ων]

I am not ignoring the thread, I am out of town with a family emergency and am checking in to stay distracted but lack the time to give in depth replies every time. :)

 

I did check back in after all...

 

On the bottom sig. part where it says 8 months 6 days till The Blood of Olympus, are you referring to a Rick Riordan book? If so, can your son read at that level?

He listens to them on audio. I read and love them though :)

 

In general, I agree. I totally agree about the sight words.

 

My ds's second B&M school used a method similar to the onset and rime method you show above, however, and that had also caused a problem for my ds in looking at the ends of words before the beginning.

 

I think an important point is that not every system will work for every child. But that there likely is a system that will, so keep at what you are doing, but also if it does not seem to be getting there, look for something else, or something in addition.

 

A concern I have is that the OP's ds seems to be having a great deal of desire to read right now, and the slowness of Barton may not be a good fit with that situation, leading to frustration and a feeling of inability. I know my ds was having that with various programs tried, and would have been even more frustrated at 10 than he was at 9.

Nothing has ever worked for him :/ I cannot even list all the programs he has done with no luck.

 

Since Lecka and Ivey ended up needing that much time for their children, I feel better.  Maybe, since Scottish Rite does this a lot, they know that some kids just really do need this much time.  I had people making me feel like DD was not progressing fast enough with taking the nearly 2 months (just a little over a month and a half, really) to get through Level 1.  But that seems to be three endorsements right there (if you include Scottish Rite) that this system may still work, especially if he did seem to retain what he learned in the first three lessons.  On the other hand...

 

Pen, would the High Noon system be something that could be used instead of Barton for a couple of months or so just to see if progress were better with that?  I don't know if QGOTD would be interested but thought I would ask.

I have spent so much and am just not wanting to spend more for another program that doesn't work. I have known about Barton and LiPS for a couple of years but having spent so much on programs that promise to work but never do the idea of spending that much for another dud is not appealing. 

[Χά�ων]

DD has Double Defecit Dyslexia and LiPS was a lifesaver for us. I would definately ask about it again.

 

 

What is Double Deficit Dyslexia? 

 

I am optimistic the Interactive Metronome will help! 

 

It already has helped so much!

[OneStepAtATime]

I am not ignoring the thread, I am out of town with a family emergency and am checking in to stay distracted but lack the time to give in depth replies every time. :)

 

He listens to them on audio. I read and love them though :)

 

Nothing has ever worked for him :/ I cannot even list all the programs he has done with no luck.

 

I have spent so much and am just not wanting to spend more for another program that doesn't work. I have known about Barton and LiPS for a couple of years but having spent so much on programs that promise to work but never do the idea of spending that much for another dud is not appealing. 

So sorry about your emergency.  And I am really, really sorry that no system seems to work well.  I really hope something will click soon.  Would you have to pay for LiPS if Scottish Rite did it?  If not, you might really look into them doing LiPS on the chance that it might help with what they are doing in Barton.  But if not, I fully understand you not wanting to switch again.  I wish you and your family the very best.

[Χά�ων]

My son's reading level:

 

He still confuses "and" and "the". On occasion he has randomly popped out a correct word that he sounded out (or memorized, not sure which to be honest). He cannot read all the books in the Bob books level 1. When I say he can't read, I mean he is 100% a non reader. Not slow or delayed or struggling. IRL I find very few people who get this. Most people just assume he doesn't want to, or doesn't practice, or hasn't been taught, or lacks the motivation to read. This is not the case for him.

 

From the age of 21 months until he was 5 and a half he attended a preschool that specialized in children with language disorders and autism (he was in the language disorder program). He had a team of 2 speech language pathologists, an occupational therapist and a special education teacher working with him. They had a combined 50+ years of experience. Together they could not find a program that would help him learn his letters and their sounds. They ended up designing a program from scratch and by the end he knew 10 letters. Last semester he FINALLY learned all his letters, upper and lowercase. Not through lack of instruction of exposure. 

 

I seriously considered putting in him public school (I cannot afford the learning disabilities private school) just for them to try and teach reading.

.

[Χά�ων]

So sorry about your emergency.  And I am really, really sorry that no system seems to work well.  I really hope something will click soon.  Would you have to pay for LiPS if Scottish Rite did it?  If not, you might really look into them doing LiPS on the chance that it might help with what they are doing in Barton.  But if not, I fully understand you not wanting to switch again.  I wish you and your family the very best.

If Scottish Rite does it, I do not have to pay for it. I plan to bring it up with them when I get home. 

[OneStepAtATime]

My son's reading level:

 

He still confuses "and" and "the". On occasion he has randomly popped out a correct word that he sounded out (or memorized, not sure which to be honest). He cannot read all the books in the Bob books level 1. When I say he can't read, I mean he is 100% a non reader. Not slow or delayed or struggling. IRL I find very few people who get this. Most people just assume he doesn't want to, or doesn't practice, or hasn't been taught, or lacks the motivation to read. This is not the case for him.

 

From the age of 21 months until he was 5 and a half he attended a preschool that specialized in children with language disorders and autism (he was in the language disorder program). He had a team of 2 speech language pathologists, an occupational therapist and a special education teacher working with him. They had a combined 50+ years of experience. Together they could not find a program that would help him learn his letters and their sounds. They ended up designing a program from scratch and by the end he knew 10 letters. Last semester he FINALLY learned all his letters, upper and lowercase. Not through lack of instruction of exposure. 

 

I seriously considered putting in him public school (I cannot afford the learning disabilities private school) just for them to try and teach reading.

.

Unless there is some special public school out there that really specializes in this issue, I seriously doubt public school will have a clue what to do with him.  At all.  I have a lot of relatives (including my mother, the reading specialist) that are or were teachers in ps.  They would not be able to help your child.  What you are doing is better, even if it doesn't seem that he is making much progress.  He IS making some progress so don't give up hope.  Scottish Rite seems the best bet now, IMHO, now that I know a bit more about the bigger picture.  Best wishes.  Big hugs.  

[Plink]

 

 

What is Double Deficit Dyslexia? 

 

 

There are two "types" of dyslexia (some say 3, but there are many variations of severity regardless).  Double Deficit Dyslexia is an extreme version of dyslexia, in which the child struggles with both regions.

 

Type 1: Phonological processing - difficulty hearing and or placing phonemes in short term memory (making sense of the bits of sound)

 

Type 2: Processing speed - difficulty rapidly recognizing symbols and retrieving their corresponding sounds (recalling the meaning of the images)

 

[Χά�ων]

Unless there is some special public school out there that really specializes in this issue, I seriously doubt public school will have a clue what to do with him.  At all.  I have a lot of relatives (including my mother, the reading specialist) that are or were teachers in ps.  They would not be able to help your child.  What you are doing is better, even if it doesn't seem that he is making much progress.  He IS making some progress so don't give up hope.  Scottish Rite seems the best bet now, IMHO, now that I know a bit more about the bigger picture.  Best wishes.  Big hugs.  

My reasoning would be that I could pressure them to pay for (and transport him!) to a private school for children with severe learning disabilities. I was an advocate and resource specialist before DS got sick so advocating and getting that is not far fetched. I toured the school but could not afford it. They spend the morning 2 hours working on reading using Wilson and afternoon 2 hours on math. My complaint was that they barely touch on social studies (and even then it is more life skill based and not history) and science. The school does teach decoding and every review shows that the kids who go there for 3 years come out able to decode anything. My concern is the price of history (DS's strength) and science (I am a firm believer that a strong base in science is vital). The school is over an hour away (90 minutes in the morning due to traffic) and I doubt DS will be up for any after schooling with that kind of commute.

 

But he would be able to decode and they would accelerate him in math and not insist on sacrificing his math instruction to increase reading instruction. KWIM? He is fairly good at mathmatics. Not memorizing, just mathmatical understanding.

[Χά�ων]

 

 

There are two "types" of dyslexia (some say 3, but there are many variations of severity regardless).  Double Deficit Dyslexia is an extreme version of dyslexia, in which the child struggles with both regions.

 

Type 1: Phonological processing - difficulty hearing and or placing phonemes in short term memory (making sense of the bits of sound)

 

Type 2: Processing speed - difficulty rapidly recognizing symbols and retrieving their corresponding sounds (recalling the meaning of the images)

 

Ok. Thanks. DS struggles with both. He was referred to Interactive Metronome in part to help him with his processing. It has helped and he is continuing at home with the hope that he will continue to increase his processing. 

[PeterPan]

My son's reading level:

 

He still confuses "and" and "the". On occasion he has randomly popped out a correct word that he sounded out (or memorized, not sure which to be honest). He cannot read all the books in the Bob books level 1. When I say he can't read, I mean he is 100% a non reader. Not slow or delayed or struggling. IRL I find very few people who get this. Most people just assume he doesn't want to, or doesn't practice, or hasn't been taught, or lacks the motivation to read. This is not the case for him.

 

From the age of 21 months until he was 5 and a half he attended a preschool that specialized in children with language disorders and autism (he was in the language disorder program). He had a team of 2 speech language pathologists, an occupational therapist and a special education teacher working with him. They had a combined 50+ years of experience. Together they could not find a program that would help him learn his letters and their sounds. They ended up designing a program from scratch and by the end he knew 10 letters. Last semester he FINALLY learned all his letters, upper and lowercase. Not through lack of instruction of exposure. 

 

I seriously considered putting in him public school (I cannot afford the learning disabilities private school) just for them to try and teach reading.

.

QGD, my ds has verbal apraxia, and I'm wondering if that's actually what you were dealing with.  My ds has been doing this kind of profound NOT CLICKING even with numbers. Does your ds have those either?  So I'm trying to work on just one number at a time.  My boy is so much younger than yours, but I do feel for you because I think I'm seeing in my ds, to a degree, what you had going on.  With my ds, it seems kinesthetic methods help.  He tests as a dominantly kinesthetic learner, and so we're now going through the numbers, building them and experiencing them as quantities.  A letter is so much more abstract, but Nerdy in another thread just posted some great ideas:

 

• Sensory writing. Writing in sand with fingers and chopsticks, fingerpainting, using sidewalk chalks to write on the driveway, using bath tub crayons to write on the shower walls, and writing on dry erase boards. I picked up a stack of primary lined dry erase boards at the Dollar Tree last year and they have seriously come in handy.
• Manipulative writing. I would write the letter of the day or a short word on a piece of cardboard and would have my DS organize bright colored beads, dried pastas, dried beans, decorative pom poms, or cotton balls on top of the letter(s).
• Building letters, connecting words. My kids love Legos, Lincoln Logs, K'Nex and Tinkertoys. I would have them build letters and connect them to make words. DS1 also uses pipe cleaners to form letters and words in cursive.
• Play-dough, clay modeling. Others suggested this above. DS1 was never very fond of this, but DD and DS2 both like sculpting letters.
• Use cards to supplement verbal spelling. You can purchase several sets of alphabet flashcards or make your own using a sharpie and index cards. Or you can use scrabble pieces if your kids are good with small things. Have your child arrange the letters to spell a word that you say out loud. Ask them to explain their choices after they are done. This will give you an idea of where your child is with phonics. Do they recognize phonetic sounds? How often? Which sounds are tricky? Are they getting the first and last letters correct?
• Don't be afraid to do verbal spelling, narrations, orations, etc instead of written assignments. Don't insist on your child writing everything. Focus on reading and phonics first, everything else will fall into place later. Let your child work through their weaknesses and find good auditory resources or kinetic resources to fill in the blanks.

 

I hate to say this lest it sound dismal, but honestly he may be on his own timetable.  It may be where he's going to be.  If you subtracted 5 from his age and this were happening, you'd be a happy woman.  So I guess figure out what you'd expect next, if he were 5 and this were the typical thing happening.  I don't think he's going to go from here to Tolstoy in a week, just because he's older.  He might have to go through all the steps, meaning it might take a few more years.  And really, it might console you at this point, if you're finally getting some breakthroughs like getting letters to stick, to get in the stream of people who've had a kid whose reading didn't gel till 10-14 and let them comfort you.  You might not be doing anything wrong.  

 

That's exciting that you get to do more Interactive Metronome work.  It was very powerful for my dd.  I think anything that kicks in their EF and working memory will help their ability to hold multiple pieces (decode) and then assemble them into words.  

 

I particularly liked Nerdy's suggestions on ways to build words.  You might try doing that with your ds to harness some of his newfound understanding of letters and sounds.

[Χά�ων]

He was dx with apraxia at age 2 but depending on the therapist depends on if they "see" it.

[OneStepAtATime]

My reasoning would be that I could pressure them to pay for (and transport him!) to a private school for children with severe learning disabilities. I was an advocate and resource specialist before DS got sick so advocating and getting that is not far fetched. I toured the school but could not afford it. They spend the morning 2 hours working on reading using Wilson and afternoon 2 hours on math. My complaint was that they barely touch on social studies (and even then it is more life skill based and not history) and science. The school does teach decoding and every review shows that the kids who go there for 3 years come out able to decode anything. My concern is the price of history (DS's strength) and science (I am a firm believer that a strong base in science is vital). The school is over an hour away (90 minutes in the morning due to traffic) and I doubt DS will be up for any after schooling with that kind of commute.

 

But he would be able to decode and they would accelerate him in math and not insist on sacrificing his math instruction to increase reading instruction. KWIM? He is fairly good at mathmatics. Not memorizing, just mathmatical understanding.

With this school, were you able to talk to any parents of kids that have been there?  Were the reviews off of the school website or independent?  

 

If you followed this path, would he need to be in a standard classroom first?  Do you have any idea for how long, if this were the case?  How would he feel about that?

 

As for science and history, could those be relaxed, fun, hands-on projects and DVD's done once or twice a week, maybe just on weekends or something? At least until you and he adjusted to the routine?  

[geodob]

While he has a difficulty with reading Dolch words, I would be interested to know if he also has a difficulty with using them in speech?

What I'm wondering about, is his retrieval of the sound of words from memory?

Their is a type of difficulty with 'retrieval', where people can't directly access words from auditory memory?

Rather what they do, is to use a visual image to retrieve them.

But Dolch words are a major problem, as we can't picture many Dolch words, other than as a printed word.

So that a real image can't be used to retrieve them.

Which comes to your noting that he tries to memorize words as a 'shape'.

Though he might rather be trying to form and memorize a mental image, to use to retrieve the sound of the word?

 

But the mental image is formed and concieved of as a particular pattern of lines, rather than letters?

Though I would also ask if he finds it easier to memorize words that have a real image to associate with them?

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

While he has a difficulty with reading Dolch words, I would be interested to know if he also has a difficulty with using them in speech?

What I'm wondering about, is his retrieval of the sound of words from memory?

Their is a type of difficulty with 'retrieval', where people can't directly access words from auditory memory?

Rather what they do, is to use a visual image to retrieve them.

But Dolch words are a major problem, as we can't picture many Dolch words, other than as a printed word.

So that a real image can't be used to retrieve them.

Which comes to your noting that he tries to memorize words as a 'shape'.

Though he might rather be trying to form and memorize a mental image, to use to retrieve the sound of the word?

 

But the mental image is formed and concieved of as a particular pattern of lines, rather than letters?

Though I would also ask if he finds it easier to memorize words that have a real image to associate with them?

Again, a fascinating observation geodob.  Just recently, my DD had kind of messed up her right hand.  She was doing a Barton lesson and needed to write.  She decided to try writing with her left hand but the first word she wrote was illegible.  I told her not to worry we would just play some Barton games but she insisted on trying again.  She stared at the dry erase board for a moment, then starting writing the words in cursive, and they were actually very pretty.  She told me it was easy once she stopped thinking of them as letters and started thinking of them as art or symbols.

 

DD has a terrible time remembering the actual word for consonant and verb.  She knows what they are, and knows their functions, and can read them off of flash cards or in books, but cannot retrieve the words to verbally label them.  I wonder if I had her draw them as "art" if that would help...I think I will try it on Monday with our next lesson.

 

QGotD, I am really curious to see what you think of geodob's post...maybe you can attack certain things from a different angle...

[PeterPan]

He was dx with apraxia at age 2 but depending on the therapist depends on if they "see" it.

 

 

While he has a difficulty with reading Dolch words, I would be interested to know if he also has a difficulty with using them in speech?

What I'm wondering about, is his retrieval of the sound of words from memory?

Their is a type of difficulty with 'retrieval', where people can't directly access words from auditory memory?

Rather what they do, is to use a visual image to retrieve them.

But Dolch words are a major problem, as we can't picture many Dolch words, other than as a printed word.

So that a real image can't be used to retrieve them.

Which comes to your noting that he tries to memorize words as a 'shape'.

Though he might rather be trying to form and memorize a mental image, to use to retrieve the sound of the word?

 

But the mental image is formed and concieved of as a particular pattern of lines, rather than letters?

Though I would also ask if he finds it easier to memorize words that have a real image to associate with them?

Geodob is bringing up an interesting point.  Apraxia therapy has come a long way in the last 10 years.  There are new therapies that probably weren't even available for him when he was getting his stuff.  As you say, many therapists will plumb miss it.  There can definitely be issues with word retrieval, lexicon, etc. etc.  Our SLP has ds starting some materials from a company Great Teaching Ideas with the author DeGaetano.  She has workbooks for all kinds of things like word retrieval, wh-words, etc. etc.  It's mind-boggling to think about, but those things don't necessarily come naturally.  I mean, it's just mind-boggling that I'm doing work with my ds to make sure he understands the word/concept WHAT.  Not sure how you get anywhere without that, kwim?  

 

Our SLP has everyone go through Earobics.  I'm taking him through LIPS now as well.  I think it might help him, because in his case he's a very physical learner.  If the Scottish Rite people know how to do it, you might just BEG them to bring it into the sessions.  I can see my ds continuing to use those lip cards as a way to spell through words.  I think LIPS is right on that they have to feel it and see it to make the connection with the abstract written.

 

Does your ds ever try to write/spell?  That would also be interesting.  My ds is just now getting that his name has a spelling, and yesterday for the first time he spelled it for me.  I find letters of his name on the walls scattered here and there.  Honestly, nothing about reading seems to be clicking for him (just his own timetable), but he's at least doing something.  Even as I write this I realize how out of touch I was with his real timetable.  I wanted the end product, and he hasn't gone through all the steps yet.

 

I assume your ds is verbal now?  There's a method called Rapid Prompting which is a *teaching method* for non-verbal kids.  It's not speech therapy but a method of teaching ANYTHING.  The lady behind it has helpful videos online that you can watch, etc.  It's fascinating to me for the idea of isolating what isn't working or what is being held back by motor control and letting them express other ways.  If his speech is still taking a lot of effort, that may be sucking his working memory.  Doing things orally might not be his best way of learning.  He might learn better if he's able to work with less speech, leaving speech to speech therapy, and put all his brain power into the actual concepts while responding with response sheets, tiles, etc.  She has videos on this.  She'll put two choices in front and the child pulls down the tile of their choice.  No speaking necessary, no complex motor control of writing necessary.  Sometimes interventions mix too many things and then the learning is harder.  Sometimes you can isolate and go at just the one thing.  Halo-Soma - Rapid Prompting Method for Autism - www.halo-soma ...  So it's not about whether he can speak but about a way to remove what's draining him and let him focus on only the goal.  Sort of a creative re-purposing of the rapid-prompting ideas, I guess you could say.  It would at least be something different to try, and you asked for different.  

[Julie of KY]

It sounds like you have a lot of things going on.

 

If he's only at level 1 of Barton then he shouldn't be doing any sight words or other reading. He should do no reading except concentrate on Barton. It does sound like he's going extremely slowly through Barton. I'd call up Susan Barton and talk to her.

 

Consider LIPS as others have said.

 

Some easy things I found to help with phonological processing are Hearbuilder Phonological Processing - I have the computer cd, but not it is also available as an app (not sure if it's exactly the same, but looks similar).

 

Here's a link to some great free phonemic awareness activites. They are pdfs that you can download. Start with the early activities - rhyme, syllables, sentence segmentation, phonemes. I downloaded and printed out the activites and they went a long way in helping getting started with Barton.

 

As others have said, if he hasn't had a vision evaluation it should get done by a developmental optometrist (covd doctor). He could have 20/20 vision and still have a huge impact on reading from his vision.

[geodob]

OE, you wrote about workbooks for word retrieval, wh-words, etc..

But what needs to considered, is what form the word takes when it is retrieved?

Where the sound of a word is formed in the mind.

But it is actually composed.

Which can be composed in different ways?

For example, you said that you are working with DS to make sure that he understands the word/concept WHAT.

Yet you might consider the different ways that you can say 'What' ?

Where it can be said in different ways,  that give it a different?

What?

As an enquiry, or as insinuation that what was said is wrong or ridiculous. Or as a statement of the obvious.

Where the way it is said, changes the meaning.

 

Though you also wrote about DS just getting that his name has a spelling.

But something that often isn't appreciated, is the cognitive leap with understanding letters?

Where they are just abstract symbols to represent a sound.

That the symbol/ letter doesn't look like the sound in any way.

Where children can have a problem with trying to make see how a letter looks like a sound?

Which basically involves 'abstract thinking'.

[Julie of KY]

Oops. Here's the link for a bunch of free phonological activities. Scroll down to the student activities and you can download the pdfs.

 

http://www.fcrr.org/for-educators/sca_k-1.asp