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Teaching young dyslexics


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Do you have any specific tricks, like number of sessions per day, reward structures (like the earning pennies in Get Your Kid Off the Frig...), favorite ways to take it multi-sensory, etc.?  I'm realizing I hadn't thought through even really basic things, like how many times a day to work on working memory or handwriting vs. the actual LIPS/Barton work...  And does Barton include handwriting at some point or is it assumed we're doing that separately?  

 

And do you have any super-fab tips on taking things multi-sensory?  Maybe websites you particularly like with tips for that?  

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Our favorite multi-sensory was just to build, build, build. My boys build EVERYTHING. We built letters with HWOT pieces. We build structures. We build vocabulary. We built the Nile, shields, a Roman wall, burglar alarms, a hovercraft, etc.We use pictures or building whenever possible. Barton does not include handwriting - this is one of my dislikes about the program. It assumes you are remediating older students and that they know how to write already. We do have a reward structure too. I co-opted Sandy's blow pop idea, but I combine it with a student store. We have red/yellow/green cards and ending on green earns you a ticket for the day. A week's worth of good days earns you a prize from the student store (dollar store type toys - scratch & sniff markers, snacks I don't normally stock, tattoos, etc). The boys love this system and it is a great incentive to keep a good attitude and work hard even when skills are difficult for them.

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FP has an extremely valid point.  Barton will have to be modified in higher levels if he has not yet learned how to write anything.  Anything past Level 1 with require some writing.  Level 1 does not incorporate writing or reading in the traditional sense so you should be o.k. with that level.  Just go really slowly.  Do small segments.  

 

DD needed the lessons to be very short.  For her, with Level 1, each of the three parts of each lesson (and if you have looked at the manual you have seen there are only three parts, unlike any level beyond this one) were on a different day.  We also went back and repeated some things and I played games with her on Fridays.  There are some good suggestions for games to play at the back of the Level 1 manual and some of those are set up specifically for very young children.  Also, there are some great suggestions for what to do in specific instances where the child is struggling.  There are also some helpful tips at the very back for things you might be dealing with just trying to tutor a young child in general and tips that might help.  Have you read through the back of the Level 1 manual?  It really, really helped me.  

 

It took a lot longer than many (most?) kids would need to move through this level for DD but move through it she did and she did fine in the end.  DS, on the other hand, just GOT this level.  He whipped through it and did one full lesson each day, completing the entire Level in 1 week.  He actually probably could have done the entire Level in a day but I wouldn't let him.  I felt there would be more benefit to focusing on just one lesson each day, even if he was grasping everything extremely quickly (much quicker than DD).  Different children, different strengths and weaknesses and different motivations.   (In the higher levels DS struggles more than DD since he seems to have some sort of APD).

 

But both of my kids are a lot older than your son, OhE.  FWIW, when DS tackled Barton he was already 8 and had been in school for a few years and had been writing since 4k, albeit very slowly and a bit painfully (un-diagnosed dysgraphia).

 

I am pulling out Level 2 right now and will post with my observations when I am done...

 

Best wishes. 

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O.k. for Level 2 there is some limited writing in each lesson but only one part.  Basically spelling a list of about 10 CVC words on part M of each lesson (there are 5 lessons in Level 2, just like in Level 1).  A-L and N-P do not involve writing.  There IS writing, though, and letter formation is not explicitly taught.  Therefore, he would need to know how to form his written letters through a different program before tackling Level 2 of Barton unless you want to modify that part of each lesson and just have him use the tiles again.  Or maybe your creative brain could come up with some other modification for that part...  :)

 

The rest of each lesson is using fingers or tiles or whatever.  No writing required.  If you go really slowly, just taking small chunks at a time, and are teaching him the physical act of forming his letters separately, his handwriting ability may catch up with where you are in Barton.

 

Level three has writing in more parts of the lesson.  I would not start Level three until he is more solid on the physical act of writing his letters or you find an effective way to modify those parts.

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Our favorite multi-sensory was just to build, build, build. My boys build EVERYTHING. We built letters with HWOT pieces. We build structures. We build vocabulary. We built the Nile, shields, a Roman wall, burglar alarms, a hovercraft, etc.We use pictures or building whenever possible. Barton does not include handwriting - this is one of my dislikes about the program. It assumes you are remediating older students and that they know how to write already. We do have a reward structure too. I co-opted Sandy's blow pop idea, but I combine it with a student store. We have red/yellow/green cards and ending on green earns you a ticket for the day. A week's worth of good days earns you a prize from the student store (dollar store type toys - scratch & sniff markers, snacks I don't normally stock, tattoos, etc). The boys love this system and it is a great incentive to keep a good attitude and work hard even when skills are difficult for them.

FP, I like these!!!  I had not heard sandy's blow-pop idea, so I'll have to look for that!  I LOVE your store idea.  I found the Off the Frig idea of 1 cent for every word just TOO MUCH.  I mean, mercy, how am I going to keep track of all that?  I like much better your idea of red/yellow/green, encouraging self-monitoring and compliance, and the simple structure leading to a reward.  So if they get a yellow card for a day, is their chance for the store for the week shot?  Do you carry over cards and 5 cards let you shop? 

 

The psych said he's reasoning through a lot of things, so anything where we can harness that is good.

 

I was also thinking this morning that I'm going to tell him the psych said he's ready to learn to read and that now we're going to blast off and that the psych will be CHECKING it in the spring.  Apparently he really liked the psych and thought he was cool, so that might motivate or resonate with him.

 

So do you build with legoes and stuff as part of your spelling/phonics/reading time or is that just AAS tiles and done?

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Onestep, yes, that's what I was thinking through last night as I tried to process all this.  I've spent the last couple months focusing on the automaticity of the basic strokes with him for handwriting, so it looks like we'll just have to continue working on it.  Writing on our backs, etc. seems to be working really well right now, so I think we'll continue that way.  I was pinning some ideas last night for sand trays, and I got sandpaper letters finally.  It's just kind of floozy in my brain how you go from not writing to writing with someone who isn't reading or GOING to read the words.  With SWR we wrote single letters then we just started right in with writing words from dictation and reading them.  So what does the writing look like in Barton 2?  At that point does she connect reading and writing, like having them write the words they spell with tiles?  

 

Yes, I think that info might help me sort this out.  What writing do they do in Barton 2?  Haha, me and my acronyms.  Wanna call it B2?  :D  I'm SO bad.   :lol:   See someone will find out that B2 discriminates against U2, and well then Apple will come after me with their billions along with boardies and rockers and...  Oh no, B2 is a bomber!  But Barton is the BOMB for dyslexia...   :biggrinjester:

 

 Oh man, am I seriously giddy?  After all these months of stress, to FINALLY have answers.   :svengo: 

 

 Nope, change that.      :party:  I want happy dances this morning!!!

 

 

So yes, I think you're catching it.  I need to figure out where his writing (in same fashion: air, back, sand tray, vertical paper, whatever) needs to be to be ready for B2.  And the psych said to hold him on quantities and requirements to typical K5.  Like I don't have to get all stupid squirrelly and say he has to write a ton more than a typical K5er would at this age.  He never said paper either.  He's just saying call him K5, shoot for K5.  And really, how much does a typical K5er write?  Not a ton.

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Short sessions, with a timer.  A short timer -- even 2 minutes for something very hard.  5 minutes for a long session.  Look and see how long he is paying attention (and it will be longer for things that are easier or more review, and shorter for the very hard things or the things that are brand new and totally confusing).  If you see that he is losing focus -- use less time next time, for that thing.  You want to end on him *not* tired and feeling good, and you telling him he is a hard worker.  Start using the timer on things that are total games to him, so that he gets to know the timer as something that is good for him, not "oh no, the timer, it is that horrible difficult stuff." 

 

Do not call everything "reading" if there are some things that are easier or more fun.  Call it "this practice" and "that practice."  It can let you have an easy time with some of the sessions, and maybe only have to really talk up the session that is the most difficult.  There should not be too much in a day, of very difficult.  There is so much need for review -- once you are going, many sessions can be review and can be on the fun side. 

 

Look in your day -- where can you add in 2 or 5 minutes.  Now -- I didn't always do it this way, but my son does not ADHD.  I did it this way sometimes.  But -- it was more about going slow b/c sheer difficulty for him, I think.  But really, for easy things he could go quite a while.  I started with him, on things not too hard for him, able to do "mom time" and "R time."  When the timer was on "mom time" he did what I wanted.  When the timer was on "R time" I did what he wanted.  We could go back and forth like this for 2 hours, and I got more "mom time" than he got "R time."  But now I think -- I should have slowed down on that, I think I was pushing him way too hard when I was just starting.  I did not realize how difficult it was for him for a little while.  I also did not realize some things like staring or starting to fidget were signs of him getting too tired. 

 

My son gets a yoga ball to sit on at school now, and it is extremely good for him.  He does *better* when he can fidget some like that, when he is doing something that is *hard.*  The *harder* it is, the more he needs to fidget or move.  It is helping him learn.  I would definitely look for things like that that he might like.  Would depend a lot on the kid, though.  My son also liked bending over a foot rocker with his head at the level of our coffee table, while I sat on the couch on the other side of the coffee table.  I realize now -- we could have had the same effect with him draping his stomach over a yoga ball and me sitting on the other side of the coffee table or our child's table.  Or -- just sitting by him with the dry erase board or whatever.  But having a table can give the space a little more structure sometimes.

 

If you can divide up your practice or review, maybe a certain multisensory is the first or second thing (maybe give a choice, or maybe it is just first) when you sit down to do art or crafts.  Then -- fun time.  Maybe one thing is kept in the kitchen, and it is 2 or 5 minutes right before a snack or sitting down to rest a minute and drink some water.  Maybe something is by the door, and you do it for 2 or 5 minutes as you are going out the door.  With all of these -- as soon as you are done, you are doing something very fun.  It can *really* help to set things up like that.  Lately in summer, it has been that my son needs to get stuff done so he can go swimming in the afternoon.  Then you can say -- you worked so hard, and now we are doing this fun thing.  It is much less of a nagging way to set things up. 

 

Also if something is hard, he is doing good if he will just pay attention or directly copy you.  That may be Step 1.  Step 1 may not be that he independently does an independent example, even if that is what is given as Step 1 in the curriculum.  If that Step 1 is too hard, it is time to modify the curriculum.  You give the maximum scaffolding and then try to reduce the scaffolding. 

 

If he gets into a thing where he is fearful of new things being too hard, this is what I found to work -- "all you have to do is copy."  "All you have to do is watch me."  With a short timer.  Ending on "you did it, thanks for paying attention." 

 

I googled lists of multisensory teaching activities and just tried different things.  I think -- one thing might work for a while, and then he gets tired of it, so expect to rotate around and then come back to things.  It is normal for something new to be more fun and interesting, and something that is mom's nice routine that she likes to get to be boring and not interesting.  So -- plan to be rotating.  You can also give him choices after a while, and that is another opportunity for child choice. 

 

I bet you are really at a higher starting point b/c you have worked with your daughter, though!

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FP and Lecka have some great suggestions for ways to motivate, etc.  I would only add, keep an upbeat attitude, don't let them see you stress if they struggle or you are having a bad day.  Keep it light, short and as fun as possible.  

 

Since the others have such good suggestions I will only address B2 for Dummies :lol:  (bear with me, though, I am running on about 3 1/2 hours sleep today).

 

Each lesson in B2 introduces one vowel and 5-6 consonants.  It really will help if he can already recognize his letters, even if he cannot write them (and certainly he doesn't have to have good penmanship yet even if he does write them).  Only one vowel is worked on and those 5-6 consonants in the first lesson, then another vowel and another set of consonants are introduced in each subsequent lesson  along with review of previous letters introduced.  Lots of tile work learning the sound/letter associations and reading cvc words off of the tiles.  The lesson goes slowly but you can slow it down even further, just focusing on one subsegment each day or even each week and there are suggestions for how to do that.  

 

There are key words that you train your child to use to remember the sounds associated with the letters, especially the short vowel sounds.  Those key words were a HUGE help, especially for DD.  Every time a child has to read a word, they have to tap out the two syllables of the key word as they say the key word for the short vowel in that word.  It keeps them from guessing at the sound.  They also sound out and finger spell all the other sounds after they tap out the short vowel sound.  This step can be annoying for kids.  They want to rush through.  But that is why decoding becomes such an issue.  They rush and they guess.  When they HAVE to tap out each vowel and they have to focus on each individual letter before they attempt to read it the guessing issues are reduced to practically nothing.  This part in particular turned so much around for DD and DS.

 

FWIW, DD struggled with labeling each letter but the sound associations, for the most part, were not an issue since Level 1 really helped clear that up.  She just couldn't always retrieve the NAME of the letter even though she had learned her alphabet years before.  She would overload and the name just would not come to her.  Having a key word actually helped with this and I love how it is done in Barton.  We DID alter some of the keywords and visual imagery suggested, though, so that it was more appealing to the child.  

 

For instance, O is associated with Olive.  DS just could not get into Olive.  But Octave, since he had been in choir, made perfect sense to him and didn't associate the letter with a food he hates the texture of.  It was irrelevant that he couldn't spell either word.  He just needed a two syllable word that used the short vowel sound of that letter at the beginning of the word.  He never had to write the word, just picture what the word meant in his head (and Octave meant sheet music to DS), associate the sound with the first letter of that word, tap it out, etc..  You are allowed to guide them if the name of the letter escapes them by the way, but retrieval of the name is not as important as retrieval of the sound.  That is where the key words come in.  The child can create a key word sheet for visual reference as well.  DS had no issues with that (once we replaced olive with octave) so he breezed through naming each letter.

 

The only writing is on one page of each lesson (part M) and it is with 10 CVC words.  5 are real words and 5 are nonsense words.  It is towards the end of the lesson after they have been working with the tiles and finger spelling and a whole host of things.  The tiles they have been working with are right in front of them so if they forget how to form a letter they have a visual reference.   They need to finger spell out the word before attempting to write it so you can confirm they are hearing each individual sound and are slowing down enough to associate each sound with a letter.  

 

FWIW, if DD was tripping up I didn't move on to the written part until we had repeated a few things earlier in the lesson.  DS actually breezed through the lessons but would occassionaly trip up here because he wanted to rush through finger spelling and he does not always hear every sound (although mainly at this level he had trouble only with the distinction between e and i).  Otherwise sounds at this level were easy for him.  Certain blends in Level 3, on the other hand....  

 

 If your ds does not want to slow down and finger spell, don't make it optional even once.  If they are getting frustrated, shorten the lesson or find some other way to motivate. The fact that DS HAD to finger spell each word first, whether he wanted to or not, meant he had to slow down and listen to what he thought he was hearing.  It did help.  Another thing, if you let your dc skip that step in this level because he seems to do well here and not need that step you may deeply regret it when he gets to harder lessons/levels, especially the more complex sound combinations in Level 3.

 

I will say this:  Follow the procedures laid down in the TM.  Some may seem silly or tedious but they become SOOOO helpful.  It takes repetition to get those procedures down so you AND your child need to stick to it consistently and I would practice with another adult a few times first.  Kids can smell weakness.  If I was unprepared for a lesson they could tell and really got antsy and ready to bolt.  When I was really prepared they could sense it and tended to be more focused themselves.  It also helped me think on the fly when things went a little wonky.  

 

For instance, there are lots of hand gestures incorporated into the lesson for easier communication and so you are not overloading your child with a ton of words while they are trying to process the cvc words they are attempting to read/create.  Just doing the short cut hand gestures for communication helped a great deal with the smoothness of the lessons and with retention and output when all of those procedures internalized.  It took me a bit of practice to get those gestures smooth and to remember them without having to look at the TM.  I practiced with Mom and it made the lessons much easier to do.

 

Each part of each lesson also usually has extra words or nonsense words at the bottom of the page that can be used for a repeat lesson.  This is also really helpful.  Lets say dc is struggling with a particular letter or letters.  You can just plant yourselves on that part of the lesson and repeat with another set of words or go back a few parts and repeat with a new set of words then move forward again.  You don't have to create your own on the fly.

 

For the writing page itself, by the time the child gets to that part of the lesson they have been working with the letters and letter sounds for quite a while, several parts, and have been putting together and creating basic cvc words on tile and with finger spelling.  It says write on paper, but you could use a dry erase board or sand or shaving cream or whatever you want.  The words are only 3 letters long and there are only 10 of them.  You could break that lesson up into maybe just a couple of words from the real and nonsense list, then call it a day and do the same thing again the next day, etc. if you thought it was too much writing.  He just needs to at least sort of be able to form his letters well enough you can read what he wrote, KWIM?

 

At the end of this level DD finally started to be able to spell basic words without guessing.  It was a huge eye opener for her to be able to spell anything.  Really increased her enthusiasm for the program.  DS could already spell cvc words pretty well so it wasn't as earth shattering for him.

 

I fear I did not organize this information terribly well.  Sorry.  I may rearrange things later but I need to run.  

 

Best wishes!   :)

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In our rewards system, if you end on a yellow, you still get a blowpop but no ticket. So, you might not get prize day on Thursday (since you need 4 tickets and we co-op on Fridays) but if you have a good day on Monday, then that could be your new prize day. Really a prize = 4 tickets, whenever that occurs, to keep the motivation high even we or they have a bad day. I also give them the opportunity to earn their way back to green by being helpful and working hard with a good attitude. I try to have them end positively whenever possible.

 

The system has been incredibly useful in ways I didn't anticipate too. I noticed my older ds was frequently in the red zone early in the day and realized it is because he is so slow to transition and wake up enough to be able to do schoolwork. I was able to shift our schedule around to work with ds 2 earlier and give ds some learning activities (but not his true subject material) until he could get his senses more regulated for the day. This hasn't completely eliminated problems, but it has helped a ton.

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I agree to observe locally or attend a class locally if at all possible. 

 

I also looked into Neuhaus (neuhaus.org) and doing an online class through them -- they were recommended in a book I read.  There are others, too.  I just happened to look into that one for whatever reason.

 

I think it is very worthwhile if it is possible. 

 

Nothing like that is available in my area, though.  If I had found out about Neuhaus earlier -- I think it would have helped me. Or just one of the on-line options.  But local would be my first choice. 

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Whoops, I realized I didn't answer the second question. We do what I call "board work" which is parts of AAS or AAR depending on how they line up. We do that with tiles on the whiteboard or small magnetic boards and we do some writing words or phrases on the clipboard. That is our phonics work and both my boys are past building for those words/phrases/sentences, other than just building with tiles at this point. When they were younger we spent hours building letters and words physically with wood pieces or cotton balls or popsicle sticks or clay/playdough, etc.

 

For reading itself, my youngest works on echo reading with me and he does independent reading with Immersion Reading on his Kindle. For example, right now we are echo reading George Washington's Mother which is a level 4 Jean Fritz leveled reader and ds still needs help pronouncing many of the words outloud. This is definitely his instructional reading level and the appropriate level for working on his fluency and decoding. His comprehension and interest level is much, much higher though and he would be bored if reading stayed only at what he can decode or read fluently. He is reading Little House in the Big Woods with Immersion Reading and we do Lego literature work as well as lapbook work and projects correlated with that book. So he is building and carving soap and doing 3D work with Little House even as we continue to work on fluency with easier books. Still hands-on multi-sensory but at his comprehension level rather than his reading level if that makes sense.

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One of my children earns points towards screen time (10 min increments)---I target 5 behaviors a day.

 

One of my kids earns lego pieces towards a kit he's building.

 

Weekly rewards were too abstract until oldest hit age 10 or so.  Oldest needed immediate feedback for a reward he REALLY wanted.  Younger ds appears to be the same way.  He is totally willing to forego rewards and just not do his work if he perceives something to be too hard.

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Given your unique circumstances WRT the verbal apraxia (VA) and dyslexia (DA), my vote is for you to call your local dyslexic academy (LDA) and speak with the educators on staff (ES) and seriously consider taking their week long O-G class (WLOGC).

:lol:   :lol:   :lol:

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Oldest is not motivated by an all/nothing approach. He is 12 now. There is a simple grid I designed in his planner. He earns 10 min of screen time per targeted behavior/task and can earn a max of 50 min a day to play Minecraft or watch Pokemon on Netflix or whatever....

 

His current targets are:

1. Personal care (shower/teeth/deodorant)

2. Bedroom and bathroom picked up before start of school

3. Start school by 9am

4. Complete schoolwork with pins remaining (this became complex....he gets three clothes pins (warnings) a day about meltdowns/whining/defiance---any issues after that are answered with a punishment---usually removal of privileges or assignment of cleaning duties)

5. Finishing all schoolwork assigned that day by supper time (my expectations are reasonable)

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Two easy ones:

Start by 9

Complete bookwork by 12 (lunch)

 

Three hard ones:

Handwriting with correct stroke sequence

15 min of therapy at home with me without a meltdown

Finish school day with pins

 

His main issue right now is controlling his emotions when frustrated---we are working on expressing frustration appropriately and on beginning a task again post meltdown. I am trying to reward his willingness to try again at a hard thing.

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For possible reward programs ----- I like The Everyday Parenting Tool-Kit by Alan Kazdin. 

 

I use things that are more autism-specific. 

 

But for not autism -- from books I have looked at, I think this book is the best for talking about ways to do reward programs and different ways to do them.

 

For example -- you can have two systems.  He can be earning towards a short-term goal, and a long-term goal. He could have a poster showing how he is earning a big, long-term goal, but still be getting the short-term goals, too. 

 

I do not use this book, but I got a lot of good information, and for not-autism, I think I would recommend this one.

 

It also talks about common pitfalls of reward programs, so that is good to read.  Even if you don't do just what he thinks, you can at least avoid common pitfalls! 

 

It is in our local library.

 

Edit:  I also read the Defiant Child book by him.  I am pretty sure it was the Tool-kit one I liked better, but if you get it and it does not have a chapter about reward systems, then it is the other book by him. 

Whichever has the section on common pitfalls or reasons that reward programs are not effective ----- is very worth reading before you start one, I do really recommend at least trying to find that section if you can skim through in the library or at a book store. 

 

I think autism books are excellent for reward programs, too, I think they are the best, but they have a way of getting technical and autism-specific.

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Lecka, thank you!!!  Our library DOES have both books, so I ordered them!  I had no clue such things would be in books, lol. And yes, that's the challenge to me, thinking through why systems work and don't work to figure out what is worth pursuing.

 

Prairie, than you.  That really puts shoe leather to it.   :)

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