Where to go from here

[AnthemLights]

I am not new to the forums, but this is my first time posting.  I am hoping that someone can help me figure out where to go next with my youngest son.  We have been home schooling for 9 years...first 2 kiddos were a breeze, especially in the area of reading.  Basically it seemed like they taught themselves to read after being given the basics.  My third son is definitely a different story.  He is very smart, catches on very quickly to new ideas/concepts, loves math and school in general, but can't seem to get anywhere when it comes to reading.  He is currently 10 years old and in fourth grade, but reads at a first grade level.  Because I only have the three and he is the youngest, I can spend as much time with him as necessary.  I help him with all of his classes, reading directions, word problems, doing a lot of work orally.  We have tried 4 or 5 different curricula in the last few years and nothing seems to help.

 

This is what we have done so far:

Beginning steps to reading for a couple of years.  That's how I started my others and it worked great.  He had a lot of struggles.  Letter recognition especially.  B, D, P....M, N, and U.  Figured he was just a slow starter and not to worry too much.  

 

Second Grade:  Still Beginning steps, but added lots of starfall and reading eggs since he loves being on the computer. By the end of the year, though, I realized that he really hadn't improved much.  It was at this point, that I started thinking learning disability.  Maybe you all think that I should have caught on earlier, and probably I should have, but I hated to think of "labeling" him.   I did an online test which came back fine...that really confused me.

 

Third Grade:  No specific curriculum.  Went back over phonics rules.  Lots of flashcards.  Lots of time spent reading together.  No real progress.  Spent the summer researching.

 

Fourth Grade:  Teaching the Right Brain Child by Dianne Craft.  Lots of Midline exercises.  Still no real progress, though, which is really frustrating.   For example long vowel sound with e at the end of the word.  I will tell him the rule.  He can read 20 or 30 example words no problem, but in a real story whenever he gets to a one of those words, he will always read it wrong unless I quick whisper "long e".  Same thing with 2 vowels walking together.  I have to remind him of the rule for him to get it right.  

 

He has gotten really good at guessing and also it seems like the longer the word, the better chance he has of getting it right.  He can read redemption, but not was/saw, or of/from, the/there.  He still struggles with b,d,p....not when I point to a letter and ask him what it is, but when he tries to read it in a word.  Reading is painfully slow.  He gets his numbers confused as well, especially 2's and 6's and 9's.  Like I said, he is really, really good at math, but long division is hard for him because he will write a 2 and later on come back and think it is a 6, for example.  

 

I am not sure where to go from here.  We live in a very rural area so no trained teachers or professional help.  And I can't help but think that as his mom and someone who loves teaching, I should be able to help him if only I knew what to do.  Any thoughts?  (Sorry this got so long)

 

~Jen

[PeterPan]

Welcome to LC/SN!   :)  It's a great place to be, even if it does feel awkward coming over the first time.   :)

 

You've outlined a lot of things that sure would point to getting evals for a reading disorder.  There could be a few other explanations, but no matter what it sounds like it's definitely time for evals.  As you're finding out, the sadness is *not* in getting evals and a label; the sadness comes with *not* getting the evals and not having the explanations and proper tools.  Everybody comes to that at a different time, and it sounds like you're there.  

 

Yes, you're probably going to have to drive for a good eval.  Sometimes places surprise you.  LearningAlly has lists that will help you.  They're not exhaustive, but they might help you find good options.  

 

https://go.learningally.org/parents/learning-ally-approach/dyslexia-resources/find-dyslexia-specialist/    Find a specialist

https://go.learningally.org/parents/learning-ally-approach/dyslexia-resources/reading-tutor-network/   Find a tutor

 

Barton will give you physical methods to help with the b/d/p confusion.  If you aren't able to find a qualified tutor locally, Barton will probably be your curriculum.  

 

What was the online test you did?  Barton has a pretest you might as well go ahead and do as it's free.  http://bartonreading.com/students_long.html#screen  It's NOT a test for dyslexia, just a screening tool to see if the student has enough phonemic awareness and working memory to go into Barton 1.  When you do that, you can post the rests to talk about them or call Barton herself and see what she suggests.  She's very nice.   :)

 

It would be nice to get his vision checked, just to make sure that's not part of the problem.  You would go to a developmental optometrist, not a regular one.  Start with just a regular vision exam but ask them to *screen* for the developmental stuff.  That way you have a chance to see if you like the doc and even need to continue.  A dyslexic can have developmental vision problems as well, and in some cases developmental vision problems will cause symptoms that look like dyslexia.  If you ask a psych, the psych will say dyslexia is NOT vision, meaning you should have symptoms that go *beyond* what could be explained by vision issues.  

 

You said you live very rural.  You may need to drive to a state capital or take a vacation somewhere to get these evals.  Practitioners are used to that and will work with you.  The Scottish Rite can help you if they have a location in your state.  What I'd be reluctant to do, just me, is start into Barton without evals.  If you do that you don't have documentation and the papertrail for accommodations.  You need to think longterm about what you're fighting for.  You want access to the services and accommodations a dyslexic gets.  You want the extra information on processing speed, working memory, language processing, and comorbid things going on that you get with thorough evals.  Under IDEA (federal law), your ps has an obligation to identify children with disabilities that hinder school work.  Our local ps has been able to identify ds' reading disability with testing EVEN WITH me doing Barton with him.  Now granted I went in with a private eval saying it and saying I wanted the label.  I'm just saying it might be that if you just walked into your ps and made the written request for a complete evaluation (following the law, written, dated, knowing how the law works) you'd get enough information to get this paper trail going.  Some ps are very helpful and some are not.   It would be another way to try.  They're not going to give you the same hand-holding and may not crank out the same reports, but you never know.  I've seen some that really did.  Our ps has treated us like we were their own, at least for ds.

 

Don't be afraid to post here and on LC.  I know it feels awkward, but everyone will cheer you on and be here to talk you through things.  The more you talk, the more help you can get.  Sometimes I just kinda throw things out in a post and people will see things I wasn't seeing.  That helps me immensely.  Keep us posted on how it goes!   :)

 

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

I think you need to plan to drive for testing. Once you figure out what you are dealing with, you will better know how to remediate.

[kbutton]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug: You've gotten good advice.

[AnthemLights]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone.  And the hugs, kbutton.   :001_smile:

 

Elizabeth, wow, thank you for taking the time to write that all out for me.  It's given me a lot to think about.  I can't remember the name of the test that I did on-line.  It was a couple of years ago and apparently it wasn't very accurate, anyway.   :huh:

 

Yeah, I am resigned to the fact that I will have to drive somewhere.  At this point, I don't really mind.  I certainly don't want to waste any more time.  I checked out the specialists listed under LearningAlly in my state.  This is what it came up with:

 

1.  Missoula - SPARKS Literacy Center Teacher, Certified Barton Tutor.  4.5 hours away

2.  Billings - Masters of Education in Reading, Certified Elementary Teacher, Susan Barton Trained.  7 hours away.

3.  Billings - Dyslexia Specialist, Screening and Tutoring Services.  

 

Could I just go to the one in Missoula for an eval, even if she doesn't say anything about screening or testing, or do I need to go with number 3?

 

The closest Scottish Rite would also be in Missoula.  Maybe I should start there first?  Do they do evals?

 

We have gotten his vision checked out, but never by a developmental optometrist.  I will check into that.

 

I will also check out Barton's....we will work on that this afternoon.

 

Thanks again for all your advice.  Oh, and I will check out our local public school.  I don't hold out too much hope there, but, hey, maybe they will surprise me.   :glare:

 

[AnthemLights]

Okay, we did the Barton's screening test.  He got 100 on section A.  2 wrong on section B (syllables are especially hard for him)  and then 100 on section C.

 

I have been checking into Barton's.  Thanks, Elizabeth for reminding me of them.  I researched the program a couple of years ago when I first started suspecting that we might need something, but then dismissed them because of the cost.  Went with Dianne Craft's program instead.  

 

As I see now, there are ways to do the Barton's program work that won't be too expensive.  Certainly not when compared with private tutoring.  So, I am excited.   :hurray:

 

Thanks again.

[PeterPan]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Decoding-Dyslexia-Montana/493837584029569 Did you see this?  

 

I would encourage you to continue to look for an actual psych or neuropsych who specializes in dyslexia, rather than getting an informal/unofficial diagnosis through a tutor.  You're going to want the paper trail for accommodations, to find out if there's anything MORE going on, etc.

 

You might see who is on the advisory board for dyslexia orgs in your state.  It looks like Susan Barton is coming to your state in April, so you could go to that talk and network to find resources.   :)

[AnthemLights]

Thanks, Elizabeth, for the encouragement.  I am strongly leaning that way myself.    :001_smile:

 

It would be neat if  I could somehow schedule the evaluation at the same time as Susan Barton's visit to Billings.  

[PeterPan]

You're not likely to get in that soon, not with a good psychologist.  Most will be booked out 1-3 months or more.  But definitely go and rub the head of the magic guru and get all your problems taken care of.  :D  No seriously, Susan has this fabulous online interview she did.  I posted the link a while back.  It was SO PROFOUND.  You'll be glad you went to her talk I think.  Her *attitude* toward these issues is so healthy, so whole, and it's driven by her experience with what happens if it *isn't*.  It's healthy to soak that in as you're starting this process.  :)

 

You could see who is organizing the talk and contact them for names of who to call for evals.  Surely they'll know who you need.  Maybe you can get in.  Definitely worth a try!  :)

[AnthemLights]

I like your sense of humor, Elizabeth.

 

I have a lot to think about, a lot to check out.  I am going to start following the Decoding Dyslexia facebook page and also need to check out Susan Barton's resources.  I very much appreciate her attitude....even from the little I know about her.   I mean I know my son is special in so many ways, but it's neat when other people appreciate that as well.   :001_cool:

 

Thanks again for pointing me to her.

 

 

 

[ElizabethB]

I would screen out vision with a good covd doctor, covd.org.

 

I would also try some work with nonsense words and syllables, my phonics concentration game and Webster's Speller.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html