rbk mama Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Because we kind of threw in the towel years ago. :leaving: He wasn't retaining anything, and the battle just seemed not worth it. We tried AAS and Wilson - both were great for reading, not for spelling. Now, he is at a better place maturity-wise (he's 15), and is slightly open to trying again with spelling. I think we could do 10min. a day. Anyone have ideas of what to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Well, only Barton Reading and Spelling worked for DD but she also has gotten very good at pulling out her spellchecker (Barton trains the student on how to get the spell checker work with you even if you struggle horribly with spelling since some words really don't follow rules). Not sure I would pay for Barton just for spelling. If he still needed help with reading, then maybe it would be worth it... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbk mama Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Does Apples and Pears work with dysgraphic kids? It seems like a lot of writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I don't know. My dyslexic child is younger (11). She's receiving specialized OG help for the second year, and I'm not sure it is making much difference. She may just always be a poor speller. She attends a private school for kids with dyslexia, and they have said that older students often cannot be remediated fully and must learn tools to help themselves make accommodations. This school is very big on teaching children to use technology, including smart pens. Whatever you do, it must be multi-sensory. I'm not sure that 10 minutes a day will make a difference. DD's tutoring sessions were 60 minutes, twice a week. You will need to go back to figure out what phonemes he does not have mastered. To be honest, I think a tutor trained in Orton-Gillingham methods might be your best option. Sorry to be discouraging. If others have found success remediating spelling at an older age, I hope they chime in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 How is his keyboarding? Could he type Apples and Pears? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I agree with Storygirl. Back when I cared about spelling, DS would close his eyes and either air or table write his spelling words. He also chunked the spelling and clapped the words out. As an 11th grader, he types everything and uses spell check. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbk mama Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 I agree with Storygirl. Back when I cared about spelling, DS would close his eyes and either air or table write his spelling words. He also chunked the spelling and clapped the words out. As an 11th grader, he types everything and uses spell check. Yeah. I may need to get to a no-guilt place like that. I feel sad that he can't spell really simple words. He acts like he doesn't care - because, as he says, there is always spell-check. But I KNOW he feels bad/embarrassed/stupid because he can't spell common words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbk mama Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 I hadn't considered Apples and Pears typed out on the computer. I will look into that. I've been considering getting that anyway for his younger sibling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) Yeah. I may need to get to a no-guilt place like that. I feel sad that he can't spell really simple words. He acts like he doesn't care - because, as he says, there is always spell-check. But I KNOW he feels bad/embarrassed/stupid because he can't spell common words.There is a list online that you can google that contains 200 of the most commonly misspelled words. Slowly work through that list using a keyboard. DS has dysgraphia too. The one-two punch of dysgraphia and dyslexia will always cause problems so we have to be realistic. My son's vocab is crazy high with spelling at about mid-high school level. DS gets embarrased sometimes too. Edited January 17, 2017 by Heathermomster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) Honestly, I'd go back to Wilson. He really needs intensive incremental instruction (sorry for the alliteration). 60 minutes twice a week would be my minimum. The reading portion often tends to click before spelling, so I wouldn't worry about your concerns about his previous experience. Just jump in where he is and do what you can. ETA: I would hire a tutor rather than working on spelling with him myself. Remediation is hard in the best of circumstances, but in the teen years it is easier to get them to perform for someone other than mom. A tutor will also hold both of you accountable to doing assigned homework regularly. Edited January 17, 2017 by Plink 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I'm using All About Spelling with my teen, but I like several of the suggestions of the previous posters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) I agree with Storygirl. Back when I cared about spelling, DS would close his eyes and either air or table write his spelling words. He also chunked the spelling and clapped the words out. As an 11th grader, he types everything and uses spell check. There is a list online that you can google that contains 200 of the most commonly misspelled words. Slowly work through that list using a keyboard. DS has dysgraphia too. The one-two punch of dysgraphia and dyslexia will always cause problems so we have to be realistic. My son's vocab is crazy high with spelling at about mid-high school level. DS gets embarrased sometimes too. Yes, trying to write with my ds for spelling has been a flop. Barton told me to have him spell aloud, and that's going better. If you actually want to work on it, you can do it with visualization plus spelling aloud backward. That can be really strong for some kids, assuming no developmental vision or visual processing issues are holding him back. Personally, I think Heather's advice about making it more utilitarian, rubber meets the road, is right on. If he doesn't have a use for it, he won't bother. If he does have a use for it, it's time to find a way. I agree with the heavy use of tech. If he WANTS to work on spelling, then just pick something and work on it more like 15 minutes a day. That would be enough, if you did it aloud, using visualization, etc. Like maybe bump that 10 to 15 if he would and hit it daily. That list of most common words is a good idea. There are other lists like that. I think SWR has a top 100 list. Barton's games are really slick. You might find he actually does pretty well with them. I was able to throw lots of the games at my ds. Not like he can apply them independently. I'm just saying the games (actually the Spelling Success games meant to go with Barton) are a pretty slick way to cover a bunch of material and get them noticing. Noticing is half the battle. So it might not radically improve his spelling, but it might give him a way to organize what seems currently like an overwhelming, random mess. Edited January 18, 2017 by OhElizabeth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) Products - Spelling Success That's the page with the games, and I *don't* think there's a requirement to own levels of Barton to buy them. I think they're really slick, but it's really partly/largely that my ds just happens to really, really enjoy playing games. Almost all his therapists use games, because they're just a really good format for him. But they're just so obvious how to use these things, I don't think it would be hard. You could jump in where you find them useful. There are games for contractions, units (old, ild, etc.), homonyms, spelling rules, suffixes, prefixes, you name it. And really, even if your head swizzles for a minute, you'll figure out the rules and then find the analysis the games require very useful! The games will increasing his noticing and his comfort that there *are* patterns even if he doesn't happen to know them. You could just buy them all in get them in one swanky big box like Christmas. We've had a lot of fun with them. And I suppose if you hate them, sure, sell them off. But it would be something and really different, not tedious. Then apply the rules to word lists of your choice, words he wants to know about. The games are obvious enough that I can hand them off to my ABA tutors and the tutors, who have no OG training, can implement them just fine. Fwiw, you could do 7 minutes of games, 7 minutes of spelling aloud from the Barton lists, and 1 minute of donuts and have a 15 minute session. I'm all in favor of the donuts. I got these things called nutty dippers today at the grocery store. They're like half donuts covered in goodnuts. Then you can eat more and be half as bad. :drool5: SaveSave Edited January 18, 2017 by OhElizabeth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbk mama Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 So our problem with both AAS and Wilson is maybe user-error. There are so many words that simply need to be memorized (when is it "ir" and not "er" or "ur;" when is it ai vs. a-e, etc). So its all about repetition ad nauseam, which we couldn't handle since it seemed to never really stick. But I like the idea of focusing on the top 100 or whatever words. Actually I have been looking at Fry words for that. I will look at commonly misspelled word lists, but I suspect that this DS misspells words that are NOT commonly misspelled, LOL. How does spelling aloud BACKWARDS help? I was just checking out Spelling Success games from another thread! They look great! And I LOVE the pairing with donuts idea - or at least some kind of special treat. :thumbup1: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 My son took 5 years of Wilson with an outstanding tutor. Spelling is just very difficult. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 If they visualize the word in their mind (and see Barton's markings of the trouble letters, whatever), then when they spell it aloud they're spelling it from their visualized image. In other words, you're taking kids who sometimes have amazing skills of visualization and harnessing them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrskturner Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 (edited) My 16 year old daughter has dyslexia. The magic program for us has been http://www.spellingpower.com. I don't think it is presented as one for dyslexia, but it has been working for us for almost two years now. I only bought the book, none of the extra stuff, and she studies the word list each day and then I give the quiz. The process of calling out one word at a time and correcting a word immediately if she misspelled it has helped a lot. There is also a page in the book that gives a step by step process on how to study the words you miss. It involves visualizing the word, tracing it with your fingers on the table or carpet, writing it from memory, ect... She hated this at first because it feels so childish, but she later admitted it really works. Now she is able to rewrite a word she has misspelled a few times over and over and it sticks. I love that each day's word list has a spelling rule with it, so you are not jumping all over the place. And lots and lots of review is built into the system. It literally takes about 5-10 minutes each day for Spelling and we have seen the most improvement with this program. None of my kids complain about having to do spelling every day. Edited January 31, 2017 by mrskturner 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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