I need quite a few books for the upcoming schoolyear. I am just wondering when I should order them but will wait if there is a sale coming up. Thanks!!

We had great results with Dianne Craft's program. My dd gained 2 years of reading in one year and the Biology of Behavior really helped too. I think people misunderstand the purpose of her program. The phonics is designed for kids who have already have gone through phonics but still struggle. It is not a learn to read program. The idea is to expose your child to a large quantity of words in a short period of time to get their reading skills up by just reading lots of words over and over so they recognize them to read them. This is a huge boost to their self-confidence and from there you go to work on spelling and writing. The Brain Training works but it is hard work for both teacher and student. We no longer have writing reversals and my dd's handwriting has improved dramatically (from the writing 8's). We have been doing the program for about 15 months. We spend about 45-60 minutes PER DAY on this. It is a lot of work and time consuming. That being said, it was well worth it. FWIW I think that if you plan to do the program, purchasing the DVD's or attending one of her seminars is vital to really understanding it. My dd did VT as well and there is a huge amount of overlap between VT and BIT. I prefer Dianne Craft's program b/c 1 hour daily with her in my home beats driving 30 miles away to go to our VT appts.

I have done the entire series, Biology of Behavior, Brain Integration and Phonics. My dd has gone from reading at a 3rd grade level to a 5th grade level in 12 months. The Biology of Behavior really helped with her focus and mood swings. I cannot say enough good things about all of it. My dd still really struggles w/spelling but she is now reading at grade level and that has been a huge boost to her self-confidence.

You need to start working on her phonemic awareness. That is why she is confusing pig with peg and other similar mistakes. Barton level 1 does a great job of this but it is pricey. Totally worth it imo. Without PA, she will always struggle with reading. She sounds like my ds who is dx dyslexic. He is doing well now. Rhythmic handwriting has helped w/his reversals. Once your dd masters PA, there are lots of great reading programs out there. Barton, Wilson, Recipe for Reading, Go Phonics are a few I am familiar with. We are using Recipe for Reading and it has really helped my ds. It is very reasonably priced too. I think we all feel like we have failed out kids when they aren't reading and they are *supposed* to be. It is not your fault if your child struggles, you haven't done anything to fail her. There is lots of help out there if you know where to look though. Best of luck to you. I was in your spot 18 months ago and things are so much brighter now for my ds and myself. My 10 yo dd is also dyslexic and in 18 months she went from reading at a 2nd grade level to reading on a 5th grade level. I use Recipe for Reading with her too.

My ds is 8. He is dx w/dyslexia, dysgraphia and possibly APD. He is a joy to teach. He struggles but he works hard and has only been hsed so he really doesn't understand his struggles in comparison to his peers. His attitude towards school is great. Here is my problem. He has almost no ability to control his impulses. His curiosity almost always wins even if he know he should not do something. Some examples: he got into my jewelry box and took out 5 pairs of earrings and a ring. All valuable gold and played with them for a while and then shoved them in his desk. I had no idea they were missing until I was cleaning out his drawer the other day. I am missing a gold watch that was a gift from dh when he returned from his deployment in Iraq. I have NO idea where it is, ds denies he touched it, but I am pretty sure it was him. I wear it almost everyday except when I go swimming or workout and I haven't seen it since we went to the pool Labor Day weekend. He sometimes takes money out of my wallet, "to play store" and then doesn't put it back and I find it cleaning out the play room. Today he was messing w/dh's car cleaning supplies, just lining them up and filling the bucket with water. It is usually placed up high out of my littles reach. I found it all outside on the floor of the garage and my 3 yo was spraying cleaner on her bike. Luckily she is not the kind to put things in her mouth but needless to say, I was not happy that she was playing with toxic cleaning solutions. Right now we are searching the house for his AWANA book. He was "playing" church over the weekend and now can't seem to find it. He loses 2-3 books a year. I have expressly forbidden him to play with his school books/AWANA books bc they always get lost. I don't know how he does it, but he does. I am honestly exhausted from trying to keep up with him. I can't trust him and I know he isn't doing this just to torture me but I am worn out. I have a 3 yo who is into everything and then I have him only I shouldn't have to watch him every minute of the day. He seems to have no filter as to appropriate/inappropriate behavior. He does ok with other kids although sometimes I will hear him telling his friends things that are ridiculous to all but him. For example, he is VERY short and he knows it but will be bragging about what a great b-ball player he is and how he will play for the NBA one day. He cannot even throw the ball hard enough to hit the basket. This would not bother me b/c boys talk trash but combine it with the other things and it seems like he doesn't have a good grasp on reality. Anyone have any advice on ways to help him (and me!)?

My 10 and 8 yos take 200mg daily. It definitely helps.

Thank you ladies. Nature, my kids are actually doing the Discovery Program right now w/NILD which is what prompted me to start looking. I am considering their program but don't want to work for them so I am not sure it will be useful. Thanks for the link crazyfordlr, I will check it out.

Any ideas on how to do this? The background: I have 2 SN kids, both dyslexic, dysgraphic, son with APD as well. They are both doing the Discovery Program (www.NILD.net) right now and it is super expensive. In spite of the cost, they are both doing really well and in a short period of time, we have had good results. I have a college degree in education and figured since my kids need the therapy that it would make sense to get certified so I can help them and make some extra money down the road when they are a little older and more self-sufficient. I don't even know where to start but wanted to see if any of you all are familiar with any programs out there. Thanks!!

Life-changing for our family. I highly recommend it.

5 HTP and fish oil. I have also had good success with DoTerra's Serenity essential oil. I love the EOs because you can use as much as you want with no side effects and it doesn't build up in your system.

She needs help with phonemic awareness. Barton's level 1 addresses PA. Also, Earobics is a decent program although Barton is better. You are going to have trouble finding free resources in the dyslexia realm. Once you understand the Orton-Gillingham approach you could create your own materials. Maybe you can search your library for good resources on phonemic awareness or O-G programs. That would be a good start.

I am curious to hear others' reviews as well. I was looking at it the other day but haven't really heard much about it. The price is very reasonable.

Reading Reflex is a great place to start and it is really cheap. We struggled toward the end b/c it started to overwhelm my dd. She gained a lot from the beginning of the book though. Barton is a solid, thorough program that WILL get her reading well. It is easy to use and eliminates the need for a tutor. It is pricey but most programs for dyslexic kids are. It is much cheaper than a tutor and resells almost for what you paid for it. Barton gets results. Recipe for Reading is also a great program that is much more reasonably priced. You have to create some of the materials yourself (flashcards) but for about $150 I got all I needed to get started. It is teacher intensive in that it is not scripted or all laid out for you like Barton is but it is a fraction of the cost. Most of the O_G programs are similar so once you understand the methodolgy, you can put the program together to suit your dd's needs.

I wanted to add, have you looked at Math-U-See? It really worked for my dyslexic kids. Steve Demme has a great way of using manipulatives to get kids to understand math concepts and for kids who struggle, it does not move too quickly.

AAR pre-level 1 is perfect for your dd. It really works on phonemic awareness which is what most dyslexics struggle with. I do not know if my 4 yo is dyslexic but since she has 2 older siblings that are, I am not taking any chances. She will be starting w/AAR as soon as she is ready. For a truly dyslexic child I think AAR moves to fast once you progress past the pre-level stage. Recipe for Reading has a PA component as well. I have Recipe for Reading and it is a solid program. Not lots of hand-holding. You have to create the lessons yourself but it isn't too bad once you get the hang of it. The manual is not too expensive and neither are the workbooks. Compared to most O-G programs it is quite reasonable. Most of the O-G programs are quite similar so once you get the basic ideas behind it you can use any program. It depends on how much planning you are willing to take on yourself. Making letters from playdoh is a great activity and really helps cement the concepts. Also sand, and shaving cream work great too.

It sounds like you might need to have him tested. Then you will know what is going on and how to help him. You have not failed him. If he learns slower or differently you would fail him if you didn't figure out how to help him. Sounds like you are doing just that. Do not measure your son's success on someone else's scale. As long as he is progressing according to what he is capable of, he is doing just fine.:grouphug:

I have a program called the Struggling Reader (thestrugglingreader.net) I met the author at our HS convention over the summer. It is an awesome program b/c it consists of testing your child and seeing where the gaps are so you know what you need to address. Each level comes with a test and activities to improve in the areas they are weak in . There is no workbook which both dd and I love. You probably won't need the early levels like phonemic awareness and phonics. I only purchased sight words and fluency for now b/c that is where my dd struggles. I plan on working on only those 2 things this year and then just moving on to letting her read books on her level for school and work on her spelling. It is the perfect next step for us as we finish up her reading instruction.

We have used MUS successfully.

If Abeka is causing her to go into fits, I would drop it. If she was happily doing it before then it may just be too hard. I agree that you need an eval but in the meantime might want to go with a reading program for struggling readers. Reading Reflex is a good one to start with that is cheap and you can teach yourself. You can work on that until you have some answers. If you suspect a learning disability continue what is working and back off what isn't or slow it down. Traditional reading programs often move too fast for children who struggle. I second having her eyes checked. Someone recommended it to me and it was a huge problem for my dd. I would never has suspected that was it without hearing it from a fellow hs mom.

Thanks ladies for the great ideas. As dd winds down her VT, she has really taken an interest in art. I am going to pursue that for awhile. I know she will be sooooooooooo excited.

My 10 yo dd is currently finishing up VT and recently started the Discovery Program. She is dyslexic/dysgraphic and possibly has APD (she will be tested soon). School has always been a struggle for her b/c it is hard and she has come to hate it. So much so that most days are quite trying for both of us. It is often a battle to get her to complete her VT/DP assignments. Regular schoolwork is much worse. I have tried everything to motivate her, let her choose the unit study, her math book, the read aloud, where she wants to do school etc. All in an effort to meet her in the middle but she just does not care anymore to work with me. I understand that school is not an option, but I really want things to change for both of our sakes. My question is this. A friend suggested that we just lay off school until she is done with her therapies. She will probably be in DP all year and also has OT that we haven't started and possibly therapy for her APD. I am really looking for advice from those of you that have BTDT. I wonder if she is getting anything out of "school" anyway b/c she struggles so much and maybe after she is done w/some of her therapies things might get easier. I am not thinking of just letting her sit around all day, but maybe more of an unschooling approach. She loves to work with her little sisters so maybe let her work on teaching them the alphabet, some math etc. Maybe just doing read alouds she chooses and letting her choose what she wants to read. Shelve math for a while b/c that has been a major battle here and can usually turn a good mood sour very quickly. I am definitely not a high strung mom but part of me is so stressed b/c she has so far to go. I know that I need to let that go and I am trying, but it is hard!! I need an outside perspective on this and would love to hear your thoughts!:)

I agree. 5 HTP helps my kids too.

I hated Barton too. Susan killed me with those DVDs. :) My dd didn't like it either so I switched her to Recipe for Reading. It is O-G based, and not anywhere near as expensive as Barton. We have had great success with it. We tried ABeCeDarian too, a few years ago and I found it didn't have enough practice although my kids enjoyed it well enough. I guess it depends on how much remediation your 1st grader needs. Tutoring a dyslexic child is hard work and unfotunately requires a lot of work on our side too. I would be skeptical of a computer program b/c dyslexic kids need the kinesthetic aspect of learning probably the most and you don't get that in front of a computer. There are quite a few good programs out there. Go to HSLDA's website and check out the list under Special Needs or Struggling Learners. There is sure to be one that works for you and your child.

I had the same problem with my 10 yo dd. We got stuck in Gamma b/c she was really struggling w/multiplication so we went to Math Mammoth for a while but she hated it. Dd balked at going back to Gamma this year (b/c she remembered it from last year and felt she would be behind) so I bought her Kumon Math workbooks that focus on only 1 thing. We made it through multiple digit multiplication and single digit division. They do have grade levels on them but I told her they do things in a different order than other programs and she was satisfied. Math Mammoth has single concept workbooks that do not have grade levels on them. They are super cheap and self-teaching (if you want them to be). There is a lot of repetition in each book so we found ourselves skipping quite a bit b/c my dd does not like too much repetition once she understands a concept. My dd is dyslexic/dysgraphic and she gets easily overwhelmed w/too much on a page so now, I am just giving her 4-6 problems a day of whatever we are working on and leaving it at that. We are both much happier. I am continuing with the Kumon wkbks this fall just b/c I like their simplicity. We will finish long division and then go onto fractions. I have been copying the problems onto a piece of paper or on a white board and letting her go from there. I would love to have her do LOF Fractions b/c it is entertaining and really explains the concepts well rather than just looking for mass production of a certain type of math problem but I doubt she will appreciate Fred as I do. :) If she doesn't, I will probably consider the Key to.... series for fractions and up. It is very short and to the point. No color or anything but really allows the child to focus on one thing at time which can help kids who struggle in math. It is cheap and has no grade levels either. I am a firm believer in the MUS concept of focusing on one concept at a time expecially for SN kids. Even if I don't continue w/MUS for this dd, I will allow her to focus on only 1 skill at a time. She does so much better in math this way.

If TT is working for your dd, stick with it. I don't pay much attention to people's assessments of whether a math program is slower or advanced - or any program really. That's why I hs so I can determine what works for my dc. I use LOF with my oldest dd and I always hear that it can only be used as a supplement but my dd is amazing in math. She also now loves math and absolutely hated it before we switched. I don't use LOF w/all my kids however b/c it doesn't suit all of their learning styles.