Could you tell us how old your daughter is, and a little about the speech issue she is having? In the meantime, you might check out a site called The Speech Pathway. It is a different approach to speech therapy that looks pretty interesting .

I would like to address the auditory processing issues and speech issues, as I do have experience with both of those issues. First, I would like to inquire whether they are planning on utilizing Fast ForWord for auditory processing? That seems what the website is proposing, but we have done those programs, and they are typically 4-5 days per week for at least 45 minutes per session. I think the intensity of the program is one of the things that is critical to making it work. The FF program originally was 1 1/2 hours per day for 5 days per week. I believe clinical studies then found that similar good results could be accomplished in 45 minutes spread out over additional weeks. (Some have suggested that a much cheaper program -- Earobics -- if used with the same intensity can achieve similar results -- but I do not believe there are actual clinical results to back this up.) We did FF at home, with an initial SLP (speech therapist) consult and computer set-up. It was about the only way we could have possibly fit anything that intense in our schedule. I know a lot of SLPs will allow you to do it at your home, and that reduces their fee, but you will still have the costs associated with the FF program. Regarding speech, there are a lot of reasons a child will have poor articulation. While I am not willing to say FF will absolutely not help articulation, I would suspect that additional, different therapy will most likely be necessary. PROMPT is a good option for many of those with apraxia, or other severe articulation issues (though the therapist does frequently touch your child's mouth with this therapy -- if your child would hate that -- then a different form of speech therapy might be for you).

Yes, I started this thread, wondering if anyone off that list was having the dramatic gains on fish oil or Nutriiveda. We've tried them both, and I never saw anything close to the dramatic improvement that I read about.

I know some have bought V/V and just taken off with it, but I just couldn't do it. Even when I spent (a lot) of time beforehand trying to figure out how a particular session would go, the session never seemed to go the way I thought, and we would stumble through a day/week and I would just feel like I was missing something or doing something wrong. (This in contrast to LiPS which I felt was very intuitive and I was able to pick right up on.) IdeaChain gave me a start. It got me going, and frankly by the time we finished the book, my daughter had gotten so much better at the process, moving to paragraphs didn't seem that hard at all. I had an idea what a lesson should look like. So, it worked well for me, and my daughter is doing grade level now. I still wonder why I couldn't pick up on the V/V because I was very excited to start it and just couldn't seem to do it on my own. I actually had the V/V program and got rid of it without ever using it -- I probably should have done what you were suggesting and used it after the IdeaChain instead of starting off on my own!

You are correct -- the process starts with words and moves to sentences. I did exactly what you suggested. I used the program as written out. Then we started with simple readers with pretty simply paragraphs and broke them down sentence by sentence (just as they suggest in the book). Then I added more comprehensive questions (main idea of the paragraph; had her picture what was going on in the paragraph, not just one sentence). This worked for us. I don't know why I had issues with the V/V manual -- I just couldn't understand what I was supposed to be doing enough to get any momentum going with that program. (As I said, I thought the LiPS program was wonderful -- not only worked with reading but helped with speech articulation. I had no issues implementing it and expected the same with V/V, but just found it difficult to figure out exactly what to do and if I was doing it right).

I want to preface this by saying this is, in part, a self-serving post as I am trying to sell the program I am talking about. With that said, I used a program called IdeaChain by MindPrime (you can google it to find more info about it). It is a Visualizing and Verbalizing clone that is intended for parents, with step-by-step instructions. I am sure that if you have the money and time, the best way to go is to have your child work with a trained LMB teacher or be trained yourself. I admire those that were able to figure out the V/V program themselves and implement it as I wasn't able to do it. (I bought the V/V program, and studied it (a lot), and just couldn't get any momentum going with the program. I was able to self-teach the LMB LiPS program, and had great success with that. I had some good success with the IdeaChain program. The best part was it was exceptionally simple to use, and I felt it had the same approach as the LMB program (and I think the LMB programs are all very good).

First, and I find this the frustrating part, all children are different and often respond differently to different programs. One program can help one child and not be so helpful to another. I do believe the BIT program Dianne has can be helpful for some children. I think of it as kind of a starter program. Some children need some kind of starter program to be able to go on and succeed at other programs. (For instance, I know sometimes The Listening Program is recommended before Fast ForWord (for auditory processing issues) but some children start with Fast ForWord and do fine without The Listening Program.) I could see doing her BIT program for a reading issue, and then following with something like the LiPS program (one of my personal favorites). But again, some children could skip BIT and go straight to LiPS and do fine. Just my two cents. . .

I thought her Brain Integration Therapy made a lot of sense. But, I did buy her multiplication cards, and just didn't use them at all. I know some children are really helped by them, but trying to remember an entire story for each problem (8 X 7 for instance) just didn't work for us.

Thanks for the info. I suppose I already knew that the Audiblox Kit wasn't exactly a Christmas best seller -- which might be what everyone is already thinking about (at least, that is what the stores would like you to be thinking about)!

The AHA stories are all very inspiring. I admit that I am a little jealous! We have had a lot of improvement -- but it is all so gradual. I do have one question -- how long is too long to wait for improvement with a particular program, Lisa? Are you talking weeks, months or years?

You are all giving me some great options! This is very, very helpful.

Sounds like AHA moments to me!!

I feel this way too! Though a true AHA moment would be nice.

Thanks for replying. I was pretty sure that a lot of people used to give it a try.

My children have struggled with certain issues over the years, and we have tried a lot of different therapies/programs. Overall, I would say my children have made tremendous strides. However, as I was trying to give my opinion on one particular program, I realized there has never been an AHA moment with any of them -- that is, I never said -- Wow -- this therapy/program/supplement is making a dramatic difference. I often read about such dramatic improvements, but have never experience one. Just wondering -- have others experienced an AHA moment -- a time when you knew a particular *something* was causing a quick, significant difference? I can tell you whether my child enjoyed/hated a program, or whether they did well at it or found it difficult -- but even though I've tried to watch closely (and even worked many of the programs with them) -- I have a really difficult time saying exactly how, or if, it helped my child. (Something did, obviously, or they wouldn't have experienced the growth they have experienced over the years. I just don't know what it was!)