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myboyluvsdinos

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Everything posted by myboyluvsdinos

  1. As another option, there are many certified Barton tutors who are now able to tutor remotely over the internet. You can get a list by asking Susan Barton. They go through training to be able to tutor over the internet.
  2. I would use Barton at home 4 days a week for 30 min. Don't worry about her still doing the reading program at school. You can't really get around that. It may confuse her, or it may not. If she's dyslexic, it likely won't have much value to her. But I wouldn't make a big deal about it. If she has to read in a reading group, oh well. There's not much you can do about that. Don't dwell on it unless she starts becoming really anxious or embarrassed. The no reading of uncontrolled text is actually through most of level 4. Just do your best on this, knowing that she'll be required to do some reading of uncontrolled text in school. This doesn't have to be a big deal. Just don't force her to read OUT LOUD, TO YOU. If she wants to read a book on her own, fine. Don't make it an issue. If she picks up a book on her own to read, ignore it. Just be sure not to force her to read orally to you. This is because you will force her to guess. The guessing habit is an extremely difficult habit to break, and very detrimental in the upper grades. You are at an enviable stage where you can promote great habits now. So many parents I see wish desperately that they could go back to early elementary and do things differently. Also, you can close the gap quicker in 1st grade, as compared to 6th grade. You're catching it early, and kids who do Barton early do SO much better. (That applies to any O/G program.) It would still read to her as much as possible -- this is extremely important as it builds general knowledge, vocab, comprehension skills, and a love of reading. Also let her listen to books on cd/mp3 for the same reason. I WOULD ask the teacher for 2 things. Starting in level 3, there are spelling tests that correlate to the lessons. Tell the teacher that you are tutoring your child at home and that it would reinforce her learning if she could take the spelling tests that correlate to her Barton levels instead of the regular tests. If the teacher agrees, that would be great for her Barton learning, as well as remove the unproductive time it takes to study for spelling words that she likely won't retain past her weekly test. PM me if you want more info on how to do this. The other thing I would ask is for your daughter to be able to read the Barton stories (there are several for each lesson, starting in level 3) for her nightly reading, if they are assigned this at school. Again, you'd be reinforcing her Barton lessons, while also keeping uncontrolled text at bay until she's through level 4. I can tell you 95% of public schools will not offer proper remediation for dyslexia, even if your child is even "lucky" enough to qualify for it. If you are able and willing, you can save yourself years of heartache and headache by taking it on yourself and getting the teachers to make some accommodations along the way. (Some will be nice and do this without an IEP or 504.) If the teacher is super understanding and flexible, you may be able to get her out of the oral reading group, or let her read the Barton stories there. Remind yourself and the teachers that the uncontrolled text is only until she's through level 4. Depending on how she progresses, that could be by the end of the summer. Level 4 is very difficult, however. And please don't make the big mistake of rushing, as that will likely result in either you repeating a level, or declaring that Barton didn't work. If you can find the balance between pushing through yet making sure retention is there, you'll be golden. And absolutely get the 3rd party games that go with the levels. They are so helpful at solidifying the concepts. Hope this helps. :)
  3. Yes -- I use the app. Do you have questions about it? Not positive you have to buy new in order to buy the app? ETA: Don't know that I'd buy the app for level 1 or 2 normally, as they can go pretty quick and the tactile experience of using the tiles is important for some learners, possibly more so for the young ones.
  4. Levels 3-10 are $300 each, but you can sell them for at least $200 each, just so you know. If it took you 3 years (or however many) to go through all the levels, you are looking at a net output of $1,000 ($100 per level after reselling).
  5. Excited to hear you reached Susan. Sounds like you got a lot of good info from her. I wish you well on the journey. :)
  6. Just saw this thread. I would encourage you to call her. I think she typically says a child needs to be at least 5 and half-way through kindergarten before starting the program. I'm not sure what she would say about the screening with him just turning 5. Please keep in mind (not just you, but others who read these boards) that the screening simply tells you whether a child is ready for the Barton program. You can't take the screening and decide, based on the results, whether your child is dyslexic. I just wanted to add that because sometimes it seems like people might be thinking that (again, not you, but others on these boards who may be reading this). Also regarding the whole word vs. sounding out debate. My opinion is that if your child can read a complex word without any clues whatsoever, then don't sweat it. The problem is, people think they don't have clues, but they often do. The only way to really test this is to put a very random word (nonsense words are the true test) on a single blank piece of paper and have them read it. Something like "economics." If they get it right, great. A lot of dyslexics will say things like "economy" because they are guessing at parts of the word. Same with "communities." They might say "community" or "countries" because the words start with the same letters, have a lot of the same letters, etc. And while I'm at it, I hear lots of folks say their child can read fine, but when they listen to them read aloud, it's choppy, slow, they leave off suffixes, miss words, and generally get words wrong. My guess is that these kids are testing ok on comprehension, which is why their parent thinks they can read ok. But really, that oral reading is key to truly understanding if your child can read well. Many, if not most, dyslexics can test ok on comprehension because they are smart and very adept at using all sorts of clues to figure out the meaning of the passage. I just mention this because poor out-loud reading should be a very big red flag that a child is not truly reading well, even though they may be able to comprehend what they read. Later on in their education, when they are reading very complex words with far fewer clues, they will likely start suffering the consequences of this type of "reading." And if your child is one of these poor "out-loud readers" (again, not you OhE, but people on these boards), I would advise you to limit the times you have them read aloud to you until you have found a good program for remediation. I say this because if you force them to read and they are not very good at it and don't have the tools to decode, you also force them to guess at words, which is a very bad habit and extremely hard to break. Wait until they are solid on skills (using a quality program) and then let them read out loud to you. Good luck! :)
  7. Yes -- it takes time for mastery. I highly recommend the games advertised in the tutor support section of her website. Some are for a fee, some are free. Also, there are review strategies. It's crucial to the success. You cannot buzz through this program and expect success. :)
  8. I still wouldn't force him to read aloud to you. If he wants to, great. But if your force him to read aloud, you will also force him to guess at words he may not be able to decode, and that will reinforce the guessing habit, and make him feel badly, too. I would leave lots of good reading material around that would be at a good level for him and let him decide if he will read. If he reads silently to himself, he can easily skip the tough words and not reinforce guessing or embarrassment. You could even read the first few chapters to him to get him interested, and then just leave it on the coffee table and see if he bites. If he's solid on his lessons, there should come a day when he happily picks up a book to read for leisure. Of course, he would still be required to read his stories in Barton to you.
  9. So glad you're taking it slow. You won't regret that -- I think that's the biggest mistake that tutors/parents make. IEW used to have a guarantee on all their products where you could return them, at any time, if you weren't happy. I had a friend return items 2 years later. So that may give you the option to look and try without losing money if it's not a good fit. If you're looking for a more creative writing program, you're right -- it may not be a good fit.
  10. I think you could get away with one. Just let them take turns looking up words and sharing with the other what they found. I think the times that you'd like to have 2 spellers will be very few, and you can make do with one.
  11. Actually, Susan Barton recommends not forcing a child to read uncontrolled text until after level 4, and not textbooks until after level 6. But I'm quite sure she would say never force a child to read anything, unless it's part of one of her lessons. Once they are able to read better, there will come a time where they are willing to pick up a book on their own. As for writing, she recommends the Institute of Excellence in Writing AFTER completing level 4 of her program. IEW is an excellent writing program, in my opinion, for all kids, whether dyslexic or not. Hope that helps.
  12. I agree with the above. While it won't work for many, it can do wonders for some kids. My daughter sounded a lot like yours from birth - age 11. She would get so frustrated so quickly, have tantrums, was always negative, fought with her siblings all the time, felt badly about herself and her behavior, was extremely fidgety, etc. Then we put her on a very strict diet (no gluten, dairy, eggs, food dye, etc.) and she truly is a new person. She has immune deficiency (low IgA levels), so regular food allergy blood tests were inaccurate. We removed these foods for 4 months and the results were astonishing. Then, we reintroduced, and saw the effects: hives with eggs, depression with gluten, severe constipation with dairy, etc., etc. She is now 12 and is becoming a truly remarkable young lady. I'm amazed at the difference the food changes have made in her life. Since she sees and feels the difference, she is very motivated to stay on the diet. She goes to a private school, too, so this isn't always easy. So not to say it will be the miracle cure for your daughter, and it's not easy, but definitely worth trying. :)
  13. There's more to the app than you think, and there are some very helpful tutorials here: http://www.bartontiles.com/tutorials.html In particular, you'll learn how to use the sticky palette (I love this!) and how to get a schwa, blank tile, etc. The tutorials are broken down into subject and level, so you can quickly watch the ones relevant to your current situation. I highly recommend them! And anyone can watch them, so it you're wondering about the app, this would be a good way to learn more about it. I love the app because it's so much quicker than having to deal with all the tiles (I own all levels, though I do have a professional tile storage system) that I usually save about 10 min. per 50 min. session. The kids like it too, since it's on an ipad. Plus, it's WAY easier to transport, compared to lugging all the tiles. But for home use, it would be fun, but not necessary, in my humble opinion. If you already have an ipad, great. But if not, and you're just tutoring your own child and money is a concern, I wouldn't worry about getting the app -- the tiles work just fine. I own most of the levels of the app, but I probably won't buy levels 1 and 2 because I do think the feel may be important to some kids, especially in those initial levels. And the tiles are not unruly at those levels. On the other hand, maybe I'll come across some computer-savvy kid who really wants to do it on the ipad, and then I'll have to rethink that. :)
  14. Yes, you can use it with non-dyslexics. It's a great way to teach reading and spelling. However, you'll want to adjust the pace so it's not to slow for the child. You may even want to skip some of the procedures, or greatly reduce them. Go at a pace that is not too slow, yet not overly challenging for the child. That is true for dyslexics and non-dyslexics.
  15. The program is mastery-based, and advises not to advance until each lesson has been mastered. Games are a great way to continue practicing the concepts, if the student does not master them during the lesson. Make sure you don't go too quickly -- that's one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Give the post tests at the end of each level to ensure your student is solid. If they are not, go back and reteach those lessons that they have trouble with. One of the strengths of Barton is that it teaches spelling and reading at the same time, so when a child is learning how to read a certain vowel team, they are also learning to spell with it. Teaching both at the same time is very reinforcing. :)
  16. There isn't a separate "section" for procedure F. Instead, once you are done with procedure E, simply erase the screen, and have the child use the tiles to spell with. When you are done, tap the arrow to proceed to procedure G. Does that make sense?
  17. I have the opposite profile. I had a neuropsych eval due to (what I perceived were) memory issues. My PR was 30 points higher than my VC. In her report the doc said it was likely a longstanding variation and nothing to be concerned about (both were well above average). But I do have the sense that I can't express myself as well as I'd like to, though I can easily mentally (and then in reality) renovate an entire house, moving walls, etc. My visual abilities seem to far exceed my verbal. I don't care for it because while I have a lot of ideas, it's really hard for me to adequately express them verbally. Interestingly, though I still struggle with memory, it tested fine (120 range). :)
  18. I have the opposite profile. I had a neuropsych eval due to (what I perceived were) memory issues. My PR was 30 points higher than my VC. In her report the doc said it was likely a longstanding variation and nothing to be concerned about (both were well above average). But I do have the sense that I can't express myself as well as I'd like to, though I can easily mentally (and then in reality) renovate an entire house, moving walls, etc. My visual abilities seem to far exceed my verbal. I don't care for it because while I have a lot of ideas, it's really hard for me to adequately express them verbally. Interestingly, though I still struggle with memory, it tested fine (120 range). :)
  19. Just a point of clarification. The Barton app was not designed as a generic app for people to use in place of generic letter tiles. Instead, it follows the teacher's manual and has the words listed in the manual predone on tiles, so that the teacher does not have to build, and then put away, words out of tiles. It also has a section to track multiple students' progress. It's really designed for a professional Barton tutor with multiple students. It would be of very little use to someone not using the Barton program. That's all. Let the discussion continue. :)
  20. My bad. I went back and checked the info I have, and you are right -- Apple didn't set the price. What I'm not going to disclose is how many years and money went into it. Let me just assure you both numbers are high.
  21. Just a couple of clarifications for you. :) You can do the program just fine on your own. You don't need the app. And there's really no reason you would want to buy the apps for levels you don't own. Not sure why that it bothersome to you that you can't buy the app for levels you don't own? You would have no idea how to even use the app for a level you don't own. It doesn't work that way. You still need to follow the manual--the app doesn't replace it. Also, iIf you figured out how much it would cost you to send your child to an O-G school, or get yourself trained and setup with a different O-G program, I am quite sure the $3,000 cost of the entire Barton program (which would take probably at least 3 years to get through) would seem like a bargain.
  22. The app was developed to help professional tutors who were struggling to manage (carry, set up, put away) the many, many tiles needed in the upper levels. I can't imagine you would need the app, which I have, if you are tutoring your own children. Put magnets on the backs of the tiles and buy a metal sheet from Home Depot and you should be good to go. :) Sorry you are unhappy with the cost of the program. If it helps, you can resell the levels for a very good price. The beauty of Barton is that it makes available an O-G program to parents. The other hard-core O-G programs are accessed through specialized classrooms for dyslexics. So the fact that you can buy it and teach your own child without having to go to a 3-month long training somewhere, or pay $30k for your child to attend a dyslexic school, is what makes it unique and very helpful. But if you are unhappy with the price you are paying, there are many people on these boards who piece together their own O-G program for much, much cheaper. You might explore that route. I'm sure there are many post/posters who can help. Good luck. :)
  23. Yes -- there are many different opinions. Fortunately, dyslexia has been studied for a long time at centers all across the country (like Yale), and the most scientifically proven method is Orton-Gillingham based. Here's a fact sheet from the International Dyslexia Association: http://www.interdys....LApproaches.pdf It tells what you should look for in a program. Hopefully that will help you weed through it all. Good luck!
  24. Your family history is another big red flag, as dyslexia is genetic. Another big reason to get a proper eval. I would love to explain more about the differences for you, but I know nothing about LOE. I can only answer questions about Barton. That's because I tutored my own kids with it, and am now a certified Barton tutor. Sorry! :)
  25. Yes, ai is a vowel team. But the real problem is the child cannot hear it. That requires auditory discrimination (they will usually test fine on an actual hearing test or they may find CAPD). You can drill it till the cows come home, but if they cannot hear it in a word, it will do no good. If a child cannot accurately perceive the sounds in words, they will struggle mightily with reading/spelling. This child may not be able to pass the Barton screening, and may need the LIPS program first. I would definitely get an eval with either a Barton screener or a neuropsych who says they can diagnose dyslexia (not always easy to find). 95% of the schools won't diagnose or even recognize dyslexia, so don't believe a word they say.
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