Thank you for the information! I'll look into that Scanpen for another option. He has a membership with Bookshare, but we haven't utilized it much yet. Why do you use Voice Dream for that? And if you have the Voice Dream app is it pretty straightforward to download the Bookshare files to it or it is a multi-step process? I haven't signed him up for Learning Ally yet. I need to do that!

I was wondering if anyone here has used this with their dyslexic/reading disorder kids? I had been looking for a text to voice app for my DS 10 so that he could be more independent in subjects not related directly to reading as a skill (e.g. science, history), but was having a hard time finding an app that would both scan and translate to voice. Then I asked a blind friend if he knew of any and this is what he suggested. And it works! We installed it on our "home cell phone" which doesn't have that great of a camera and it still seems to work. Anyway, I was curious if anyone else has tried it and how it worked for their kiddos? Here's the link to the Google app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sensotec.knfbreader&hl=en It's on sale at Google Play right now (at least it was when I bought it this morning) for $19.99, (normally $99). (I would have installed it on our iPad, but it's not on sale at the App store!)

Please add me!

This looks great! Thank you!

It's not that well-known (at least I haven't heard it mentioned here much), but my son is doing a Living the Answer essays class this year (http://www.livingtheanswer.org/) and the teacher is always on the video feed. It's been a good class for him.

I agree! At least about the oppressed part! I have mild panic attacks about it and he's only in 9th. I'm actually seriously considering holding him back one year because he's very young for his grade and it would give me one more year to figure this stuff out!

We just started CLE LA this year because I needed my 3rd and 4th graders to be more independent with this subject (after doing FLL for the first few levels). It is really working well and they sit and do it themselves mostly, with a little direction from me. It's comprehensive and has review built in.

I love reading everyone's responses! We definitely fall in the "we used to be loosey goosey, but that didn't work" category. This is our first year being uber-strict about school times--it's been an on-going process for a couple years. It has been perfect for my children. I love the no-talking-about-non-school-things rule! I need to be more strict about this. Also, my four year old just throws a wrench into a lot of those types of rules, but I try not to be bitter about it. :cursing: But for the answer to the question, our school hours are: 8:00-12:00, with a 10:00 break for 15 minutes, then 1:00-3:00. There are no electronics until school and their daily chore are done. The younger ones are often done before this, but then they get "quiet time" until 3:00. ETA: bedtime for youngers is 8:00, for olders it's 10:00.

This! Thank you, Storygirl! I feel like they may not get the education that I COULD give them, but I think they might do better than what I AM giving them. I think it may be too late to put them in this year, but perhaps this could be my "gateway" year--getting them ready to go next year. And maybe I can get some services with my 4th grader after I meet with the Special Ed coordinator that will relieve some of the burden, too. Thank you all so much! I really appreciate all of the stories and experiences!

I'd also like to hear if there were any ADHD/dyslexic kids who did better (or the same) in high school and what worked and didn't work for them. It's probably dependent on the school district again, but I would love to hear stories and advice!

I just went and requested that book from the library! Thank you! I have a meeting set up with the Special Ed coordinator at the district and we're going to go over what services they can provide. I'll ask about any other options like this, too. Your school system sounds horrendous! Good for you for pulling them out and doing the best thing for them! I think part of the problem with my situation is that it feels like homeschooling just isn't working. Or, at the very least, some of us (me!) are just not very happy doing it, but I don't know if traditional school will be any better. I'm hoping that the meeting with Special Ed coordinator will give me some idea about whether it will work at least for my 4th grader.

Do you ever just want to NOT HS your LD child? We've always homeschooled and we started it because we thought it would be best at least for the elementary years and way before I knew I had children with LDs. Now that I know I have one with ADHD and possible stealth dyslexia and one with dyslexia and possible ADHD (not to mention the one with some sort of writing issue--completely undiagnosed, it's just that he's 12 and his writing looks like a 6 year old and he still puts capital letters in the middle of words), I really, really want to put them in public school just so I don't have to do everything. Has anyone done this? How did it work out? Any good stories out there? Also, have you ever just gotten an IEP and services for dyslexia through the school, but continued homeschooling? Any pitfalls in this method? Discuss... ;)

I had done Biblioplan for a few years when the kids were in elementary school, so I can't comment on the actual materials used in it for middle school grades, but the PP nails what I didn't like about BP. Too many decisions. This is our second year doing HOD. We have done Resurrection to Reformation, Revival to Revolution, and now World Geography. I chose HOD because I don't like to plan and it has been quite a good fit for us. I also don't use the science, Bible or LA with it and it's still worthwhile to me because everything is all planned out. The selections of books in HOD have been a good mix. If I were planning it myself, I would change some things, but overall they've been very good and even some books that I would never have chosen, my children have enjoyed. Also, I never feel like we have to do exactly what the boxes say (e.g. I have one child who will not do crafts and I won't make him do the projects listed). Also, HOD is written for certain skill sets, so while you can tweak it to meet varying ages, different guides are for particular ages or grades. While Biblioplan, at least when I was doing it, was written so that you could be doing the same history, Bible, etc., for all ages, just using different materials and doing different assignments. I would say that the two main differences are the amount of planning and the ability to keep different ages together in the same time period. Good luck with your decision!

It sounds like you have concerns and difficulties with your 9 year old and that maybe getting a handle on that would help some? I'm glad that you're not giving up on him and trying to get help! Have you tried posting in the Learning Challenges board about his issues? There are some great people over there that have BTDT and can maybe help point you in the right direction with him (testing, what schools can offer, what to expect, etc.). Good luck!

I highly recommend doing what you suggested in a previous post: using a combination of AAS up to 2nd or 3rd grade and then moving to studied dictation. We have used AAS for years (my oldest went through Level 6), but last year we started HOD and I tried their studied dictation, fully expecting to go back to AAS after a few weeks. It turned out to be a great fit for everybody from third grade on up, even for my dyslexic third grader. For him, I used AAS to teach reading and to teach him the basics of phonics. Then, in third grade we started HOD studied dictation. It has helped immensely for him to use the phonics rules to remember how to spell things in studied dictation. However, I would not do studied dictation without having a firm foundation in phonics. This year, I'll have my rising 3rd grader move to studied dictation (or I may give him one more year of AAS because he's very tactile and enjoys using the program!). I think moving them to dictation in either 3rd or 4th grade would be fine. It was fine even for my 6th and 8th graders, but I wish I had started them just a year or two earlier. Also, it was really helpful for me to know the phonics rules so that as we study the piece of dictation, I can say "see the word 'circle'? Why does the "c" say /s/? What makes the /ur/ sound? What kind of syllable is the last one? etc." That way they're applying what they know to a word they may not know how to spell. What I like about studied dictation as opposed to the dictation in AAS, is that it's not necessarily focusing on the phonogram that they just learned. It's easy to remember that "circle" is spelled with a 'c' when you have just been studying about the soft sound of 'c', but it's a little more difficult (and more profitable) to have to remember the different phonograms that can say /s/ and come up with the correct one. It's a difficult process for my rising 4th grader (who is really just getting the hang of reading this summer), but it's good for him, too. If we get stuck on some words, I may pull out the AAS for review (but I may not--depends on how motivated I am! :) ). Good luck!