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hsmomshutterbug

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Everything posted by hsmomshutterbug

  1. IDK if others have already replied with this idea, but in Barton's tutor support area of the site, she has really nice printable flashcards of all of the spelling rules for each level. You could print out a set for him and have him review each of them during class when he is supposed to be doing worksheets-type activities. I also use spelling city to create my own spelling lists that correspond to the barton lesson we are on. For example, once you've created the list in spelling city, You can print handwriting practice worksheets from that. I do this for the sight words. You could also print out the weekly spelling lists from her site that correspond to the lessons and have him math the words to the rule they demonstrate.
  2. We are just at the end of Level 4, and when I looked back at our progress tracking sheet to see when we started...March of last year. I am estimating that we probably have another month or two of review left, so all in it will have taken a year to complete level 4. It's just A LOT for them to master. I remember a few months after we started, calling Barton's office and asking what is typical time to complete level 4 and they stated that 4 is probably the hardest level in the program. My advice would be to take your time, rushing will only cause you to have to repeat. Better to take a break, as other comments have said, mix things up, review the material already taught to make sure it's solid before moving on, etc. I keep a running list of rules and sight words from previous and current levels and we spend about the first 10 min. of each lesson going over a few each time.
  3. I haven't read through the incredible number of other replies you have received to your original question, looks like there have been quite a few rabbit trails, so I apologize if I'm repeating what's already been said….Your original question was dyslexic friendly curric. recommendations…. We only uncovered a formal dyslexia diagnosis recently….We are now on Barton Reading & Spelling Level 3 teaching my 9 year old. It's been a blessing and it is working well for him. You mentioned needing "more thorough phonics"….Most often the problem for dyslexics w/ reading is not necessarily a lack of phonics knowledge, but a lack of phonemic awareness, two different skill sets. Barton level 1 basically concentrates on building the skill of phonemic awareness.
  4. I vote for getting the OT evaluation. It's one of the very first things we did, before completing NP testing, and it has ended up being one of the most valuable. A good OT can pick up on a lot that even a good NP will not notice. Seems like an OT could do a lot to help you with handwriting issues, evaluating and treating for midline issues, motor planning, core strength, muscle tone, etc. Has she learned cursive? DS has similar issues to what you have described w/ DD. The OT does a form of rhythmic writing with him that he actually doesn't mind doing. While learning to type is an essential skill for anyone in today's world, it can be a frustrating process for a dyslexic b/c of the inherent directional issues involved in the learning. Keeping left and right straight, etc. Susan Barton talks about this on one of her free videos on her site, How to adjust down WPM and accuracy at first to make it less daunting.
  5. I agree soooo much with OhElizabeth about moving OT eveal up first on the list if you can. When we were first in the process of NP testing, it took a few months for the entire battery of tests to get scheduled, completed, then get results, and by that time we were a few months down the road in OT, and it has been soooo valuable for time spent. Also, reserve judgment on what other evaluations may be needed until you see the NP test results, b/c they may indicate or lead to other more detailed/targeting testing. The fact that your son is translating latin so well would seem to rule out dyslexia, but you really never know until you see test results. Stealth dyslexia is a term used on the boards here often, but our NP didn't have any idea what that term meant, and actually knew next to nothing about dyslexia. It just means a child's strengths in other areas often compensate for an underlying range of one or more language processing issues, and therefore they go unnoticed. You mentioned EF issues. One book I've found helpful in giving suggestions for how to help direct improvement in EF skills is "Smart But Scattered." There is a teen version also. Also, One Step At a Time said "You might look at something where you can control w.p.m. and accuracy requirements so he isn't penalized for needing a lot more time and repetition to improve. Drop w.p.m. to 5 at first and accuracy to maybe 95% or even 90% to keep frustration down." This is really good advice for teaching typing to keep the frustration low and to keep progress moving in a positive direction. We've had a lot of stops and starts in learning typing b/c so many of the programs don't allow you to go back to previous levels, or adjust the wpm/accuracy. ​One other comment about math…are you only using singapore? I ask b/c it is largely a mastery style program, which can be good and bad if a child struggles with processing issues. Good that it stays on one topic for a very long time, but bad in that it doesn't come back and review the skill much after that so that it "sticks". Maybe some of the other readers have other suggestions/opinions , and will chime in about this, but maybe that could be part of his struggles with math? We've found good results with "overteaching" math. We use a mastery program as our spine, and add in a spiral program a year behind as a review. Yes, that's more math on a daily basis, but in reality, it only adds about 15 minutes to the school day, and his confidence in math has gone up a lot b/c his skills are solid. Welcome, and sending you best wishes on your journey to get answers.
  6. Thanks for the input OneStepAtATime. Yes, that's what I was referring to, after level 4. I had wondered if IEW is what she would recommend b/c she doesn't say which one, just says she will mention it when you get there. What are the Spelling City card games? Is that something you order from Barton?
  7. Oh Yay! Just what I needed to see this morning. I have a Barton related question: Just started using Barton level 1 with my son....she says, in her video to homeschoolers that is on her site, that Barton is complete for language arts up to 9th grade. I'm wondering, if that has been your experience, or do you add anything else, like additional spelling, or grammar instruction, etc. Additionally, how "Spiral" is Barton, related to the spelling instruction? My son's struggles w/ dyslexia relate more to spelling than just reading, so Barton will either need to be really spiral, or I can foresee we will need to be supplementing at some point. A tutor at our local dyslexia center said they often do additional spelling instruction beyond OG methods, namely, spelling and vocab through morphograms. Does Barton include this kind of teaching in later levels? Thanks for any input from those of you former users or farther down the road in the program.
  8. Joycemarley-I'm sorry for your negative experience. Our experience was not positive either. A total waste of money. We knew right away, within the first couple DAYS using the program that it was not a good fit and would not be a positive thing. For us it was one of those things, if we knew then what we know now, we would have never tried it. The entire program is computer based, which can be the opposite of what your child needs, depending on what issues are causing their learning struggles.
  9. OhElizabeth- I will check out that book. We are heading to the dyslexia center for more testing this morning. I also had another Mom tell me about Barton, so I watched her video and student assessment and I don't even have to give the test to my son to know he could pass every section except the last, where they have to compare three sounds and repeat them back in order after a brief time delay. That goes to working memory issues, right? Anyway, so Barton says if you can't pass that portion that you can't even start any kind of OG or her program until you remediate some specific foundational skills she lists on her site via the "Lindamood-Bell" LIPS method. I remember you mentioning something about speech therapy and being able to work on those skills on your own. I did a quick search in our area and the only LIPS place near us is two hours away :(. So, if you could share what you know about that and what can be done in the home or how I can learn more about that. I also checked out the coins game and it's on its way to me now- it looks great for working on working memory, sequencing, etc. all areas I know he needs work in that they are not addressing much at all in ST right now. Also, agree that AAS isn't for everyone. I know it gets rave reviews and I can see it's beauty but just like many other great programs, it has to be a good fit for the student you're trying to teach. I can foresee we will have to do a multi-layered intensive approach like what you described to get it all starting to transfer. I am really interested to read that book so I can understand the why's of that. thanks again to all the posters providing feedback. Makes me feel not so alone in figuring all this out.
  10. Can you link me heathermomster instructions you referenced? Is that a test or a therapy or both? If you mean that test where you repeat series of numbers you either see or hear, no, not beyond three digits and at first he would repeat three digits that might not even be all the same you said or showed him in the first place. I do not think they did the other test you mentioned but I will inquire. Thank you. I am working on setting up a sensori-motor eye exam and auditory processing testing. I will look at the game and books too.
  11. Sounds like you have a lot of knowledge on the various moving parts. We used OPGTR to teach him to read, and we finished that at mid-first grade. He was reading fine, and just continued to advance his skill. We worked through ETC books 1-4. His phonemic awareness seems fine. Why I started to ? There was a problem is bc we used AAS for spelling for two years and despite tons of review, despite the fact that he could rattle off all the sounds and rules, the spelling knowledge was not staying outside the lesson, and not transferring to the writing. Additionally, spelling attempts aren't even phonetically correct, there are consonants missing and/or missing/incorrect in addition to the vowels.when writing progress wasn't being made despite daily practice as far as spacing, sizing and legibility and reversals persisted despite talking about tricks to remember the difference. Learning something like tying shoes took a very long time. Bilateral coordination was lacking, etc. It took a long time for his ped to take me seriously bc he is very articulate and has a lot of relative strengths so it took looking at specific areas to begin seeing where the disconnects might be. My problem is I'm not sure what the appropriate OT and ST should look like. In ST they do what looks very much like narration to me, which IMO is a strength not weakness. I spoke w a local dyslexia center and they want to test him further. They said there is a lot of disinformation about dyslexia, that it doesn't always appear as a problem reading.
  12. Hello- I originally posted here a couple of months ago, just as we started DS testing to get to the causes of the learning challenges I am seeing as we work together in our homeschool. In a nutshell, I am told the testing indicates a type of dyslexia that tester said they "really don't have a name for" and that it only affects the spelling, not reading, which does make sense w/ what I see in DS's academic performance. He knows all of his phonics, can decode and read whatever he wants, not a problem, it's when it comes to encoding, where the disconnect happens. Additionally, he can form complex sentence structures for his age, yet has significant impairment getting them on paper, both in spelling and in letter formation, size, spacing, all of it. When I asked if this meant dysgraphia, she said no b/c high performance in other areas of the testing ruled that out. Ok, so then the question still remains how to help that. She just didn't seem like she knew what to do with the high highs and low low's that were on all of his tests. He has been in both OT and ST and I feel like OT has helped somewhat, but speech has really felt kind of like a waste of time. I really have no frame of reference to evaluate what "good" OT and ST are supposed to look like. Any comments on what I should be expecting? I could use some advice on where to go from here. I'm an action plan kind of girl and I'm not sure where to start.
  13. Not sure if I should create a new topic or just keep adding here, let me know please, b/c I'll looking for some advice from other moms that have been there, done that. We finished all of the NP testing and the frustrating thing is that I feel like they just left me on my own to figure out what to do next. The level of non-support from the "professionals" involved is very frustrating, to say the least. I am told the testing indicates a type of dyslexia that tester said they "really don't have a name for" and that it only affects the spelling, not reading, which does make sense w/ what I see in DS's academic performance. He knows all of his phonics, can decode and read whatever he wants, not a problem, it's when it comes to encoding, where the disconnect happens. Additionally, he can form complex sentence structures for his age, yet has significant impairment getting them on paper, both in spelling and in letter formation, size, spacing, all of it. When I asked if this meant dysgraphia, she said no b/c high performance in other areas of the testing ruled that out. Ok, so then the question still remains how to help that. She just didn't seem like she knew what to do with the high highs and low low's that were on all of his tests. He has been in both OT and ST and I feel like OT has helped somewhat, but speech has really felt kind of like a waste of time. I really have no frame of reference to evaluate what "good" OT and ST are supposed to look like. Any comments on what I should be expecting? I could use some advice on where to go from here. I'm an action plan kind of girl and I'm not sure where to start.
  14. Oh Elizabeth, I found this post reply so helpful. DS was recently tested, and found to have Dyslexia, but not the "common" type b/c for whatever reason, his reading skills (decoding) are fine, it's just the encoding portion (spelling, writing) that are affected. The tester also said his scores indicated ADHD but after doing a lot of reading on my own, I don't think that is true at all. I think it is more likely a visual and/or auditory processing disorder. When you described your husband, that really resonated with me, and what I see in DS, b/c he is a natural leader, and interpersonal skills are effortless for him, and now I get the why and how of harnessing the strengths, or at least a place to start. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing b/c that is one frustrating thing about this whole process of testing, they can give you results but then you're on your own to figure out how to to utilize that info. to help your child maximize their strengths and minimize the weaknesses.
  15. thank you, so you don't do any grammar instruction until 5th grade Ellie?
  16. Oh, I should note I am looking at third grade.
  17. Hello- I'm doing some research on options to study grammar basics that is straightforward w/out a lot of time-consuming fluff, and I came across Easy Grammar. What I can't figure out is why there are two programs, easy grammar and daily grams. Can anyone in the know chime in about how these are meant to be used? Do you use one or the other, or are they meant to be used together? thanks!
  18. I recently found a book called Smart but Scattered helpful. It talks about how to help a child develop "executive skills", the things that they find difficult to manage b/c of distractibility and other challenges.
  19. read about this recently on a blog for helping a child that struggles w/ memorizing math facts, decided to order it. Found the best price on Hewitt Homeschooling. Maybe some others that have used it can chime in w/ what they think. https://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/Materials/mItem.aspx?id=1717
  20. thanks Momma Ruthies for your reply. I had wondered about some reviews from people with actual experience w/ a child in the program as you said.
  21. Sensory processing issues, executive functions, body organization, those types of things.
  22. so to update…we are still working through appointments to complete the battery of np tests, but what we do know is there are issues w/ visual and auditory memory, sensory processing. so, I have been told that until we get farther down the road in OT and ST, we need to pretty much stick with teaching in a spiral manner as much as possible. We have been doing CLE math and Spellingyousee this summer and those have both been working out well, so I will continue with those. I am thinking I need to go with Shurley english for him b/c of the high amount of spiral and repetition. Anyone w/ experience using shurley 3 that can comment on if it is lacking anything for the grade level lang. arts skills that I should be aware of? thanks!
  23. so to update…we are still working through appointments to complete the battery of np tests, but what we do know is there are issues w/ visual and auditory memory, sensory processing. so, I have been told that until we get farther down the road in OT and ST, we need to pretty much stick with teaching in a spiral manner as much as possible. We have been doing CLE math and Spellingyousee this summer and those have both been working out well, so I will continue with those. I am thinking I need to go with Shurley english for him b/c of the high amount of spiral and repetition. Anyone w/ experience using shurley 3 that can comment on if it is lacking anything for the grade level lang. arts skills that I should be aware of? thanks!
  24. Thanks ladies. Geodob, that's what stood out to me too. JonesinIndiana, I will look into the one you mentioned. I am also checking out Minds in Motion. I have another post asking if anyone knows anything about that one, but no replies so far. I saw the creator of that program speak at our local homeschool convention, and she has data, clinical research, etc.
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