Wow, thank you Peter Pan and Story Girl! Lots of good and helpful info in here that I’m excited to look into. Many thanks!

I will check that out- convenient way to “test drive” it. Thanks! SaraLyn

Interesting that a couple of you had the same observations about why Saxon can be causing some of the issues, or at least exacerbating them. Thanks for your feedback! SaraLyn

Great insights, this is very helpful! Thanks!!!

Yes, 🙂 I know dyslexia isn’t a math problem per se, but the learning challenges that cause dyslexia affect math learning too! My 12 year old (7th grade) dyslexic daughter struggles with new concepts, and takes lots of repetition to remember how to do new things in math. This has slowed our progress down greatly. She is currently about halfway through Saxon 6/5 and it has worked well for her because it gives lots of practice. However, we’ve definitely tweaked the way we use it, because it takes SO MUCH TIME- especially for her. She is my fifth child, and watching two of my older children hit a wall once they hit Saxon pre-algebra or algebra is making me think I will need to find a different program for her. The amount of work was overwhelming for these two who may have been slow processors/ ADD, but were not dyslexic (or at least not severely) on top of it. The problem is, both of those children decided to go to public school for high school, where they thrived in math, but I have no idea what to do with this child at home for a curriculum that won’t take her hours and hours to complete each day. Both of my boys had math teachers who assigned much less homework than Saxon ever does, yet they both did well. She will have different challenges than they did, but I’m hoping some of you have some experience/advice for me on this. We may be able to stick it out through pre-algebra in Saxon if that’s what is necessary to complete that level of math without leaving gaps before we jump ship, but I really think Saxon algebra will be too much. But I’m open to suggestions with Saxon as well. Thanks!

Thank you! No formal evaluation yet because of cost. We went straight to remediation with an at home program because symptoms were so obvious. She definitely has weak working memory, but it is improving. I don’t think she has dyscalculia based on symptoms, but not sure. She’s pretty good at getting concepts, she just can’t keep it all in her head, so it takes a lot of repetition. We will apply for evaluation through the school system soon. It’s not as thorough, but it’s free.

Yes, 🙂 I know dyslexia isn’t a math problem per se, but the learning challenges that cause dyslexia affect math learning too! My 12 year old (7th grade) dyslexic daughter struggles with new concepts, and takes lots of repetition to remember how to do new things in math. This has slowed our progress down greatly. She is currently about halfway through Saxon 6/5 and it has worked well for her because it gives lots of practice. However, we’ve definitely tweaked the way we use it, because it takes SO MUCH TIME- especially for her. She is my fifth child, and watching two of my older children hit a wall once they hit Saxon pre-algebra or algebra is making me think I will need to find a different program for her. The amount of work was overwhelming for these two who may have been slow processors/ ADD, but were not dyslexic (or at least not severely) on top of it. The problem is, both of those children decided to go to public school for high school, where they thrived in math, but I have no idea what to do with this child at home for a curriculum that won’t take her hours and hours to complete each day. Both of my boys had math teachers who assigned much less homework than Saxon ever does, yet they both did well. She will have different challenges than they did, but I’m hoping some of you have some experience/advice for me on this. We may be able to stick it out through pre-algebra in Saxon if that’s what is necessary to complete that level of math without leaving gaps before we jump ship, but I really think Saxon algebra will be too much. But I’m open to suggestions with Saxon as well. Thanks!

Really great suggestions, thanks Momto6inIN and Roy Speed!

Hi, I'm wondering what suggestions people have for a fun, engaging resources to teach better reading and note taking skills to a young high schooler. My son, who is quite bright, struggles a lot with attention and doesn’t listen/engage very well in co-op classes or retain what he reads. He did pretty well before content became more difficult and time consuming, but is really struggling now. Any suggestions in how to strengthen these skills in ways that would be palatable to a teen boy who would rather not be doing schoolwork? ;)

My mom had a Davis trained tutor work with my dyslexic sister years ago, after she had learned to get by in reading but still struggled in school and life (she wasn't diagnosed til junior high). I see the value in what they do, and I may incorporate some of those methods, but with my limited knowledge, I think other methods are more comprehensive of all of the needs. My mom felt like it helped my sister immensely, and I think it did. She is still a slow reader and college work is difficult for her, though, but that may be par for the course for a dyslexic.

You are right, that is definitely a huge part of the problem, as up to this point I was just going with materials not meant for a struggling reader. We have isolated the skills only through doing lists meant to drill for fluency. Besides one or two Bob books that focus on silent e, her readers haven't been specifically focused on that skill. I can definitely see the value of specific focus in the phonics work and readers that you describe in HN. I think she has cvc pretty well mastered judging by which words she stumbles on now, but the next levels are really inconsistent. And I can tell by your very helpful thorough description of HN that we have not done that degree of attention to any level, thus the difficulties we are having. We went through the Bob books and worked on a Phyllis Schlafly phonics book, which worked really quite well for my other kids (in fact, I had two boys that hardly used the phonics reader because thy got it so fast with the Bob books that they didn't want to be bothered with 'all the steps'), so my point isn't that HN wouldn't work, in fact my original worry was that because she hadn't mastered several of the rules she already has 'learned' that she wouldn't do well with a rules based curriculum. What I see now is that is taught both the rules and the repetition in a less effective way than she needs.

Yes, just did-- it was great! So helpful!

[quote name="Pen" I wanted my ds to be able to read English. HN was great for him. It gave him his start and a method to achieve fluency. To me, that is what reading is all about, not about being able to tell about 'magic e,' nor having to stop and think through the rules as one works on decoding..." I completely agree, however what I mean by "she forgets magic e" is that she can't decode it correctly. Or remember it at sight.... After over a year. We've practiced it in lists, we've practiced it in context... Sometimes she gets it, but not usually without help. And to whomever said ther child couldn't remember 'am' after decoding it multiple times in the same sitting, that was my daughter about a year ago. She's progressed, but it's SLOW!

I'm inclined to just try Barton and if it doesn't work, then I now have lots of other options or supplements to help! What a wealth of information and knowledge is in this group!! Thank you so much for your help, support, experience, and wisdom. If people still have comments, I'm still interested. I've learned so much from this discussion!

I'm no longer worried about the cost. It seems like a good idea to do Bartlon if I'm doing OG. Now I just have to figure out if that's the best route.