Jkodman Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have gained so much from reading the posts on this board and this is my first official post. I have a 10 yr dh who is finishing up 4th grade. He really struggles with spelling. He has ADHD and problems with auditory processing. I started homeschooling him in 2nd grade, he did not get a good phonics foundation in 1st grade ps. So, in 2nd grade we worked alot on phonics. Now, he still does not automatically recall the blends when spelling. For example, he spells "forward" as "froward". He should know the "fr" sound is not used in that word. I have been looking at AAS, Apples and Pears and Megawords. He also really struggles with focusing and retaining what he learns. Which spelling program would fit our needs? Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I am using AAS with my 12yo son who has dyslexia, ADHD, and various sensory processing problems (including auditory). I like it particularly because of the built in review that is customized to the child (using cards). He likes that he is able to use the whiteboard instead of paper and pencil to write the words. I think he also likes the variety of tasks. I don't know anything about Apples and Pears but I do know that Megawords did not work for my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have gained so much from reading the posts on this board and this is my first official post. I have a 10 yr dh who is finishing up 4th grade. He really struggles with spelling. He has ADHD and problems with auditory processing. I started homeschooling him in 2nd grade, he did not get a good phonics foundation in 1st grade ps. So, in 2nd grade we worked alot on phonics. Now, he still does not automatically recall the blends when spelling. For example, he spells "forward" as "froward". He should know the "fr" sound is not used in that word. I have been looking at AAS, Apples and Pears and Megawords. He also really struggles with focusing and retaining what he learns. Which spelling program would fit our needs? Thanks for your help. It is very common for kids with dyslexia and I would assume auditory processing, to mix up the order of the phonemes in a word. One method that works to help them with this is tapping. For each sound in a word, you sequentially tap one finger to thumb. So for the word "cat", you would tap pointer to thumb while saying the /k/ sound, middle finger to thumb while tapping the /a/ sound, and ring finger to thumb while tapping the /t/ sound. If you used a program that taught blends as one sound, you're going to have to undo that, I'm afraid. Any blend is by definition, two sounds. That will actually help him down the line. The digraphs have one sound. The consonant digraphs are sh, ch, th, ck. Now most programs take "r-controlled vowels" as one "chunk" though technically it's not one sound. But the R so dominates the vowel that you can't separate them out very well. So for forward, you'd have /f/ /or/ /w/ /ar/ /d/. Once he gets the hang of tapping, it is tremendously useful in both sounding out long unfamiliar words and in spelling for kids who have any trouble with sequencing phonemes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkodman Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thanks for your help. Great advice. Any spelling programs that teach in this way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I really like Apples and Pears. It works and the spelling carries over to everyday writing as well. Thanks for your help. Great advice. Any spelling programs that teach in this way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 I really like Apples and Pears. It works and the spelling carries over to everyday writing as well. Apples and Pears is the only spelling program that helped my DS learn to spell. We started 1/3 way through book A, and are now 1/2 way through book C. DS is about to turn 13, it's taken us about 1.5 years to get this far. Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I second Apples and Pears. Very effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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