Dobela Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I am trying to think ahead now so bear with me. My son is just turned 9. 3 months ago I would have sworn he was dyslexic. Substitutions, reversals.... but not necessarily any of the other signs like inability to tell time on a clock with hands. I bought Barton level 1 but have not been able to begin it. I have an adult brother with autism, a special needs toddler, and a lot of family illness in the last 2 months. I have watched the first part of the DVD but have not gone beyond that. Honestly, with the toddler interruptions I don't know how I will ever do what needs to be done for me to teach Barton. Despite it all her naps are very inconsistent length wise and I can't depend on them for instruction time. Meanwhile, my son has had 8 weeks of vision therapy. Can I just say WOW! The reversals have stopped, the substitutions have stopped, his handwriting is fantastic, and we are flying thru grammar and math. He has gone from not understanding what a sentence is to writing paragraphs with phonetically similar invented spelling. He is now completing a chapter a week in math. However, he is still struggling with horizontal tracking in a very significant way. It slows him down tremendously with any activity. He has also had 2 years of OT. It has helped in the past, but seems to have stalled. Likely he won't qualify again in August. He is also going thru testing. THe WISC is finished and next week we start the achievement tests. I know that he will show delay and LD simply because he is 9 and working on a 1st/2nd grade level overall although he understands concepts much higher. It may be the end of the month before we get the results depending on how many sessions it takes for him to complete the next evals. The psychologist has already mentioned just how much his visual tracking slows him down - making some tasks last 3x longer than expected. Right now I really want to focus on his reading, he really wants to improve his reading. We have looked at hiring a Barton tutor but the nearest is 30 miles away. By the time we pay gas and her fee 2-3 days a week, well, it is just too expensive and time consumming especially since she said we will need to commit to this program for 3 years or more. I have not found another OG tutor near us either. He wants to read. I want him to read. His comprehension is good when he is read to or it is something simple on his level. I need help. Is there maybe something different for us to use? I am so overwhelmed with Barton and the idea of actually implementing Barton. Maybe something that moves faster or is not so expensive? He remembers some phonics rules that I taught before, but still needs help. I think we need to start at the beginning and I need something really scripted. He has picked up a lot of sight words but I know he needs more than that. :confused::confused: Have I confused you as much as me?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiD Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Meanwhile, my son has had 8 weeks of vision therapy. Can I just say WOW! The reversals have stopped, the substitutions have stopped, his handwriting is fantastic, and we are flying thru grammar and math. He has gone from not understanding what a sentence is to writing paragraphs with phonetically similar invented spelling. He is now completing a chapter a week in math. However, he is still struggling with horizontal tracking in a very significant way. It slows him down tremendously with any activity. ****That is fantastic! You must be thrilled. I think we need to start at the beginning and I need something really scripted. He has picked up a lot of sight words but I know he needs more than that. Check out "Let's Read, a Linguistic Approach" http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Linguistic-Approach-Leonard-Bloomfield/dp/0814311156/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243011968&sr=1-1 This is a great pick-up-and-go book for reading instruction. And it's relatively cheap. :) Lessons start at the most basic level and progress to what appears to me to be upper elementary/jr. high level. Based on word families. We've used this quite a bit and found it very effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 You might want to check out http://www.3rsplus.com/ These are the I See Sam books. You can get the 1st 2 sets for free to print out from http://www.teacherweb.com/CA/PomeloDriveElementary/Mrssakamoto/printap2.stm Look under the resources for the notched card. It is VERY helpful for tracking issues and is a FREE tool---well, you need a 3x5 card and a scissors to make one. The program is not scripted but all you have to do is teach the sounds and have him blend them into words. The first books look super easy and they might be (but they might not be). You could just have him read them off the computer. The key though is to make sure he is learning the sounds, not just memorizing the words. I taught both of my girls to read with this program---including my 13dd who has an IQ that tests at 38 with vision issues, seizures, LDs, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Everson Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 Meanwhile, my son has had 8 weeks of vision therapy. Can I just say WOW! The reversals have stopped, the substitutions have stopped, his handwriting is fantastic, and we are flying thru grammar and math. He has gone from not understanding what a sentence is to writing paragraphs with phonetically similar invented spelling. He is now completing a chapter a week in math. However, he is still struggling with horizontal tracking in a very significant way. It slows him down tremendously with any activity. He has also had 2 years of OT. It has helped in the past, but seems to have stalled. Likely he won't qualify again in August. I'm glad you decided to try vision therapy. The tracking should begin to improve after his eye teaming is in place. Tracking needs to be practiced to become proficient, just like any other skill, but prior to VT he likely wouldn't ever practice. Right now I really want to focus on his reading, he really wants to improve his reading. .... He wants to read. I want him to read. His comprehension is good when he is read to or it is something simple on his level. I need help. Is there maybe something different for us to use? I think you're addressing his needs in the right order by getting the vision skills in place first. If he knows the basic letter sounds, you could consider trying my workbook. It's really a complete advanced code phonics curriculum where he should learn all of the correspondences he'll need to read effectively. It's also got what I think is the best multi-syllable method you'll find anywhere, one that will get him attacking multi-syllable words without guessing if you follow the instructions closely. To get an idea what you'll be in for if you try it, you can download the instructions free from my website. They're long, but very detailed and will take you through the workbook page by page if you end up trying it. I use it with kids of all ages in my private reading instruction practice. It's what they often need after vision therapy, because vision therapy just prepares a child to learn to read; it doesn't teach him how to read. The link below goes to the page where you can download the free instruction manual as a PDF file. It's in the fourth paragraph from the end of the page. Rod Everson OnTrack Reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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