blessedmom3 Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I need to make a decision between SL, HOD and MFW to use with a 6 yo with a mild speech delay. His speech is like a 4yo. We will officially start K this fall. Though he started to read and spell shorter words , he has speech ( articulation ) and language ( lack of words) delay .We do read a lot of books but he also seems to have comprehension issues due probably to his delay. So the books he enjoys right now are more for a 2-4 yo . Which of these programs have you used and noticed an improvment in your dc's speech ? I have a feeling that HOD will work best combined with WWE when he is ready . Other suggestions for LA are welcome ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 (edited) Well, I would pick HOD because it's short (and fun) and solid then you can do speech specific work with him as well. The readings are also manageable for my kid with attention/listening/very possibly comprehension issues. Beyond that, I picked HOD partly so I could have time to address other weaker areas with my son. None of these programs will adequately address a speech delay and/or articulation issue. Reading the best of books with him/the best LA isn't going to fix it. Have you received speech therapy or are you opposed to it? I can make suggestions of home programs for speech delay but if I were dealing with a six year old with articulation issues I'd want a professional if at all possible. Is that possible? If not, I'd look into programs that specifically address articulation. But I think a therapist--even initially--would help just so you know what exactly you're dealing with and can pick an appropriate intervention. Edited May 6, 2010 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Well, SL has books in their LA that I am getting for that purpose, but I have no idea if they will help. They are picture dictionaries. IMO SL seems to have the best selection of books in their PK and K program. We used MFW K and from what I have seen MFW has the best phonics. Did you see my thread on speech therapy? Maybe some of those ideas will help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 My son has a language disorder and we've used SL since the beginning without their LA. He has a very high vocabulary and I'm sure that's from SL. He is also (surprisingly) doing fairly well with writing this year and that is probably the result of being read to every day since he was a baby. His comprehension is good, but he had a lot of therapy for that when he was younger though I'm sure being read to a lot helps. Audiobooks are great too. My son listens to them while playing with his legos. I'm not sure MFW would be as good unless you were going to heavily use the book basket to pick out lots of extra read alouds because the reading is much lighter than SL from my experience. However, I only used some of the lower levels of MFW and maybe that is different in the upper levels. SL has you reading a lot of books above their ability right from the start. I know nothing about HOD and I doubt any of these programs is going to help with articulation. I agree with seeking out a speech therapist in addition to trying to find a literature-rich curriculum. I think using a literature-rich program is a great idea of a child who is struggling with language, but I don't know that it will be enough. I guess it depends on the extent of the delay/problem. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Oooh, Carmen has a good idea with picture dictionary books. I was going to add that after you get further down the road of improved speech (and I would either seek out speech therapy or some exercises you can work on at home) I would add FLL1 before I start WWE1. FLL1 has guided (scripted) conversation back and forth - will help you coach complete sentences, etc. I would begin with this before I add the harder skills (imo) of comprehension and restating and copywork (copywork of words he will probably have no idea how to read) in WWE. Just my .02. As far as a lit. based curriculum - I don't think it matters which one. Meet him on this level and stretch his listening skills gradually and you will get where you want to go. If he still likes books on a 2 -4 year level you could easily start with Before Five in a Row, or Five in a Row. When you see more improvement you could look at Veritas Press First Comprehension Guides - they use similar books but include comprehension activities, copywork, and suggestions for fun activities too. If you want something to guide you more - I *personally* would just use the books from any of the programs you're considering, but not spend a lot of money on the whole program/guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I had a daughter with a severe speech and comprehension delay. I did very little with her for the first four years -- a lot of this was due to her not wanting to sit still and be read to. When she turned five I felt it was time to begin kindergarten work (she could already read fluently, but she didn't seem to understand what she read). We began using K12. K12 has a wonderful literature program with many comprehension questions to ask the child. We would read a story together, and I'd ask her questions along the way. For the longest time she could barely answer, and I'd have to help her. We would act out the story using stuffed animals or stick puppets. I was doing most of the talking, but that was OK. I have continued through the years to read and discuss literature with her. This has been enormously helpful to her. She is hyper and always wants to rush through books, so my presence forces her to slow down and absorb the books' contents. She often needs someone to talk her through the story and point out subtleties. I feel that any program which has you *discuss* the material in depth, rather than just read it, is good. She's in seventh grade now and doing extremely well in all her subjects. She never stops talking, and I sometimes long for the days when she would just stare at me and not say a word! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Discussion questions are a major part of HOD, but their preschool program only has Bible stories and no other books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 My middle dd had a 2-year receptive and expressive speech delay. I finally gave up on her breaking out into full speech like my dh had when she was 4yo (relatives kept telling me that dh didn't speak until much later and then immediately began speaking like a child much older than he was). We had already had her hearing tested several times and it was normal. The speech therapist determined that my dd's primary problem was an auditory processing delay. Human speech was too fast for her to process. I used Reading Reflex with her and it corrected most of her speech issues in about 6 months. She went from a 2yo level at 4yo to a 4yo level at 4.5yo. The change was pretty dramatic. The rest of her speech improvement came when we started occupational therapy right around her 5th birthday. The biggest speech improvement came when we switched her to drinking with a straw and it dramatically improved her speech in about two weeks. She had low muscle tone and would lose muscle tone very quickly if she wasn't constantly using the muscles. She nursed until she was 2yo, but when I checked back in her baby book, I could see that her problems with choking on food started within a few weeks of the time she weaned. She lost her tongue control. She still has some auditory issues, especially when she is under stress or when one of her sisters is going through puberty (the time within 6 months before the period starts seems to throw her off a lot). Her own puberty didn't seem to affect her at all in that regard. My youngest is throwing her off right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Angie, do you have an idea of what in Reading Reflex helped? Do you think another phonics program would help as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I used Reading Reflex with her because that was the recommendation I got from speech therapists on the hs boards I was visiting at the time (before WTM existed). Reading Reflex starts with spoken words. You break the words down into their sounds and then spell them. It has exercises specifically for auditory processing. For example, you will say the word "log" and have three letter tiles scattered on the white board in front of you. You draw three lines (one for each sound) and say the sound as you touch each line. Then you show the letter tile for "l" and say this is what /l/ (use the sound, not the name) looks like. Do the same for "o" and "g". You start off with just a few words that don't use many different letters. My dd mainly needed a visual hook for the sounds she was hearing. When the speech therapist originally tested her, my dd couldn't hear the difference between words like cap, clap, clamp. She heard the beginning, middle, and ending sounds, but not any of the others. By the time we got to the point where we were working with consonant blends in RR, my dd was able to hear them. Fast Forward would have been a good program for her, but it was expensive and our insurance didn't cover anything. I was able to remediate her speech myself, but we had to pay out-of-pocket for her occupational therapy. OT made an ENORMOUS difference in her life. She was initially evaluated right around her 5th birthday. At that point, her gross motor skills were at a 2-3yo level and her fine motor skills were at a 6mo-1yo level. She had LOTS of issues. OT got her up to low end of normal in less than 6 months. She still has some fine motor delays and she has Asperger's, but OT got her past a lot of problems. I just wish I had done it earlier. Because of all the problems my middle dd had, I was constantly watching my youngest as well. When it was obvious that she had some type of issue, I didn't wait to see if it would resolve on its own. As it turned out, she had visual efficiency delays, visual processing delays, and dyseidetic dyslexia. Her issues were almost completely opposite of what my middle dd had. Again, insurance paid for nothing. We had to pay for vision therapy out of pocket. I remediated her dyslexia myself. She will always have dyslexia, but she has learned to compensate well enough that she is working at grade level now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Marie Hazell (author of MFW) was a trained speech and language pathologist BEFORE she was trained as a teacher. When she wrote their K program, part of what went into the program was that she was teaching a classroom of 30 5-year olds with learning needs all over the map, and had no curriculum. Thus, she had to write one. She used her speech and language training to write the K program. I think it was later that she went back to school for her degree in education (classroom teaching). I could be missing some details in there, but my point is that she wrote K and 1st grade with learning problems in mind. Here are links to a couple of archived threads that discuss Marie's background and using MFW with special needs kids: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1737 http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2276 My youngest dd has similar problems to your son. Have you had him diagnosed, or does he receive speech therapy? My dd's diagnosis was Apraxia -- or officially, Severe Articulation Disorder. (Google "Apraxia of Speech." Unfortunately, it's still being debated among the Speech Therapy community and insurance companies will usually fight it; thus, the official dx of Severe Articulation Disorder.) At any rate, I've been all over the map trying to get my dd to learn to read. Well, she LOVED the MFW K program. I love its gentle, step-by-step, hands-on approach, with just enough repetition to give my dd confidence and know "the next thing" to do. She gets bored very easily, so while repetition is necessary so that concepts have time to "click" in her brain and stay there, too much repetition (i.e., something like Abeka) would just aggravate her. This is why HOD wouldn't work for her.... some of the activities were way too "babyish" while others (reading comprehension, for example) were too difficult. MFW seemed to have a better balance for my dd. HOD may work for her at some point in the future, but in these early years, MFW is a better fit. That said, I should add that I *have* stressed at different times because she hasn't learned to read fast enough. We'd started MFW 1st grade and the review section was annoying her. I gave in (I get tired of the battle sometimes) and dropped it to try other things.... but doing so hindered her reading. Now we have to go back and finish what we started because MFW 1st is really geared to the three areas of concentration that she needs most: reading, Bible, and character training. She does fine with math... just had trouble in the reading and language department. So what I wanted to say to you is, if you decide to go with MFW K, and you get through that and feel ready to move on to MFW 1st, be aware that with your son's delays, you MAY need to take some breaks here and there. Especially at a certain point where the pace picks up quite a bit. It's okay to take breaks and go through it slowly.... especially for our kids that need time and repetition to really "get it". :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 Well, I would pick HOD because it's short (and fun) and solid then you can do speech specific work with him as well. The readings are also manageable for my kid with attention/listening/very possibly comprehension issues. Beyond that, I picked HOD partly so I could have time to address other weaker areas with my son. None of these programs will adequately address a speech delay and/or articulation issue. Reading the best of books with him/the best LA isn't going to fix it. Have you received speech therapy or are you opposed to it? I can make suggestions of home programs for speech delay but if I were dealing with a six year old with articulation issues I'd want a professional if at all possible. Is that possible? If not, I'd look into programs that specifically address articulation. But I think a therapist--even initially--would help just so you know what exactly you're dealing with and can pick an appropriate intervention. He doesn't really have probl. with articulation . In fact not sure , one SLP said he does , another he doesn't . My concern is more of a language delay than articulation . He speaks better since he he learned how to read but still has a language delay. We will start therapy 1h/week at school this Fri but for a short time since the school will be over soon. So I will appreciate any rec. to work at home with him. I already have Speechexercise Cd (which are not helpful for language delay ) and Earobics . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 Well, SL has books in their LA that I am getting for that purpose, but I have no idea if they will help. They are picture dictionaries. IMO SL seems to have the best selection of books in their PK and K program. We used MFW K and from what I have seen MFW has the best phonics. Did you see my thread on speech therapy? Maybe some of those ideas will help you. Yes , I saw that thread but your ds is younger and most of rec. are for younger kids but some are very helpful. I also have Reading Reflex which I am considering to use but right now he is doing really great with Adventures in Phonics and Sing Spell read and Write (the readers and comprehension workbook only) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 (edited) Yes , I saw that thread but your ds is younger and most of rec. are for younger kids but some are very helpful. That is funny. I thought that most of the recs were for older kids. It sounds to me like you will want a lot of reading aloud and discussion. Poetry should help as well. I love offering my opinion, and more experienced moms aren't weighing in at the moment, so I will give you mine. LOL I have used or researched all 3 programs, just not for long. When I thought you were looking at HOD Little Hands to Heaven I thought you should supplement with SL... I looked back to check his age and see that your son is six. I would definitely recommend Little Hearts for His Glory hands down. It has discussion questions, poetry, and a variety of read alouds, all of which will help. HOD includes more in their guides than any other curriculum. I am so excited to be using it next year. Edited May 6, 2010 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 Marie Hazell (author of MFW) was a trained speech and language pathologist BEFORE she was trained as a teacher. When she wrote their K program, part of what went into the program was that she was teaching a classroom of 30 5-year olds with learning needs all over the map, and had no curriculum. Thus, she had to write one. She used her speech and language training to write the K program. I think it was later that she went back to school for her degree in education (classroom teaching). I could be missing some details in there, but my point is that she wrote K and 1st grade with learning problems in mind. Here are links to a couple of archived threads that discuss Marie's background and using MFW with special needs kids: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1737 http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2276 My youngest dd has similar problems to your son. Have you had him diagnosed, or does he receive speech therapy? My dd's diagnosis was Apraxia -- or officially, Severe Articulation Disorder. (Google "Apraxia of Speech." Unfortunately, it's still being debated among the Speech Therapy community and insurance companies will usually fight it; thus, the official dx of Severe Articulation Disorder.) At any rate, I've been all over the map trying to get my dd to learn to read. Well, she LOVED the MFW K program. I love its gentle, step-by-step, hands-on approach, with just enough repetition to give my dd confidence and know "the next thing" to do. She gets bored very easily, so while repetition is necessary so that concepts have time to "click" in her brain and stay there, too much repetition (i.e., something like Abeka) would just aggravate her. This is why HOD wouldn't work for her.... some of the activities were way too "babyish" while others (reading comprehension, for example) were too difficult. MFW seemed to have a better balance for my dd. HOD may work for her at some point in the future, but in these early years, MFW is a better fit. That said, I should add that I *have* stressed at different times because she hasn't learned to read fast enough. We'd started MFW 1st grade and the review section was annoying her. I gave in (I get tired of the battle sometimes) and dropped it to try other things.... but doing so hindered her reading. Now we have to go back and finish what we started because MFW 1st is really geared to the three areas of concentration that she needs most: reading, Bible, and character training. She does fine with math... just had trouble in the reading and language department. So what I wanted to say to you is, if you decide to go with MFW K, and you get through that and feel ready to move on to MFW 1st, be aware that with your son's delays, you MAY need to take some breaks here and there. Especially at a certain point where the pace picks up quite a bit. It's okay to take breaks and go through it slowly.... especially for our kids that need time and repetition to really "get it". :) Someone gave me MFW K but I am not sure I will use it . I like the Bible part though . I wish I had it last year to work with him. I did not look at it extensively yet but the phonics part seems more for a pre-K so if we decide to go with it , we won't do phonics. My son is reading pretty well for his age ( he has mastered short & long vowels and is learning diphtongs and consonant diagraphs now) . I like AIP and SSRW readers but I think Reading Reflex would have worked better for spelling . I highly recommend that but we did not do it since he was doing so good with the other materials . It seems he does not get easily the phonics rules , so a program without rules but with phonographix would be what he needs . This is not a sight word program , rather similar to many programs who use a phonogram method but without rules . Also , we just started Sequential Spelling and is doing great with that since it doesn't have rules but patterns. By the way , he was dg with social anxiety and speech delay , but I feel there is more ( like a very mild autism or Aspergers , maybe Apraxia --the two specialists we have seen disagreed but who knows better than a mother ? ) I feel drawn to HOD because of the discussion questions , the poetry ,writing, dictation ( in the older grades) ...it seems MFW doesn't have that , SL have some discussion but nothing else and probably too much reading. Besides, I would like to choose one curriculum and stick with it , that's why is so hard ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 (edited) Thank you Angie, that was very helpful! DH and I have made plans to start our own preschool some day and if we do I intend to use MFW K. :D When I used it with DD I felt like I needed more/better/easier to access read alouds, and I felt that it seemed to be at Pre-K level. My DD has anxiety disorder too. :grouphug: Edited May 6, 2010 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Someone gave me MFW K but I am not sure I will use it . I like the Bible part though . I wish I had it last year to work with him. I did not look at it extensively yet but the phonics part seems more for a pre-K so if we decide to go with it , we won't do phonics. My son is reading pretty well for his age ( he has mastered short & long vowels and is learning diphtongs and consonant diagraphs now) .I like AIP and SSRW readers but I think Reading Reflex would have worked better for spelling . I highly recommend that but we did not do it since he was doing so good with the other materials . It seems he does not get easily the phonics rules , so a program without rules but with phonographix would be what he needs . This is not a sight word program , rather similar to many programs who use a phonogram method but without rules . Also , we just started Sequential Spelling and is doing great with that since it doesn't have rules but patterns. Sorry, I misunderstood what you were asking for in the OP since you mentioned your son's delays and said that he'll be starting K in the fall. It sounded like you were asking for a learn-to-read (or LA in general) program that would be geared toward a child with LD's. MFW K does fit that description, especially since the author was trained in speech and language; thus, my response. I didn't realize you already own MFW K since you included MFW in the question in your subject line and didn't say you already own the K materials. Have you looked at the 1st grade program? If not, you might read through the Introduction of the sample lessons to see if he fits better there. http://www.mfwbooks.com/1st_sample.htm I feel drawn to HOD because of the discussion questions , the poetry ,writing, dictation ( in the older grades) ...it seems MFW doesn't have that , SL have some discussion but nothing else and probably too much reading. Besides, I would like to choose one curriculum and stick with it , that's why is so hard !Yes, MFW does have these things. I guess it doesn't have "discussion questions" in the sense of Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, like the comp questions you would see at the end of a chapter in a textbook. It uses the CM methods of narration (oral and written), copywork, and dictation. MFW also recommends PLL and ILL in which you see a lot more discussion topics, poetry, memorization, writing, dictation, copywork, picture study, etc. All that said, if you really feel most drawn to HOD, go for it. Sounds like maybe the daily lesson plans with a box showing instruction for each specific skill is what you're looking for. HOD is a wonderful program. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 All that said, if you really feel most drawn to HOD, go for it. Sounds like maybe the daily lesson plans with a box showing instruction for each specific skill is what you're looking for. HOD is a wonderful program. :)That is what I like. My ADD brain has such a hard time with SL and WP guides. HOD is a breath of fresh air. :tongue_smilie:I really haven't looked at the other grade levels of MFW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 Maybe I have ADD too . I need a good plan to tell me exactly what to do . With four kids under 7 I can't think anymore. Yes, I have MFW K but have not used it yet . I did not even have time to look at it closely yet. I am more looking for a curriculum than a LA program and still considering all these : MFW , SL and HOD. I don't like to have to plan anything , I need something easy to use and something that helps with my son's speech . Since I have MFW , I think I will use that this year and go with HOD next yr ...we'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I used Five in a Row with ds in first grade. The repetition of the books really helped develop his vocabulary. In fact, he tested in the average range for receptive speech the next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I used Five in a Row with ds in first grade. The repetition of the books really helped develop his vocabulary. In fact, he tested in the average range for receptive speech the next year. I agree, FIAR would be a great choice for this. I think FIAR is probably the best "reading comprehension" curriculum out there, even though it's not labeled as such. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 HOD will lay it all out for you. It's truly pick up and go which I needed (sounds as if you do too). In your OP you said he has a delay and also articulation? Does he speak what he does speak clearly or is he difficult to understand? If he's not articulating (understandable) in the way a six year old should be articulating I would seek professional help. Articulation (beyond developmentally appropriate stuff of course) doesn't just improve with exposure and time. So you end up a with a much older child (or even adult) with speech issues. I would seek an evaluation anyway if you've not had that just to make sure there isn't an underlying reason he's two years behind in speech. If you've got an underlying something identified you've got a much better chance of getting a program to address it well. That's been true here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I used Reading Reflex with her because that was the recommendation I got from speech therapists on the hs boards I was visiting at the time (before WTM existed). Reading Reflex starts with spoken words. You break the words down into their sounds and then spell them. It has exercises specifically for auditory processing. For example, you will say the word "log" and have three letter tiles scattered on the white board in front of you. You draw three lines (one for each sound) and say the sound as you touch each line. Then you show the letter tile for "l" and say this is what /l/ (use the sound, not the name) looks like. Do the same for "o" and "g". You start off with just a few words that don't use many different letters. My dd mainly needed a visual hook for the sounds she was hearing. When the speech therapist originally tested her, my dd couldn't hear the difference between words like cap, clap, clamp. She heard the beginning, middle, and ending sounds, but not any of the others. By the time we got to the point where we were working with consonant blends in RR, my dd was able to hear them. Angie, I am starting this tomorrow with both kids as part of circle time. Thank you for the thorough explanation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Another good program to try is Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties by Jerome Rosner. It has diagnostic tests to figure out where your child needs more work and also has exercises to do to remediate those issues. It has auditory processing and visual processing exercises. http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Children-Overcome-Learning-Difficulties/dp/143923180X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273462580&sr=8-2 This is the new version. I linked it because it has a "look inside" feature. http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Children-Overcome-Learning-Difficulties/dp/0802771785/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273462580&sr=8-1 This is the version that I actually used. You can't beat $0.01 plus $3.99 shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I will pick this up! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Another good program to try is Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties by Jerome Rosner. It has diagnostic tests to figure out where your child needs more work and also has exercises to do to remediate those issues. It has auditory processing and visual processing exercises. http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Children-Overcome-Learning-Difficulties/dp/143923180X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273462580&sr=8-2 This is the new version. I linked it because it has a "look inside" feature. http://www.amazon.com/Helping-Children-Overcome-Learning-Difficulties/dp/0802771785/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273462580&sr=8-1 This is the version that I actually used. You can't beat $0.01 plus $3.99 shipping. This looks like an amazing resource.... Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom32boys Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 My son had a moderate/ severe motor speech delay and a moderate language delay. From ages 2 to 4 he had one on one speech therapy 2x/ week. We chose to homeschool him for kindergarten because of his delay. I chose MFW because it seemed gentle and was written by an SLP. He did fine with the program, but at the end of kindergarten, was still struggling with comprehension and decoding (he would sound out a word, then look at the very same word and have to resound it out). For first grade, he went to public school. He had a wonderful teacher. What I found was interesting was that memorizing sight words helped him to realize that he was sounding out actual words. His reading level and comprehension grew tremendously that year. He now reads and comprehends well above grade level (he's 10). My son seemed to learn in spurts - it took a long time to connect letters to their sounds, that he=boy, she=girl. We just kept practicing language concepts with him. It was like stair steps - he wouldn't get it, wouldn't get it, wouldn't get it.... finally got it - move on to another skill - wouldn't get it, wouldn't get it... got it. As far as speech itself - working one on one with a pediatric SLP is what made a huge difference. Not all SLP's are the same. We went to 3 different SLP's - 2 worked with him and we didn't see any improvement. The one who made a difference specialized in pediatric SLP. No real recommendation, just thought I'd share our experience. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calandalsmom Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 None of these are likely to improve any sort of speech delay IMO. I have 3 kids with articulation issues and the only thing that works is time and therapy. As for expressive language, I dont think it matters between the three. All are literature rich but whether that helps your child express him or herself is an unknown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 10, 2010 Author Share Posted May 10, 2010 Thanks for the book suggestion ! I just borrowed it from the library. For those interested , this book is excellent too: http://www.amazon.com/Mislabeled-Child-Solutions-Childrens-Challenges/dp/1401308996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273528126&sr=1-1 and this is an inexpensive source of many many games great for a child w/ speech delay or not . It has a lot of comprehensive ??? , games ,reproducibles ,etc http://www.amazon.com/Rhymes-Riddles-Reasoning-Activities-Think/dp/1420625608/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273528201&sr=1-1 I agree that regarding the articulation , a child needs a SLP but for language delays , nothing beats reading , reading and reading ... asking questions about what you've read and talking , talking , talking...after all that's what a SLP does if is a good one (ours wasn't --she was an old lady depressed and in bad mood ) I believe a good literature curriculum helps with that. For now I chose to go with MFW K only because I have it but next year I will probably go with HOD + reading most of SL K books , which I have . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I agree that regarding the articulation , a child needs a SLP but for language delays , nothing beats reading , reading and reading ... asking questions about what you've read and talking , talking , talking...after all that's what a SLP does if is a good one (ours wasn't --she was an old lady depressed and in bad mood )Oh, that explains why my son isn't talking much.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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