Evaluate teen for dyslexia?

[PrincessAriel]

nt

[AngieW in Texas]

I think an evaluation could be worthwhile.

 

As far as programs go, I would suggest trying Rewards Reading Secondary.

[merry gardens]

This may sound odd, but would you still have an older teen evaluated for dyslexia? ...

IF you know (or have a good lead) on a good evaluator, I think it would be worthwhile. Remediation for dyslexia involves a lot of reviewing the very basics. While you can work with your teen without an official diagnosis or professional evaluation, a good professional evaluator might help you narrow in on the specific problem to make best use of the limited time you have left to work with her. Comprehension difficulties can stem from a variety of factors, from de-coding to vocabulary to other factors* or a combination of issues.

 

* FYI on other factors: Nanci Bell of Lindamood-Bell has a theory about troubles some people have with imaging the "gestault"or "big picture" that sometimes lingers to inhibit comprehension even after all the other reading issues and auditory processing issues have been addressed. I'm somewhat fascinated by this theory, but I'm still working with other more basic de-coding and auditory processing issues. I haven't given that much attention to evaluating or developing this skill for my own children, but it's on my list of things to do....

[Laurie4b]

Absolutely, I would get an evaluation. If she has dyslexia, she will likely qualify for extended time on her SAT's, etc. and in college itself. An evaluation will give you an idea of what is at the root of what is causing her to struggle. At this point, you really, really want to know so that you don't go down a path that ends up being a rabbit trail. E.g. what if she's not dyslexic, but does have working memory problems? or what if both things are factors?

 

You'll want at least a WISC-IV and an individual achievement test like the Woodcock Johnson.

 

I'd need to know more details before recommending remediation. Can she reliably decode multisyllabic words? (If not, REWARDS secondary would be good). Can she decode multisyllabic words, but has difficulty with comprehension? (REWARDS plus is strong on reading comprehension, fluency, and on writing. It doesn't deal as much with decoding. It is set up for students to be able to answer multiple choice tests.) Does she have difficulty with comprehension outside of textbooks? Does she read for pleasure? What kind of books does she read? Are there working memory difficulties? etc.

 

What I would not do is to try to remediate without getting an evaluation first so that you know exactly what you are remediating and can research the best ways to do it.

[PrincessAriel]

nt

[ElizabethB]

Did she learn to read with more than a few sight words? Too many sight words can cause reading problems that mimic dyslexia, but are actually caused by sight words and are not true dyslexia.

 

You can give the MWIA, if she misses more phonetic words than holistic words or reads the phonetic words more than 10% slower than the holistic words, the may have problems that can be fixed with nonsense words and phonics remediation.

 

Here is a link to the MWIA and some reading grade level tests.

 

You could also try my phonics lessons and the advice on my how to tutor page, that's been successful for my remedial students. My lessons teach all the phonics basics but include 3 syllable words and syllable division rules from the start, they are designed for older children and adults. They're free!

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

(REWARDS plus is strong on reading comprehension, fluency, and on writing. It doesn't deal as much with decoding. It is set up for students to be able to answer multiple choice tests.) Does she have difficulty with comprehension outside of textbooks? Does she read for pleasure? What kind of books does she read? Are there working memory difficulties? etc.

 

 

 

Rewards Plus looks like an interesting option for one of my students. I've found the publisher's website, but I can't find cost information. Laurie, do you know how much Rewards Plus costs? Is there somewhere I can purchase it besides the publisher?

 

Thanks for your help.

[RamonaQ]

Yes. I think an evaluation would be helpful, especially as you are looking to college. A diagnosis, will allow her extra time during testing and possibly other services at college. As far as evaluators that will help you figure out what to work on, or what needs remediation, I think that will vary with evaluators.

[Laurie4b]

http://store.cambiumlearning.com/ProgramPage.aspx?parentId=019005488&functionID=009000008&site=sw

 

Here's the link with the prices. The TM is around $90 (gone up since I used it, but they have a high resale value.) The workbook is $10. I don't know of where you can buy it other than the publisher. You need both the TM and the workbook. You don't need the transparencies, etc.

[Laurie4b]

I'd get her evaluated for dyslexia and ADD. And honestly, if you can get an eval fairly soon, I would consider the pros and cons of saving intervention until after the eval. It's very possible that intervention will raise her scores to a place where her brain differences are camoflaged and just miss qualifying for accomodations or something that really would be helpful.

 

However, from what you've written here, I think a good initial plan would be REWARDS secondary, followed by REWARDS plus. You can do both programs very quickly. REWARDS secondary has 12 initial lessons, which can be done in 45 minutes per day; then lessons 13-20 will need about 1 1/2 hours to complete each lesson, so a lot of people take two days per lesson (or you could divide it into two lessons at different times in the same day.) So that would take 28 school days to finish. REWARDS plus has 6 review lessons that are like the first 12 lessons in REWARDS secondary. She may or may not need that review at that point. Then it has 15 full lessons, which definitely take 2 days unless you want to divide each lesson into separate parts like Vocabulary/spelling/comprehension then Fluency then Writing. So the 15 lessons could take 15 days if they took the place of English and science (or social studies, depending on which of the REWARD plus books you chose) but probably 30 -45 days is more realistic. So between the two books, you should be able to see very significant improvement in 3 months or less. The programs are totally scripted, which means you read what the TM says out loud and you are doing really good remediation. No planning--just open the book and read the lesson.

[PrincessAriel]

nt

[Laurie4b]

I would not go with Learning Rx for an eval. Around here, anyway, they do not have someone qualified administering the IQ test part but say they can do it since they aren't doing it for IQ or something like that.

 

Make sure that you get the WISC IV and an individual achievement test at least from one of the dyslexia testers and get on the waiting list for the neuropsych to rule out other stuff. You could present those tests for him/her to incorporate into the findings.

[Catherine]

I thought my ds was (he's much younger) but he wasn't at all-he had poor working memory and very slow processing. VT helped him quite a bit, and we are continuing to work on other things.

 

I think it makes more sense to put off college for a year and get a more thorough eval, and spend more time remediating, than rush it and not get a fuller understanding of what your daughter needs.