Using AAS with How to Spell Workbooks

[SophiaH]

Has anyone used AAS with the HTS Workbooks? With or without the HTTS manual? I'm wondering if I can just use the AAS phonogram cards and tiles, going through the AAS program (I have it already), and add in the HTS workbooks as reinforcement. Are the phonograms and the rule explanations similar enough? I'm also looking for something that would add more difficult words (and possibly phrases/sentences) to dictate that would go along with the AAS lessons. Does the HTTS manual include this?

 

My dd does not really like AAS, and enjoys independent workbooks, but I like the systematic instruction of AAS. (And as much as dd doesn't think so, she really needs help with spelling and word attack skills.)

 

TIA.

[SophiaH]

Or does anyone have any better ideas for developing better word attack skills? She reads books on a 5th-6th grade level, but has trouble sounding out unfamiliar words. She is an auditory spatial learner, terrible speller, has wonderful reading comprehension, and rules are pretty much worthless to her. Even if she can get a rule down (after weeks of daily review, if we're lucky), she cannot apply it--it's meaningless to her.

 

We just started Sequential Spelling, and I really think the patterns will help her spelling.

 

And maybe I should clarify--dd much prefers independent work, but she really needs something guided (even if it's a worksheet), or she doesn't always "get" it when done only on her own. I have to guide her through her MM worksheets and LL, for example, or she will miss the gist of the instructions. She can read them fine, but is not at all detail oriented and doesn't read carefully.

 

Okay, so now I'm just rambling...:tongue_smilie:

[SophiaH]

Old thread, but STILL frustrated with spelling. :banghead:

 

Right now, we're getting close to the end of AAS 2 and I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase the next level. My main concern is her being unable to sound out long, unfamiliar words; she just guesses. Even though she can easily separate out phonemes in AAS by sight and sound, when she's reading, she doesn't seem to see the different syllables in multi-syllabic words even when I sound the word out syllable by syllable. She also spells phonetically (if that). She does not have a good visual memory.

 

What I'm looking for:

She needs something more than lists of words, although rules are in one ear and out the other. She really needs context, and I'm looking for something that would incorporate progressively harder dictation. The dictation where we're at in AAS is too easy for her, although I suspect AAS 3 would bump up the level of dictation(?). But I'm still concerned that many people seem to complain that the words in AAS continue to be too easy.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? I'm really at a loss, and wondering if I'm just worrying about it too much and it'll come with time?

[Jen500]

We used AAS briefly and then switched to HTTS. HTTS is working much better for my dc because although they don't know all the spelling rules, they can pretty much already spell all the words in AAS. HTTS has more difficult words as the grade level increases, and the workbook makes it much more independent than AAS. I do use the teacher's book (covers all grade levels) for more dictation, but all of the rules are in the workbooks too.

[Dana]

I don't know that I'll be much help.

 

My son used to do wild guessing when reading words and refused to sound out words. I think he finally became willing to make the attempt - either because he matured to the point where he was willing, or because I beat him down by yelling when he refused and encouraging when he made an attempt. :rolleyes:

 

The dictation in AAS isn't nearly as strong as the dictation in WWE (Writing With Ease). We are in AAS Level 2 (I've also looked ahead in AAS 3&4 and it still isn't as much as WWE). We're in WWE Level 2.

 

Having my son segment words helped in making the transition to spelling on his own. When he asked for help spelling a word, I have him segment it. Sometimes I have him use the tiles as he segments and that really helps. I'll see him move his finger for segmenting when he's sounding something out. It was a huge battle when we started :)

 

For sounding out a word, could you spell it with the AAS tiles on the board, then have your daughter move the tiles (segmenting) to sound it out? Maybe that might help with making the connection.

[SophiaH]

Yay! I got a response! :lol:

 

Thanks, Jen! That's it exactly. She can already spell all the words in AAS and so she kind of zones out while we're doing the lesson. I know that she would love something a little more independent, too. I'm sure I would get the TM, if I go this route, as the dictation is very important to me.

 

What levels are you using? What is the dictation like for say a 3rd grade level? The only sample of the dictation I could find was on CBD and it was one of the first pages, dictating CVC words. Does it go into sentence dictation or longer? Thanks for your help!

[PeterPan]

Mommahawk--I hate to tell you this, but the only thing that changed my dd to make her able to sound out words was vision therapy. It was never a curriculum problem but an eye problem. We TRIED AND TRIED, groan, to get her to sound out words. She would read the beginning sound, end sound, and guess the middle. After two months of VT she started trying to sound out words on her own!! Go figure. And yes, she's always been a very good reader (will read a LoTR volume in a day), poor (though above grade level, just not confident or intuitive) speller. We've done SWR, lots of dictation, the whole nine yards. I put all that aside when we started VT. Now that we're about done I'm starting back at the beginning with AAS, and it's going very, very well. As you say, we bump it up a lot using the tm for HTTS. You don't want the workbooks, just the tm. But really and truly, this would have done NO GOOD 6 months ago. You need to know why she's not sounding out words before you can fix it. If it's her eyes and visual processing, you have to fix that first.

 

Just for your trivia, before we started VT I did some digit span testing with her. She stumbled over digit spans the same way she did with trying to sound out words. In other words it was a processing issue and had nothing to do with curriculum.

[SophiaH]

I think he finally became willing to make the attempt - either because he matured to the point where he was willing, or because I beat him down by yelling when he refused and encouraging when he made an attempt. :rolleyes:

LOL!

 

The dictation in AAS isn't nearly as strong as the dictation in WWE (Writing With Ease). We are in AAS Level 2 (I've also looked ahead in AAS 3&4 and it still isn't as much as WWE). We're in WWE Level 2.

 

Having my son segment words helped in making the transition to spelling on his own. When he asked for help spelling a word, I have him segment it. Sometimes I have him use the tiles as he segments and that really helps. I'll see him move his finger for segmenting when he's sounding something out. It was a huge battle when we started :)

I'm familiar with those battles! That's good advice, though. I do have her segment a word when she asks for help spelling it. I will also give her part of a rule for her to finish reciting if one applies to the word, like in words that start with a /k/ sound: "Which one do we always try first?" "Why does a 'C' not work there?" She hates the tiles when we're doing a lesson, so I'd hate to torture her with them outside of a lesson! ;)

 

For sounding out a word, could you spell it with the AAS tiles on the board, then have your daughter move the tiles (segmenting) to sound it out? Maybe that might help with making the connection.

That's a good idea. One of the problems she will often have in spelling is the way she naturally spells a word could actually work, rule-wise. English unfortunately just has so many ways to spell a certain phoneme, like the /er/ sound at the end of words. Thanks, Dana, for your input!

 

Totally OT, but this spelling error was really funny. The kids separated out their Halloween candy and dd organized it all into tubs. On one tub that had tootsie rolls in it she wrote:

"Toot

C Rolls"

:lol:

[*~Tina~*]

Did you try using the HTTS with AAS? I didn't see that anyone ever answered your question, but they are both Orton-Gillingham based so you should be able to use them together with relative ease.

 

Sequential Spelling is not a good choice for a child without good visual memory. It relies on their ability to recognize and recall the patterns being presented. Great for typical spellers, not so much for the persistent struggles.

 

Orton-Gillingham teaches the structure of words. Syllable types, syllable division, rules, exceptions, etc. This will be your best bet and you have many option in that regard. . .

 

AAS (using HTTS for more reinforcement, HTTS also has workbooks you can get)

Megawords

The Spell of Words

Solving Language Difficulties (great resource!)

Spellbound

 

Most of these, with the exception of AAS, are available through EPS books, or actually I think it's now called School Speciality Intervention.

 

Spelling can be very tough to remediate, particularly for children with weak visual memory. My dd has dyslexia and spelling is an ongoing challenge. We just keep at it. ;)

[Jen500]

Yes, the teacher's book has words, phrases, and complete sentences for dictation. A lot. Sometimes they are broken up into grade levels (like, for grade 3+, or grades 4-12, 6-12, etc.) The workbooks are by grade level, (book 2 is for grades 2-3, book 3 for grades 4-6)

Here are some sample dictations from the tm for the rule i before e:

 

(for grades 4+)

Phrases-

a friend of my niece

eight freight cars

received a letter

 

(for grades 6+)

conceited about her talents

deficient in vitamins

 

Sentences-

(grades 4+)

Our neighbor has a small piece of land.

The farmer could wield the tool with great skill.

 

(and grades 6+)

The heir to the throne was not sufficiently skilled in governing.

The thief was given a reprieve.

[PeterPan]

Here's a post from AngieW in Texas: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228144

 

Best description I've seen for dyseidetic dyslexia:

 

The terms dysphonetic and dyseidetic are words used to describe types of dyslexia.

 

Dysphonetic dyslexia, also called auditory dyslexia, refers to a difficulty connecting sounds to symbols. The child might have a hard time sounding out words, and spelling mistakes would show a very poor grasp of phonics.

 

The dyseidetic child, on the other hand, generally has a good grasp of phonetic concepts. The prominent characteristic of the dyseidetic is the inability to revisualize the gestalt of the word. Usually, the child has little difficulty spelling words which may be long but are phonetically regular. It is the small but irregular nonphonetic words, such as what, the, talk, does, that create the greatest difficulty for this child.

 

Author Corinne Roth Smith lists the reading and spelling patterns of children with dyseidetic dyslexia (also called visual dyslexia):

 

* Confusion with letters that differ in orientation (b-d, p-q).

 

* Confusion with words that can be dynamically reversed (was-saw).

 

* Very limited sight vocabulary; few words are instantly recognized from their whole configuration — they need to be sounded out laboriously, as though being seen for the first time.

 

* Losing the place because one doesn’t instantly recognize what had already been read, as when switching one’s gaze from the right side of one line to the left side of the next line.

 

* Omitting letters and words because they weren’t visually noted.

 

* Masking the image of one letter, by moving the eye too rapidly to the subsequent letter, may result in omission of the first letter.

 

* Difficulty learning irregular words that can’t be sounded out (for example, sight).

 

* Difficulty with rapid retrieval of words due to visual retrieval weaknesses.

 

* Visual stimuli in reading prove so confusing that it is easier for the child to learn to read by first spelling the words orally and then putting them in print.

 

* Insertions, omissions, and substitutions, if the meaning of the passage is guiding reading.

 

* Strengths in left hemisphere language-processing, analytical and sequential abilities, and detail analysis; can laboriously sound out phonetically regular words even up to grade level.

 

* Difficulty recalling the shape of a letter when writing.

 

* Spells phonetically but not bizarrely (laf-laugh; bisnis-business).

 

* Can spell difficult phonetic words but not simple irregular words.

 

This is from the Audiblox website. I have never used that program or known anybody else who has. I do think they have the most complete description of dyseidetic dyslexia that I've ever seen.

[SophiaH]

Mommahawk--I hate to tell you this, but the only thing that changed my dd to make her able to sound out words was vision therapy. It was never a curriculum problem but an eye problem. We TRIED AND TRIED, groan, to get her to sound out words. She would read the beginning sound, end sound, and guess the middle. After two months of VT she started trying to sound out words on her own!! Go figure. And yes, she's always been a very good reader (will read a LoTR volume in a day), poor (though above grade level, just not confident or intuitive) speller. We've done SWR, lots of dictation, the whole nine yards. I put all that aside when we started VT. Now that we're about done I'm starting back at the beginning with AAS, and it's going very, very well. As you say, we bump it up a lot using the tm for HTTS. You don't want the workbooks, just the tm. But really and truly, this would have done NO GOOD 6 months ago. You need to know why she's not sounding out words before you can fix it. If it's her eyes and visual processing, you have to fix that first.

 

Just for your trivia, before we started VT I did some digit span testing with her. She stumbled over digit spans the same way she did with trying to sound out words. In other words it was a processing issue and had nothing to do with curriculum.

 

Thanks for chiming in, OhE. I've actually been trying to reason things out through curriculum, because I don't want to even think about something like vision problems!!! I have a bad habit of purposely putting things off or ignoring them when I don't want to deal with them. :blushing: It's been in the back of my mind, though, that something else might be going on. She has all the characteristics of stealth dyslexia, but I've just been hoping that because she's so bright, she'll be able to compensate for her difficulties like my dh has. Foolish, huh?

 

What is digit span testing? I'm not familiar with that. Would this be something in which her pediatrician would the first person with whom to talk?

[SophiaH]

Did you try using the HTTS with AAS? I didn't see that anyone ever answered your question, but they are both Orton-Gillingham based so you should be able to use them together with relative ease.

 

Sequential Spelling is not a good choice for a child without good visual memory. It relies on their ability to recognize and recall the patterns being presented. Great for typical spellers, not so much for the persistent struggles.

 

Orton-Gillingham teaches the structure of words. Syllable types, syllable division, rules, exceptions, etc. This will be your best bet and you have many option in that regard. . .

 

AAS (using HTTS for more reinforcement, HTTS also has workbooks you can get)

Megawords

The Spell of Words

Solving Language Difficulties (great resource!)

Spellbound

 

Most of these, with the exception of AAS, are available through EPS books, or actually I think it's now called School Speciality Intervention.

 

Spelling can be very tough to remediate, particularly for children with weak visual memory. My dd has dyslexia and spelling is an ongoing challenge. We just keep at it. ;)

 

I haven't tried them yet, although we are slowly moving through AAS. That's good to know about SS and visual memory. I quickly realized that it wasn't going to work out very well for dd. Thanks for your post; it gives me more to think about!

[SophiaH]

Yes, the teacher's book has words, phrases, and complete sentences for dictation. A lot. Sometimes they are broken up into grade levels (like, for grade 3+, or grades 4-12, 6-12, etc.) The workbooks are by grade level, (book 2 is for grades 2-3, book 3 for grades 4-6)

Here are some sample dictations from the tm for the rule i before e:

 

(for grades 4+)

Phrases-

a friend of my niece

eight freight cars

received a letter

 

(for grades 6+)

conceited about her talents

deficient in vitamins

 

Sentences-

(grades 4+)

Our neighbor has a small piece of land.

The farmer could wield the tool with great skill.

 

(and grades 6+)

The heir to the throne was not sufficiently skilled in governing.

The thief was given a reprieve.

 

Thanks so much for posting this. This is exactly what I was wondering. I'm glad it uses sentences, and I like that you can tailor the level to your child.

[PeterPan]

Heather, if you're already thinking stealth dyslexia, then it's time to stop dancing around it and get some evaluations. *I* would start with evaluation by a developmental optometrist from http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org It cost us around $250, was several hours, and showed us all kinds of things. If you have a problem, they'll find it. If you DON'T have a problem, they can tell you upfront and let you move on. But I'm telling you that spending more money on curriculum WON'T solve the problem if it's a visual processing things. They'll do the digit span testing as well.

 

Don't be bashful. Get over it. I was all freaked out about the whole dyslexia/2E thing when we started too. I felt like I had to slink around on the boards. There's just no explaining the incongruity of someone who can but can't, kwim? She can spell well but something isn't right. She can read well, but the reading isn't right. And the developmental optometrist didn't even blink an eye. I walked in, said my advanced reading 5th grader had something wrong with her reading that I could tell even if test scores and nothing else showed it, and they could SHOW it. They have infrared goggles to track eye movements with reading, so they could actually quantify the problem. They have nifty little gadgets and devices to break up how each eye is focusing and converging and determine the recovery rates on each thing. See they can fool you and pass a 20/20 test when the brain and eyes are having to work too hard to do it. The dev. opt. can actually quantify all this.

 

So find a good one and get evaluated. Find the BEST dev. optometrist you can find, a fellow through http://www.covd.org Wherever you get evaluated is where you'll want to do therapy (if you need it), so you want to find the best you can within say a 2-3 hour drive. The quality really varies, so shop around. Ours has a parent night once a month where you can meet one of the therapists and docs, hear their spiel, and get all your questions answered. This was instrumental in building my confidence that we were on the right track. I took my dd, and the therapist had an immediate rapore with her. The therapist made connections about all kinds of little things that I had missed. Your dd doesn't even know how to explain what she's seeing or whether her eye function is normal or not, as it's the only thing she knows. When she gets in with these people who understand eye function, you might be surprised at what comes out.

 

So no, I wouldn't buy more curriculum. I'd first get an evaluation, eliminate problems, THEN reteach. It's like night and day now teaching her. You just can't imagine.

[SophiaH]

Thank you.

 

There's just no explaining the incongruity of someone who can but can't, kwim? She can spell well but something isn't right. She can read well, but the reading isn't right.

THIS is it exactly. You know how I feel!! And I say that with relief! I'll check it out immediately.

[PeterPan]

Good! Let us know how it turns out! :)

[siloam]

Old thread, but STILL frustrated with spelling. :banghead:

 

Right now, we're getting close to the end of AAS 2 and I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase the next level. My main concern is her being unable to sound out long, unfamiliar words; she just guesses. Even though she can easily separate out phonemes in AAS by sight and sound, when she's reading, she doesn't seem to see the different syllables in multi-syllabic words even when I sound the word out syllable by syllable. She also spells phonetically (if that). She does not have a good visual memory.

 

Have you ever suspected dyselxia? Dyslexic students often stuggle to visually see the differences in shapes in long words. They lock onto the beginning and guess based on the shape of the beginning what the rest of the word should be. This is how when I read the Christian Left Behind series I read Nicolae as Nicolatte. Must have had coffee on the brain at the time. :D Dh and I were about 5 books in before he discovered what I had done.

 

Does she show any problems with hearing the difference between sounds? Like with pen and pin? Does she struggle to hear both sound with blends? Here is a test you can give to look for auditory problems. The third section would be your focus. If she can't pass it then LiPS is a program that teaches how the mouth feels, looks and sounds when making the different letter sounds. Those with auditory processing problems learn to use their other senses (look and feel) to help them find the right sound.

 

Another thing that I have found helped myself and my poor spellers is Seeing Stars. It works on developing the ability to see first letters then words in the mind using air wring and visualization. My kids picked it up pretty quickly, but it took me about 6 months to develop the ability. Before that if I tried to see a word in my mind I would see something like a cartoon filed with flowers and made up the word. It wasn't helpful for spelling. Now I can see the words in my mind either written or typed, I can change the color, but I still struggle to hold them in my mind. They tend to want to fade and wash out.

 

What I'm looking for:

She needs something more than lists of words, although rules are in one ear and out the other. She really needs context, and I'm looking for something that would incorporate progressively harder dictation. The dictation where we're at in AAS is too easy for her, although I suspect AAS 3 would bump up the level of dictation(?). But I'm still concerned that many people seem to complain that the words in AAS continue to be too easy.

The dictation does continue to build in AAS, and in level 3 you add the writing station, where you take words they have previously learned and add endings, then use them in a sentence together that the child makes up.

 

If there is dyslexia present realize it might be a long process. Generally here we do best learning in context, but with rules and such it just takes a long time for them to stick, then after we know them cold it takes time to start thinking through and applying them. It took my oldest two, who are good spellers with good visual memory, 5 years to memorize all the phonograms. Now I was picky about them getting the right order of sounds, because they are listed in order of frequency. My younger two have both visual and auditory dyslexia (thus the poor visual memory), and I don't want to contemplate how long it is going to take them. I know ds has been working on the first 26 phonograms since he was 5. He can go through the AAS level 1 cards and he knows them all cold in that context. Have him read on his own and he can read at an early 2nd grade level, remembering diphthongs from his speech therapy 2 years ago. Ask him to read to someone or spell and he starts having recall problems. Knowing it is one thing. To be able to recall it when put on the spot requires what I call over learning. Knowing it so well that you can do it in your sleep. Even then, if there is dyslexia, there will be times when you just can't remember.

 

The process I am using with AAS and my poor spellers is:

 

Day 1 dictate words to them via sound: bat /b/, /a/, /t/. Given they have auditory processing problems I don't want them to get it wrong in the first place. They spell it in sand or on a white board, then they do their air writing exercises and visualize the word.

 

Day 2 I give them the word and have them dictate the sounds to me /b/ /a/ /t/, then write it on a white board and visualize it.

 

Day 3 I give them the word and have them write it on the white board and visualize it.

 

Day 4 I give them the word, have them visualize it and write it out on paper.

 

It is a lot of work, and they are crawling through the material, but it does seem to be sticking.

 

Heather

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

Thanks for this thread. I've never heard of HTS. My son loves workbooks; this may be a good reinforcement to AAS for use.

[PeterPan]

Thanks for this thread. I've never heard of HTS. My son loves workbooks; this may be a good reinforcement to AAS for use.

 

You might look at a sample of the HTS workbooks on cbd or something first. I sold mine. If he likes workbooks, have you looked at Mad Libs or the Anti-Coloring books? Both would get him writing in a fun, age appropriate way. :)

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

You might look at a sample of the HTS workbooks on cbd or something first. I sold mine. If he likes workbooks, have you looked at Mad Libs or the Anti-Coloring books? Both would get him writing in a fun, age appropriate way. :)

I got him some Mad Libs for Christmas:)

 

My son is about 2 years ahead of the typical 1st grader, and he literally walks around with workbooks. He begged me to start Singapore in addition to RS, because RS didn't have workbooks. We just finished AAS 2 after beginning w/ AAS 1 at the end of June. I'd like to go a bit slower w/ 3 and have 'extra practice', so I think I'll check this out. Thanks

[SophiaH]

Have you ever suspected dyselxia? Dyslexic students often stuggle to visually see the differences in shapes in long words. They lock onto the beginning and guess based on the shape of the beginning what the rest of the word should be.

Yes, I have suspected, and she has almost all of the traits of stealth dyslexia. She reads on a 6th grade level silently with great comprehension (she says that she "speed reads"), yet writing is torturous. Her handwriting is not good and her math work is so sloppy that she often gets problems wrong just because she lines up the problem wrong or can't read what she wrote. She has to look up at our board with our AAS tiles on it to remember the difference between 'b' and 'd'. She has trouble with vowels and 'r' and 'l'. She will get a whole page wrong in Latin not because she doesn't understand but because she doesn't bother to read (or can't understand) the directions. A common conversation is: "Mom, I don't know how to do this." I read her the directions and she says, "Oh nevermind! That's easy!" Yet, she is absolutely brilliant, ya know? Her vocabulary...the way she makes connections...she is a real deep-thinker. It's that discrepancy that is so troublesome.

 

Does she show any problems with hearing the difference between sounds? Like with pen and pin? Does she struggle to hear both sound with blends?

No, not really. She seems to hear subtleties okay. The only trouble she has with blends is blends with 'r' in them. She'll often write something like 'crack' as 'kerack'.

Here is a test you can give to look for auditory problems. The third section would be your focus. If she can't pass it then LiPS is a program that teaches how the mouth feels, looks and sounds when making the different letter sounds. Those with auditory processing problems learn to use their other senses (look and feel) to help them find the right sound.

I've printed it off and I'm going to give her the test tomorrow. I don't think she will have any trouble with it, but I'll definitely check.

 

The dictation does continue to build in AAS, and in level 3 you add the writing station, where you take words they have previously learned and add endings, then use them in a sentence together that the child makes up.

Thanks for this information. I think I will just continue in AAS for the time. Level 2 should take us through the New Year anyway.

If there is dyslexia present realize it might be a long process. Generally here we do best learning in context, but with rules and such it just takes a long time for them to stick, then after we know them cold it takes time to start thinking through and applying them. It took my oldest two, who are good spellers with good visual memory, 5 years to memorize all the phonograms. Now I was picky about them getting the right order of sounds, because they are listed in order of frequency. My younger two have both visual and auditory dyslexia (thus the poor visual memory), and I don't want to contemplate how long it is going to take them. I know ds has been working on the first 26 phonograms since he was 5. He can go through the AAS level 1 cards and he knows them all cold in that context. Have him read on his own and he can read at an early 2nd grade level, remembering diphthongs from his speech therapy 2 years ago. Ask him to read to someone or spell and he starts having recall problems. Knowing it is one thing. To be able to recall it when put on the spot requires what I call over learning. Knowing it so well that you can do it in your sleep. Even then, if there is dyslexia, there will be times when you just can't remember.

My dd hasn't had much of a problem learning the phonograms, and I also am a stickler for the frequency order. But definitely applying them outside of AAS has been a bear. I've realized that my dd will need a while to get all the rules down, so even though she's actually beyond Level 2 in ability, I'm taking it slow to really make sure she gets the rules. It seems to be sticking a little better this second time around with AAS (we took a break last year).

 

Thanks so much for your detailed response. I'm sure I'll be coming back to read through it again!

 

On another note, I found on another thread a link to a student screening. It says if you get a score of more than 31, you should definitely seek a vision screening. I scored my dd at a 131!!! Her worst section was "Getting it on Paper"; that section alone scored 37! :eek:

 

I'm calling her pediatrician tomorrow to try to get a referral to a clinic in OKC. I've been putting off all of my concerns for way too long. It's time I at least investigated the gut feeling that I have that something else is going on.

[MerryAtHope]

Her handwriting is not good and her math work is so sloppy that she often gets problems wrong just because she lines up the problem wrong or can't read what she wrote.

 

If you were not already convinced that you should get an evaluation from a developmental optometrist, I was going to tell you that not lining up her math problems correctly is another sign she may have vision tracking problems!

 

I'm calling her pediatrician tomorrow to try to get a referral to a clinic in OKC. I've been putting off all of my concerns for way too long. It's time I at least investigated the gut feeling that I have that something else is going on.

 

I hope your pediatrician is helpful but I doubt many ped's has heard of VT. Also some ped's are not the most supportive of VT. I strongly recommend making sure whoever you are referred to is on the list at www.covd.org. They will help you.

 

My son was really struggling with multi-syllable words (in fact, having him try to read unrelated words in Webster's Speller is what convinced me to pursue VT with him. Turns out he has 3 vision processing issues, plus he had to work on ALL of the primitive reflexes (A good VT will evaluate for these as well, because VT is often not successful if all of the primitive reflexes are not integrated).

 

AAS--by the end of Level 7 they'll be spelling at a HS level, so it does get there. You start to see everything come together the further you progress. The rules are presented on easier words so kids can be successful with them. The dictations definitely get longer and harder too. If you have a child with any working memory issues, they'll be challenged at some point. My dd's working memory was only at 4-5 words when we started & she can do 8-10 now. My son was around 8 & he can do 10 & sometimes more, but sometimes struggles when it's over 10. Level 5 dictations have been a challenge in that way plus with the longer words.

 

Just some info if you decide to continue with AAS.

 

Hope VT will help your dd. My son said after a few months with VT that reading became easier--and his test scores went up a lot too. This last week he said he can read his General Science book as fast as the audio version now--quite an improvement for him! Hang in there!

 

Merry :-)

[Lovedtodeath]

You might pick up the book Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties. The vision therapist I went to found nothing but ADD with Emily, but the visual perception exercises in that book did help. There are also things for other problems, like auditory, etc. so if vision isn't the problem you will have info on where else to look.

 

And... yes, I used the workbooks. I used them with AAS and with Phonics Road when we need review on something. I am using Explode the Code 4 at the moment because we needed to review syllabication. The HTTS manual also has more difficult words and sentences that you could use along with your AAS lesson. I found it to be a bit redundant. We would be on an AAS lesson for a longer time that way and then find that we didn't need the later AAS lessons.

 

My kids are being very disruptive. I hope I am making sense.

Edited December 6, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[PeterPan]

I got him some Mad Libs for Christmas:)

 

My son is about 2 years ahead of the typical 1st grader, and he literally walks around with workbooks. He begged me to start Singapore in addition to RS, because RS didn't have workbooks. We just finished AAS 2 after beginning w/ AAS 1 at the end of June. I'd like to go a bit slower w/ 3 and have 'extra practice', so I think I'll check this out. Thanks

 

Why slow him down? I wouldn't say he's shockingly ahead, looking at the things you're doing. He's doing similar stuff to what my dd did at that age. Are you doing CHOW (Hillyer) with SOTW? CHOW has a wonderful workbook we used. You have to order it directly from Calvert. It has awesome outlines with fill-in-the-blanks to go with each lesson. So you read the lesson aloud to him (if that's your normal habit), and he can follow along and fill in the blanks as you read. It's really quite nice. It's just enough for an advanced 1st grader, not too much. It's labeled 4th grade I think.

[PeterPan]

Just to double or triple ditto what Merry said, I'll re-emphasize that *you* should call around and pick out your VT doc. There can be HUGE variations in them. I called 10+ in our area, say in a 2 hour drive, and they ranged from rarely doing therapy (whip out the notebook, do what they learned in college) to huge places with full-time therapists. Finding someone who is a Fellow with COVD is a good start. But call around. Talk with clients. See if they have a parent info workshop. Our place does sports vision and regular vision therapy as well as PACE. The therapists work full-time doing it, attend conventions, etc., so they bring a lot to the table with methods and experience.

 

Our ped office is pretty accomodating for referrals. Basically I picked the (fill in blank), called and told the nurse, and they pushed the paperwork. Yours would probably do the same for you. You shouldn't have to wait a year to get into a developmental optometrist. I think we got in within a month or just a few weeks. It felt like a long time, haha, but it really wasn't.

[happyhappyjoyjoy]

Why slow him down? I wouldn't say he's shockingly ahead, looking at the things you're doing. He's doing similar stuff to what my dd did at that age. Are you doing CHOW (Hillyer) with SOTW? CHOW has a wonderful workbook we used. You have to order it directly from Calvert. It has awesome outlines with fill-in-the-blanks to go with each lesson. So you read the lesson aloud to him (if that's your normal habit), and he can follow along and fill in the blanks as you read. It's really quite nice. It's just enough for an advanced 1st grader, not too much. It's labeled 4th grade I think.

 

No we're using CWH (Connecting With History). It is a Catholic history curriculum. I want to go through AAS 3 slower, but I don't want to slow him down. I'm comparing him to what they are doing in first grade at the school he went to kindergarten for. His spelling and writing are beyond that. His reading is way beyond that. My next son is right on target for that and is not reading at 4 1/2. Where as this one is flying through everything, but a spelling workbook would provide some good review in the van. I just want to make sure he has the rules cemented before we learn a lot more. It's no biggie really. I found it on amazon cheap and if it doesn't work I'll save it for his brother or pass it on.