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cherylw
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This is our first year to homeschool, mainly due to my 9 yr old ds who is really behind in reading, which obviously affects other areas. We didn't feel like he would be able to do the work 3rd grade required. He is on an early 2nd grade level. I've switched to an intense phonics program a couple of weeks ago, hoping it will help. My main concern is his inability to remember words he has already read within the same text. I've decided to have him tested for dyslexia. Other homeschooling moms I've discussed this problem with say don't worry the reading will come, he's just delayed. But on the professional side (internet research and a specialist) say otherwise. I believe that if we had offered a different learning approach earlier that he would not be having this problem...or at least not as bad. His 2nd grade teacher was a first year teacher which I now realize was a bad mix. He really gets frustrated and I shamefully admit I get frustrated with him too. He loves to look at books..ones with pictures but has no desire to try to read them. He can design and build amazing things with legos, likes to draw boys stuff and does really well with that. Is this just a right brain/left brain thing? All other areas are normal..meaning no social problems. I'm looking for anyone who might have had some similiar experiences.

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:grouphug:

 

My remedial students coming out of the public schools generally have had a lot of sight words and other whole language practices. Nonsense words and spelling have been helpful for their remediation. Before I started using nonsense words, it took a lot longer to remediate my students--4 to 10 times longer, actually! I also like to use all uppercase and work from the white board in big letters. The uppercase hides word shape, making it so they can't guess from word shape. It also helps prevent B/D confusion and it is easier to write neatly in uppercase. Big letters are good because even in there are no underlying vision problems, you don't want to have to squint or work harder at something that is hard already.

 

My concentration game makes both real and nonsense words and is a fun way to slip in extra phonics practice. (Even my adult students enjoy it!)

 

You could also have him try my online lessons and then the ideas on my how to tutor page followed by Webster's Speller. I've found the syllables in the speller very helpful for my remedial students.

 

Sight words and whole language methods can cause some of the same symptoms as dyslexia.

Edited by ElizabethB
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Here are a couple of websites that can help you figure things out:

http://www.dys-add.com

http://www.mislabeledchild.com (I highly recommend the book.)

http://www.visualspatial.com

http://www.dyslexia.yale.edu

 

If he does have dyslexia, being in school might have delayed his remediation, but it didn't cause it. The brain is wired a little differently in dyslexic people, and there is emerging evidence that it's hard-wired by 4-5 months of pregnancy. The inability to remember words from one page to the next is a classic sign of dyslexia. If he has it, a standard phonics program will most likely continue to frustrate both of you and you'll need to switch to an Orton-Gillingham based program. You can find out more about that on the first website above.

 

If he doesn't have dyslexia and poor teaching caused his reading difficulties, you can probably have him up to speed by the end of the school year.

 

One of the websites above describes visual spatial learners (VSL). Dyslexia refers to "left-brain" weaknesses and VSL refers to "right-brain" strengths (a gross oversimplication, but useful for non-technical conversations :tongue_smilie: ). Many, but not all, dyslexic people are also VSLs. It sounds like your son might be. I have one caveat about the website: I don't agree with their recommendations about teaching reading. Other than that, it's a great website, imo.

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My main concern is his inability to remember words he has already read within the same text. I've decided to have him tested for dyslexia. Other homeschooling moms I've discussed this problem with say don't worry the reading will come, he's just delayed. But on the professional side (internet research and a specialist) say otherwise.

He loves to look at books..ones with pictures but has no desire to try to read them.

 

This describes my daughter. I would definitely have him tested, because then at least you know what you are dealing with. My daughter loved looking at books from the time she was 18 mos. old, would carelfully turn pages (unlike her older brothers at that age), and would tell thestory out loud the whole time she was "reading." I was shocked when I began phonics with her and it wasn't sticking AT ALL.

 

Many moms also told me not to worry, but I wish I had had her tested earlier and had changed course earlier. I was doing phonics with her, but I really needed an Orton-Gillingham (not sure of the spelling there) method to use with her, as she is dyslexic. We are now using Barton, and she is making progress, but it is slow.

 

Try not to get frustrated; reading is really hard for these kiddos. It also takes them a lot longer to have a word stick in their memory bank than it does a child who has no reading issues.

 

As for the not remembering the same words within the same text, my dd did that quite a bit and I couldn't figure out why she could read a word correctly once and then a few lines down, she would read it as a different word. I finally figured out that she was guessing, which she used to do quite a bit. To remedy this, we practiced reading nonsense words every day. She would read five nonsense sentences and then re-read them two more times. If she guessed, she had to re-read the entire sentence. ElizabethB has nonsense words on her site, which is an excellent resource, by the way.

 

Also, once he has a dyslexia diagnosis, if that is indeed his issue, you can joing Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic, and then he can listen to books and be hearing language that he is not yet capable of reading. They have a plethora of titles.

 

Blessings to you!

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My son has sensory-processisng disorder, and has many of the same problems. we're working on treating the SPD first, and then the rest should improve. (many with the disorder improve after treatment)

I would suggest also looking at a processing disorder.

do check visual motor integration - that affects reading and writing

ability to track letters across a page affect reading

a child can have 20/20 vision, and have problems with their vision - other things are NOT routinely checked for. For that, you need a developmental optomitrist and specify what you want checked.

 

dyslexia is good to check, but don't limit yourself to checking only for that with his eyes.

Edited by gardenmom5
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This is our first year to homeschool, mainly due to my 9 yr old ds who is really behind in reading, which obviously affects other areas. We didn't feel like he would be able to do the work 3rd grade required. He is on an early 2nd grade level. I've switched to an intense phonics program a couple of weeks ago, hoping it will help. My main concern is his inability to remember words he has already read within the same text. I've decided to have him tested for dyslexia. Other homeschooling moms I've discussed this problem with say don't worry the reading will come, he's just delayed. But on the professional side (internet research and a specialist) say otherwise. I believe that if we had offered a different learning approach earlier that he would not be having this problem...or at least not as bad. His 2nd grade teacher was a first year teacher which I now realize was a bad mix. He really gets frustrated and I shamefully admit I get frustrated with him too. He loves to look at books..ones with pictures but has no desire to try to read them. He can design and build amazing things with legos, likes to draw boys stuff and does really well with that. Is this just a right brain/left brain thing? All other areas are normal..meaning no social problems. I'm looking for anyone who might have had some similiar experiences.

My son also has (had?) a very poor visual memory for words. It practically drove me insane--he'd have to sound out little words each and every time he encountered them. Here's what we're doing.

 

We use an Orton-Gillingham based program, (Barton), that was already mentioned above. I combine that with some other multi-sensory, large and small motor techniques to learning common words through a portion of the Seeing Stars program by Lindamood-Bell. Those common words are often taught as simply "sight" words with the whole language approach, but there are ways to teach them within phonics instruction. (ElizabethB's websight has info on how to do that.)

 

It helped a lot with my child's fluency to focus on learning common words. We also work on fluency drill of both real words and nonsense words from Barton. He still needs to "sound-out" those words. Some children learn words after simply seeing them a few times, while others (like my son and perhaps yours) might need to read a word over a hundred times before knowing it.

 

----------------

 

ElizabethB--:confused:--I have a question for you. When I read threads like this and you comment on sight word teaching, I often wonder what you think of the combined approach that I use. What do you think of what I'm doing? My son has both a very poor visual memory for words, and he had some auditory/phonetic processing problems too. I hope the auditory processing problems are mostly remediated by now. We went through the LiPS program up to CVC words, then switched over to Bartons. We use Bartons (we're now in the middle of level 4) along with portions of Seeing Stars. He gets both strong phonics, while we also drill common words through the Seeing Stars flashcards and workbook. We include some sky writing and finger writing techniques, and occassionally I resort to other creative ideas for common words he especially has difficulty learning. I tell him a few times why certain letters make certain less common but phonetically correct sounds, (like s pronounced as z in words like is and was). I usually keep my finger at the left side of the word to point to where it starts, occassionally I point to the silent e and move my finger to the vowel that it makes long, etc. As he reads the flashcards I don't mind if he sounds them out, but eventually I want him to simply say the word quickly.

 

As I wrote, this has helped his fluency, but he still has a long was to go wth sounding out words he hasn't seen 100 times before. It took him 30 minutes the other day to read one page of a Hardy Boys book. (He really wanted to read that book and so I let him read it to me. It nearly drove me insane.) I see some progress, but it is painfully slow. At least he's beginning to recognize words that he just read a moment before in another sentence. Previously it was as if he had never encountered the word before. I'm also starting to hear him blending sounds on our Barton drills under his breath as we repeat the word drills daily.

 

I really worked hard to keep him from developing the dyslexic bad habit of guessing. After I recognized his reading problems were far outside the normal range, I stopped asking him to read to me for a while and we worked on remediating the situation. He sometimes tries to guess at words, but at this point he's better at reading than he is at guessing. Up until last week's attempt at the Hardy Boys, he has predominately read only highly controlled texts.

 

I hope I'm not hijacking the thread. That's a detailed description of what I do and have done with my very slow reader, (who is slowly making progress.)

Edited by merry gardens
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Thanks for all the input and advice..I will check into the references some of you provided. We did just recently switch to an Orton-Gillingham online program called Reading Horizons. We use a workbook that goes along with each lesson too. I'm liking it so far but still to soon to tell if it's helping or not. I chose to do 2 or 3 short lessons a day as opposed to having one long hour session that I think would cause both of us to go insane. I can so relate to the feeling of going insane when it takes so long for him to read a short passage. One thing this program does is track how long it takes him to read a short passage. Not that I'm focusing solely on speed but fluency. I'm having him re-read the same passage over several times until he becomes fluent in it, before we move on to the next. I hope this is good for him.

 

I just started reading TWTM and I wondering if I can even take this approach with him and my other ds. Don't know if I need to start a new thread for this question but I love the concept and the references she gives. It just seems practical (being that I'm new to homeschooling). I like the systematic layout that would help keep me on track... but I also feel that we are so far behind from what she has laid out in each level that we could never catch up. It also seems the it may be geered toward kids who love to learn...mine do not..it's just a chore to them.:confused:

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I began homeschooling my oldest ds after he completed 2nd grade in our very well regarded school district but was still unable to read. We used a dyslexia clinic called Lindamood-Bell for the initial evaluation and tutoring. His testing showed that he had strong phonics skills, but his actually reading was painfully slow and labored. My son is also amazingly mechnically inclined. He's a lego maniac and now is involved in programing robotic thingys.

 

I want to encourage you to incorporate repeated readings within your reading lessons. Phonics instruction is important, but for a child with slow, labored reading, repeated readings are really the key.

 

Here's are links to a to a prior post of mine:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2147698&highlight=stacy#post2147698

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As for trying determine a dyslexia diagnosis, that's a whole other post, but I've also gone down that road. It's so, so important to determine whether the reading difficulties stem from a visual processing, an auditory processing, or a phonological processing issue....

 

or all three. :001_huh:

 

(My 9 yo has diagnosed weaknesses in all 3 areas. Actually, the phonological processing weakness is a subset of her APD diagnosis.)

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I just started reading TWTM and I wondering if I can even take this approach with him and my other ds. Don't know if I need to start a new thread for this question but I love the concept and the references she gives. It just seems practical (being that I'm new to homeschooling). I like the systematic layout that would help keep me on track... but I also feel that we are so far behind from what she has laid out in each level that we could never catch up. It also seems the it may be geered toward kids who love to learn...mine do not..it's just a chore to them.:confused:

:grouphug:

 

It can be a goal to get there, but I would not try to fit in everything--reading is foundational. It is also best to work like you are working, small bits spread throughout the day. The brain stops accepting info after a while if you do too much at once! There are some great posts from the ladies here about how they have adapted a classical mindset to what and how their children learn. You can do a lot of your other subjects via books on tape, read alouds, and things like SOTW CDs. As you figure out what they like to learn and how they like to learn, they will enjoy things more. My daughter is just now starting to really enjoy school and enjoy learning. Her favorite subject is now grammar thanks to a switch to MCT! Who would have thought grammar could be fun?

 

ElizabethB--:confused:--I have a question for you. When I read threads like this and you comment on sight word teaching, I often wonder what you think of the combined approach that I use. What do you think of what I'm doing? My son has both a very poor visual memory for words, and he had some auditory/phonetic processing problems too. I hope the auditory processing problems are mostly remediated by now. We went through the LiPS program up to CVC words, then switched over to Bartons. We use Bartons (we're now in the middle of level 4) along with portions of Seeing Stars. He gets both strong phonics, while we also drill common words through the Seeing Stars flashcards and workbook. We include some sky writing and finger writing techniques, and occassionally I resort to other creative ideas for common words he especially has difficulty learning. I tell him a few times why certain letters make certain less common but phonetically correct sounds, (like s pronounced as z in words like is and was). I usually keep my finger at the left side of the word to point to where it starts, occassionally I point to the silent e and move my finger to the vowel that it makes long, etc. As he reads the flashcards I don't mind if he sounds them out, but eventually I want him to simply say the word quickly.

 

As I wrote, this has helped his fluency, but he still has a long was to go wth sounding out words he hasn't seen 100 times before. It took him 30 minutes the other day to read one page of a Hardy Boys book. (He really wanted to read that book and so I let him read it to me. It nearly drove me insane.) I see some progress, but it is painfully slow. At least he's beginning to recognize words that he just read a moment before in another sentence. Previously it was as if he had never encountered the word before. I'm also starting to hear him blending sounds on our Barton drills under his breath as we repeat the word drills daily.

 

I really worked hard to keep him from developing the dyslexic bad habit of guessing. After I recognized his reading problems were far outside the normal range, I stopped asking him to read to me for a while and we worked on remediating the situation. He sometimes tries to guess at words, but at this point he's better at reading than he is at guessing. Up until last week's attempt at the Hardy Boys, he has predominately read only highly controlled texts.

 

I hope I'm not hijacking the thread. That's a detailed description of what I do and have done with my very slow reader, (who is slowly making progress.)

 

:grouphug: I think what you are doing sounds great!

 

I think it is helpful to go through different programs and see what parts of each are helpful. I have around 20 phonics programs, and have a core of 5 or 6 that I use with most students, but each student get a little different emphasis depending on what they struggle with, some books are better suited for certain problems than others. Also, I have some exercises and explanations that are necessary for ESL students and students with speech difficulties that I do not do with my other students. (And, some students who learn really slow, I keep switching out books so I will not be driven crazy, I am happier teaching er ir ur 50 times if it is 10 times from 5 different books instead of 50 times from the same book.)

 

It is frustrating. One of my students who I suspect had dyslexia (he was not diagnosed, but his dad was diagnosed with dyslexia but could read well, albeit slowly, due to having learned with a very old-fashioned phonics program that emphasized rules and spelling) was very frustrating to listen to read. He also had sight word problems to overcome, and had not learned all the phonics necessary to sound out anything. He had a very good memory and could keep track of a story even though he read slow, but his dad had to take notes as he read or he would lose track of what was happening.

 

Progress is good! If he really wants to read "real" books, I would teach the Dolch sight words phonetically. There was a good reason they picked them--they do account for 50% of any average written text. I just object to teaching them as wholes because of the damage I've seen it do to my students. For a normal student, it also makes no sense to work really hard to teach them a few months before they would see that word in their normal course of phonics, but for an older child or a young child who is extremely motivated to read books, I recommend teaching them phonetically.

 

You could also try my UPP. It is confusing for some of my students, but helpful for others. Since the markings are all diacritical, you can add your own to your own text once the system has been learned. You should also try both the hyphen and non-hyphen version--some students find the hyphens helpful, some find them confusing. My students that the UPP helps enjoy being able to read 12th grade level texts before they could read that level on their own in a normal print. (The Antifederalist and all the Bible texts are around the 12th grade level.) I also have all the Dolch words in UPP on my sight word page.

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Thanks for all the input and advice..I will check into the references some of you provided. We did just recently switch to an Orton-Gillingham online program called Reading Horizons. We use a workbook that goes along with each lesson too. I'm liking it so far but still to soon to tell if it's helping or not. I chose to do 2 or 3 short lessons a day as opposed to having one long hour session that I think would cause both of us to go insane. I can so relate to the feeling of going insane when it takes so long for him to read a short passage. One thing this program does is track how long it takes him to read a short passage. Not that I'm focusing solely on speed but fluency. I'm having him re-read the same passage over several times until he becomes fluent in it, before we move on to the next. I hope this is good for him.

 

I just started reading TWTM and I wondering if I can even take this approach with him and my other ds. Don't know if I need to start a new thread for this question but I love the concept and the references she gives. It just seems practical (being that I'm new to homeschooling). I like the systematic layout that would help keep me on track... but I also feel that we are so far behind from what she has laid out in each level that we could never catch up. It also seems the it may be geered toward kids who love to learn...mine do not..it's just a chore to them.:confused:

 

Yes, you can absolutely still persue a classical education even with a dyslexic student. Remember that classical education is about content as well as process. While the process (learning to read and write fluently) will differ from an "average" kid, you can still approach the content from a classical perspective; history and science can be taught in a 4 year rotation, reading good quality literature, using classical strategies like copywork, dictation, narration. The one exception, in my opinion, is Latin. Learning languages can be so difficult for dyslexic kids. I suggest you choose only one approach, either Latin or a modern language, not both.

 

Even though the thought may upset you, back up to where he is performing academically and teach him there. Use the recommended WTM strategies/curricula a year or two behind. The WTM way offers a superior education even if your child extends grammar stage to 5 or 6 years or continues with logic stage materials for longer than "average".

 

HTH, Stacy

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:grouphug:

 

It can be a goal to get there, but I would not try to fit in everything--reading is foundational. It is also best to work like you are working, small bits spread throughout the day. The brain stops accepting info after a while if you do too much at once! There are some great posts from the ladies here about how they have adapted a classical mindset to what and how their children learn. You can do a lot of your other subjects via books on tape, read alouds, and things like SOTW CDs. As you figure out what they like to learn and how they like to learn, they will enjoy things more. My daughter is just now starting to really enjoy school and enjoy learning. Her favorite subject is now grammar thanks to a switch to MCT! Who would have thought grammar could be fun?

 

 

 

:grouphug: I think what you are doing sounds great!

 

I think it is helpful to go through different programs and see what parts of each are helpful. I have around 20 phonics programs, and have a core of 5 or 6 that I use with most students, but each student get a little different emphasis depending on what they struggle with, some books are better suited for certain problems than others. Also, I have some exercises and explanations that are necessary for ESL students and students with speech difficulties that I do not do with my other students. (And, some students who learn really slow, I keep switching out books so I will not be driven crazy, I am happier teaching er ir ur 50 times if it is 10 times from 5 different books instead of 50 times from the same book.)

 

It is frustrating. One of my students who I suspect had dyslexia (he was not diagnosed, but his dad was diagnosed with dyslexia but could read well, albeit slowly, due to having learned with a very old-fashioned phonics program that emphasized rules and spelling) was very frustrating to listen to read. He also had sight word problems to overcome, and had not learned all the phonics necessary to sound out anything. He had a very good memory and could keep track of a story even though he read slow, but his dad had to take notes as he read or he would lose track of what was happening.

 

Progress is good! If he really wants to read "real" books, I would teach the Dolch sight words phonetically. There was a good reason they picked them--they do account for 50% of any average written text. I just object to teaching them as wholes because of the damage I've seen it do to my students. For a normal student, it also makes no sense to work really hard to teach them a few months before they would see that word in their normal course of phonics, but for an older child or a young child who is extremely motivated to read books, I recommend teaching them phonetically.

 

You could also try my UPP. It is confusing for some of my students, but helpful for others. Since the markings are all diacritical, you can add your own to your own text once the system has been learned. You should also try both the hyphen and non-hyphen version--some students find the hyphens helpful, some find them confusing. My students that the UPP helps enjoy being able to read 12th grade level texts before they could read that level on their own in a normal print. (The Antifederalist and all the Bible texts are around the 12th grade level.) I also have all the Dolch words in UPP on my sight word page.

Thank you. That clarifies things better for me. You (and others professionals experienced with dyslexia) frequently point out problems with learning words by sight. It seems it isn't so much learning words by "sight" but how some people teach words only by sight without teaching phonics. I wondered if there was something more to your objections to "sight words" than that. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I almost want to cry after reading this thread, it is exactly what I needed. My 9yo has such difficulty with reading; it is like torture to hear him read aloud and he canNOT read in his head. Like other kids mentioned here, he is extremely mechanically-inclined and literally will spend 8-10 hours a day building with Legos. I'm sensing a trend. :001_smile:

 

I have all of the links mentioned here open in tabs and can't wait to dig in, but I wanted to say THANK YOU.

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Well I have one - he is 8 years old. We are using SWR which has helped him actually hear the sounds in words, and he can now recognize the 'th' sound. Of course, SWR does not teach syllable division, grrr. So I'm going to start him on Elizabeth's phonics lessons, and we are going to start doing some repeat readings. I have McGuffey's and a few nice little readers, and we are going to work on recalling his spelling words from SWR too. After Elizabeth's lessons I'm going to have him read the multi-syllable words from Webster's. I think seeing the patterns will help him.

 

But he sounds like your boy - great attitude, works hard, amazing builder - he builds things I'd never think of! I'm really glad to know we aren't alone!

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it is like torture to hear him read aloud and he canNOT read in his head.

will spend 8-10 hours a day building with Legos. I'm sensing a trend. :001_smile:

 

 

 

I'm with you on the torture!:) I can only sit for short periods of time for him to read aloud so he will not get so stressed but ALSO for me to not go insane! He can't read silently either. I will also add that he doesn't get in a hurry about anything!...unless threatened or something. I mean getting ready, cleaning room, anything.. he is slow. I believe that this is a touch of laziness. He has such a carefree attitude that it really doesn't seem to bother him that he can't read. He just wants to have fun.

 

I do have some hope though because my husband says he was the same way with reading and things really didn't "click" with him until the end of third grade. Now as an adult he reads fine, although slower than I do but he retains more from what he reads...if he does read that is. He is a residential contractor and does beautiful carpentary work. (trend??)

So I also think that one of our problems as a family is that we are not a reading family. I would love to get the TV out of the living room, but DH doesn't feel the same way. :lol:

 

 

Also, we tried dictation for the first time this week...again going insane!

I had to give him every letter write. He can make up the sounds of the words alone but they are badly misspelled. That also goes for my ds10...horrible speller! Shoud I let them write it on their own and make them go back and make the corrections.

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It is important to instill a self confidence in a slow reader child. One way to do that is to ask them about their likes and dislikes. Patience is really important when dealing with a slow learner student. Kids love fairy stories and it would be a great way to let them encourage to read more. Lastly, do not ever give up on a child. They need adult's guidance more than anything else.

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Guest beatrixpoul

We recently move to Orton-Gillingham reading online, called Horizons. We use a workbook that goes with each lesson, too. I'm liking so far, but still too early to say whether it helps or not. I decided to do 2 or 3 short sessions a day rather than having a hour long session, which I think makes us so mad. I can so relate to feeling crazy when it takes so long that she can read a short distance.

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Listening to my dyslexic dd sound out an entire story at 10-12wpm was torture.

 

I don't think I've seen anyone use a path like my dd took.

 

vision therapy - 1st grade

I See Sam sets 1-4 - started 3/4 of the way through 1st grade and finished mid to late 2nd grade

Headsprout - early to late 2nd grade

Funnix level 2 - late 2nd grade through early 3rd grade

Phonics for Reading level 2 - late 2nd grade through early 3rd grade

timed, repeated readings - early 3rd grade through 4th grade

LOTS of nonsense words - early 3rd grade through 4th grade

Phonics for Reading level 3 - mid 3rd grade through 4th grade

Rewards Reading Secondary - 5th grade

 

She was reading at grade level by the end of 4th grade.

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  • 6 months later...

Oh, wow, I just happened to click on my subscribed threads link and saw that I had posted here. I have a success story!

 

My 9yo was tested in January for dyslexia; the tester was awesome, but she could not "label" him because she has a PhD., not an M.D. Fine with me, I just wanted to know what to do! I followed some of what she suggested and also searched and researched and then did all of that again, and ended up taking the plunge to pay for SWR. That was the BEST decision I ever made for my son.

 

He is a rule-driven, black & white type of person, so when I started working with him with SWR and showed him that there are RULES for spelling, he took off. He still does not enjoy reading, but he CAN READ. In the last week he has taken to reading every street/store/subdivision that he sees; he has also been asking *many* questions every day about words he hears or sees that don't conform to the words he sees locally (which are usually from another language).

 

I am still amazed. In the past few days he has asked to spell words aloud, just random words he hears. I have been dictating 20+ words a day from SWR and he can write almost all of them without using fingergrams. I would not have believed myself if I could go back to last year with this information.

 

With that said, he does have a LOT of problems retaining what he reads. He is still unable to read silently, and I do need to correct words every so often. He rarely adds in extra letters like he used to and rarely transposes, but it does still happen, especially with shorter words. He can read aloud a (short) chapter from a book to me, but then I have to re-read it to him so that he can grasp what it said. Same thing with math word problems. One of my goals this summer is to focus on working memory, which should help.

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Oh, wow, I just happened to click on my subscribed threads link and saw that I had posted here. I have a success story!

 

My 9yo was tested in January for dyslexia; the tester was awesome, but she could not "label" him because she has a PhD., not an M.D. Fine with me, I just wanted to know what to do! I followed some of what she suggested and also searched and researched and then did all of that again, and ended up taking the plunge to pay for SWR. That was the BEST decision I ever made for my son.

 

He is a rule-driven, black & white type of person, so when I started working with him with SWR and showed him that there are RULES for spelling, he took off. He still does not enjoy reading, but he CAN READ. In the last week he has taken to reading every street/store/subdivision that he sees; he has also been asking *many* questions every day about words he hears or sees that don't conform to the words he sees locally (which are usually from another language).

 

I am still amazed. In the past few days he has asked to spell words aloud, just random words he hears. I have been dictating 20+ words a day from SWR and he can write almost all of them without using fingergrams. I would not have believed myself if I could go back to last year with this information.

 

With that said, he does have a LOT of problems retaining what he reads. He is still unable to read silently, and I do need to correct words every so often. He rarely adds in extra letters like he used to and rarely transposes, but it does still happen, especially with shorter words. He can read aloud a (short) chapter from a book to me, but then I have to re-read it to him so that he can grasp what it said. Same thing with math word problems. One of my goals this summer is to focus on working memory, which should help.

 

That's great! :party::party:

 

You can try some nonsense words to help with the short words.

 

I would also recommend Marcia Henry's Words to learn rules specific to each major portion of languages that have entered English--Anglo-Saxon, Romance, and Greek. The samples are from early on, the words get more difficult.

 

http://www.proedinc.com/customer/productView.aspx?id=989

 

Also, I have a good list of spelling rules that should be helpful on my how to tutor page, it covers all but suffix rules, it is linked at the end of the page. The suffix rules are in my phonics lesson 22, there are so many I haven't written them out.

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