does anything else help dyslexics besides O-G?

[razorbackmama]

We're having my 10yo dd tested for dyslexia tomorrow (FINALLY!). However, I'm CONVINCED that my 8.5yo ds has it. He even does the typical b/d and b/p reversals (in addition to struggling with reading/spelling).

 

We've been using AAS for spelling, but he's not real crazy about it. I know that O-G methods are considered The Best for dyslexics, but if they don't really CARE for the O-G methods, does that defeat the purpose? Are there other things that work? Or should I just make him suck it up?

 

I'm thinking Barton is in my future since he's struggling so much, but ugh, the thought of paying that much money for him to groan and complain just is NOT appealing to me at all.....

[AngieW in Texas]

The programs that are recommended over and over on dyslexiasupport2 are:

Abecedarian (phonographix, like Reading Reflex, but with far more support)

Barton

Wilson

LiPS (Lindamood Bell, Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing)

 

In fact, on the Barton website, there is a pre-screen you're supposed to do. If you student fails that, you are supposed to do LiPS before trying to start Barton.

 

My youngest is dyslexic, but she has dyseidetic type dyslexia. I also discovered that she really doesn't do well with rules-based programs (all OG programs are rule-based). I used

Headsprout with I See Sam readers - first half of 2nd grade

Funnix level 2 with Phonics for Reading 2 - second half of second grade and early 3rd grade

Phonics for Reading 3 with lots of timed repeated readings and work with nonsense words - the rest of 3rd grade and all of 4th grade

Rewards Reading Secondary - 5th grade

 

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

[razorbackmama]

The programs that are recommended over and over on dyslexiasupport2 are:

Abecedarian (phonographix, like Reading Reflex, but with far more support)

Barton

Wilson

LiPS (Lindamood Bell, Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing)

 

In fact, on the Barton website, there is a pre-screen you're supposed to do. If you student fails that, you are supposed to do LiPS before trying to start Barton.

 

My youngest is dyslexic, but she has dyseidetic type dyslexia. I also discovered that she really doesn't do well with rules-based programs (all OG programs are rule-based). I used

Headsprout with I See Sam readers - first half of 2nd grade

Funnix level 2 with Phonics for Reading 2 - second half of second grade and early 3rd grade

Phonics for Reading 3 with lots of timed repeated readings and work with nonsense words - the rest of 3rd grade and all of 4th grade

Rewards Reading Secondary - 5th grade

 

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

 

Thanks, Angie. I googled dyseidetic dyslexia, and that sounds VERY much like what he has trouble with. He knows what the letter sounds are and all of that, but when it comes to actually picking the right letter visually or transferring what he sees into the correct sound...not so much.

 

Do O-G programs not work as well for that type?

 

My 10yo seems to have more of the dysphonetic type (vowels used to be a HUGE problem for her LOL), and AAS is working GREAT for her. Actually it's working "OK" for my 8yo, but that's assuming he can tell which tile is the b and which is the d and which is the p...and he can't. Well, actually he can...want to know how? The d has a horizontal line near the circle part...the p has a horizontal line near the stick part, and the b doesn't have a horizontal line at all.:001_huh: He told me that yesterday. The actual placement of the stick and the circle mean nothing to him. But of course...he doesn't know right from left either.

 

Anyway...he just doesn't like O-G very much. Sigh. I don't know what to do to help him, yet I don't have the time to spin my wheels. (I have 4 other kids in school, one who also has probable dyslexia and one with a language disorder that I think will be helped with V/V.)

[merry gardens]

We're having my 10yo dd tested for dyslexia tomorrow (FINALLY!). However, I'm CONVINCED that my 8.5yo ds has it. He even does the typical b/d and b/p reversals (in addition to struggling with reading/spelling).

 

We've been using AAS for spelling, but he's not real crazy about it. I know that O-G methods are considered The Best for dyslexics, but if they don't really CARE for the O-G methods, does that defeat the purpose? Are there other things that work? Or should I just make him suck it up?

 

I'm thinking Barton is in my future since he's struggling so much, but ugh, the thought of paying that much money for him to groan and complain just is NOT appealing to me at all.....

What is the specific things that they dislike about O-G methods? Maybe what they don't like is that they find it difficult, and working too far above one's ability isn't very fun.

 

I can see that a child might dislike a specific program or reading and spelling in general, but I would think that most children would enjoy a multi-sensory approach to learning. If they are bored with one type of tool you use, then maybe try something else. We use tiles with Barton, but occassionally I mix in a few other things like pipe cleaners bent into the shape of letters or play dough or some other art project--whatever I think might be fun and might work. When we did LiPS and the first level of Barton, we sometimes worked with colored m&m's, then I let my son eat them when we were done if he had co-operated. I bribe my children to co-operate with me. :D

 

As to your question, what works depends on the cause of the reading problem. The word "dyslexia" can refer to a broad range of reading issues. O-G methods work primarily on de-coding. We worked LiPS before Barton. My son did not hear the differences between a number of sounds. According to Susan Barton, the results of his screening showed he wasn't ready to work with her program until that was addressed first.

[AngieW in Texas]

The problem with most OG programs for dyseidetics is that they focus heavily on phonemic awareness. That isn't a problem for dyseidetics. They can connect the sounds to the letters. They just have a MUCH easier time going from sound to letter than from letter to sound. I always said my dd's brain was organized by sound. When she saw a letter, she had to go through all the sounds in her head at random until she got to sound that made an image of that letter pop up in her head. But if you gave her a sound, she could immediately write the letter.

[razorbackmama]

What is the specific things that they dislike about O-G methods? Maybe what they don't like is that they find it difficult, and working too far above one's ability isn't very fun.

 

It's not too difficult. He can typically get the words right, except when he picks one of his reversal letters. Every once in a while he'll miss a word involving a blend. (He has trouble with those when reading also.)

 

I asked him what he doesn't like about it. He said, "Spelling words.":lol: I told him he's outta luck - that's what spelling is all about.;)

 

His main problem is with decoding. So far he's been able to spell relatively well. But reading has been a STRUGGLE.

[AngieW in Texas]

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.

[rafiki]

.

[EKS]

I taught my dyslexic son to read using homegrown systematic phonics followed by tons (years) of practice reading aloud.

[merry gardens]

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.

Interesting. My son probably has both types. :001_huh: He's struggled with many of those same things, in addition to the auditory.

 

Besides O-G (Barton), we also do a portion of Lindamood-Bell's Seeing Stars. That's another program that can help people with dyslexia. It's not exactly an O-G program, but it has some similarities. It includes going through the most common words in English. The Star Words workbooks include definitions and using the words in sentences, one word at a time. My son (9) likes those workbooks. They have a comical cartoon cat that adds some fun. For spelling, we do a few Star Words plus some spelling words from Barton. We do large motor "sky writing" and finger writing, plus incorporate visualizing techniques from Seeing Stars. We do maybe one or two new words each day in the workboo. He reads the flash cards daily of any word that he can't say rapidly until he can say it immediately. I point out how the letters within the words fit (or don't fit) with phonics rules. He's slowly building up a sight word vocabulary.

[MerryAtHope]

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

 

 

Angie, is there any way to tell the difference bt. a child with dyseidetic dyslexia and a child with vision processing issues (in the back of my mind I seem to remember your dd having both & was just thinking that these must look very, very similar, judging by that list). Just curious. I wonder how many kids with dyseidetic dyslexia also have (or perhaps instead have, for some) vision processing issues that would be helped by vision therapy. www.covd is a good site for info on that.

 

Merry :-)

[8filltheheart]

Sound Foundation's products are also used and you can preview the entire books on their website.

 

http://www.prometheantrust.org/whatisdyslexia.htm

 

I 2nd this recommendation.

[AngieW in Texas]

You're right. My dd had developmental vision issues. She also has dyseidetic dyslexia and visual processing issues. I had high hopes that vision therapy would take care of everything for her. It definitely made a difference.

 

I was making the rounds with eye doctors back when my dd was just 3yo because I KNEW she had some type of vision issues. Kids don't crash into every doorway they try to walk through. They also don't clip the corner of every piece of furniture they pass. When we started working on reading, she would either cover her right eye or she'd turn her head so she could only see the book with her left eye. These were all absolutely related to vision, NOT dyslexia. All of these issues were corrected with vision therapy. The problems with crashing into things were caused by her lack of depth perception. The lack of depth perception was because she had double vision. Covering one eye kept her from seeing double. Because this was the way things had always looked to her, she had no idea that the way she saw things wasn't normal.

 

After vision therapy, it was obvious that there was still something else going on. The VT suggested that I have her tested for dyslexia. There were signs of dyslexia that she'd had all along, but I hadn't realized they were warning signs.

[MerryAtHope]

I was making the rounds with eye doctors back when my dd was just 3yo because I KNEW she had some type of vision issues. Kids don't crash into every doorway they try to walk through. They also don't clip the corner of every piece of furniture they pass.

 

My son's issues were more subtle. He was very cautious and tended to do mile stones on the late side. He did seem to hurt himself a bit more than the average kid, but my brother and I also tend to walk into doorways and furniture, and neither of us ever had reading or spelling issues (he's a classics PHD!). In my case I just tend to live in the world in my head and forget to watch where I'm going, LOL! So...while it wasn't *all* the time for my son, the fact that it happened occasionally didn't really stick out to me as unusual. Plus in my son's case, I didn't really start to see the clumsiness until around age 9, and I thought it was just adolescence. My brother was incredibly clumsy from then until he was 13 or 14, and forever knocking things down!

 

He also didn't cover one eye (and his depth perception is actually great--he had other vision issues though). I'm really hoping VT plus OG will take care of his issues, but time will tell I guess!

 

So for you, you really didn't know the difference bt. what was vision processing type issues and what was dyseidetic dyslexia until after VT? Kind of a case where you have to go through the process and see what happens?

 

We came at it the opposite way--in part because we had no money for VT when I was realizing there was a reading issue. I assumed dyslexia (which I still think is likely, at least the dysphonetic kind) and we started remediating for that and made great strides with OG methods. We met with a podiatrist about some of his issues of walking into things because he doesn't point his feet correctly, so I thought that might be the issue there. After a year of that & OG I began to think there was something more going on, and then pursued an OT, and eventually VT. In my son's case, his eyes don't remain converged--one or the other eye will dart out and dart back in again. It was very fast and subtle--I'd never seen it happen until they pointed it out at me, and now I can only see it during exercises when I'm looking directly at him. So he was reading the ends of words in the middle of words or skipping parts of words--actually doing many of the things on the dyseidetic dyslexia list that you posted.

 

But a lot of the things he was doing seem to be correcting with VT, which is what prompted my question of how one would know. Perhaps it's just a journey for each family.

 

For him the only things that did NOT apply:

 

reversing words (saw/was)

didn't learn to read by spelling first--spelling was never easy.

He didn't always spell phonetically

he could not spell difficult phonetic words.

 

In my son's case, everything else on that list applied--in fact, I was amazed when I realized how much he relied on context to read. I discovered that when I tried having him read some of the word lists in Webster's Speller! That's when I realized that after over a year of OG, he had more issues than sounding things out, although he definitely had issues with that too. There really is a certain kind of brilliance that you can see in kids with these kinds of issues--how their minds find ways around the difficulties and trying to make things work. My son tested on grade level in reading when we started VT, and I'm amazed he could read at a 6th grade level with what his eyes were doing!

 

Merry :-)

Edited December 4, 2010 by MerryAtHope

[AngieW in Texas]

In my dd's case the vision issues were obvious a lot earlier than the reading issues. When we started working on reading, I did research dyslexia, but the things that kept popping up were all related to auditory issues. She could rhyme easily. If you gave her 4-6 sounds, she could easily add them up to tell you the word. If you gave her a word of 4-6 sounds, she could easily break the word down into sounds. Most dyslexics have issues with all three of these tasks (rhyming, adding up sounds, and breaking down words). My dd's issues all related to vision, so I was quite hopeful that vision therapy would correct everything.

 

I didn't really think about her word recall issues as being related to dyslexia. She could spell easier than she could read, so that didn't seem to fit either. Dyslexics are supposed to be horrible at spelling. When I finally found the description of dyseidetic dyslexia that I posted above, I KNEW that was an issue. Even after VT, she still had every single symptom on the list.

 

I did have her working at grade level in reading by the end of 4th grade (did VT in 1st grade and started the programs I listed in a post further up the thread in 2nd grade). I had her up to grade level in spelling by the end of 6th grade.

[FO4UR]

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.

 

This is my ds7 to a "t."

 

 

Sound Foundation's products are also used and you can preview the entire books on their website.

 

http://www.prometheantrust.org/whatisdyslexia.htm

 

We just finished lesson 17 of Book A. So far, so good...

 

I tried SWR with him, and that failed. I tried tweaking SWR in several ways...failed or too time consuming. My ds will actually invert phonograms...sh can be hs and he won't even notice even though he *knows.*

 

Recipe for Reading is O-G, and it's a $25 manual. I used it alone for ds7 for a few months and he made some good headway. I thought it was enough to jump back into SWR...wrong again LOL. (SWR has been sold, ds7 is HAPPY!!!:lol:) I use Recipe for Reading to make copywork, reinforcing phonograms he's learned. I also enlarged the words/sentences to use for reading practice. Honestly, I studied the Dancing Bears program from Sound Foundations linked above and so I'm merging Dancing Bears technique with Recipe for Reading manual.

 

So...mine is using Apples & Pears Spelling and Recipe for Reading. In addition, he's reading anything I can find with large bold lettering on plain white background. This seems to be working well for him, but it's honestly just me experimenting with what we have (and can afford).

 

If I had the funds for Barton it might have been my 1st choice. I don't, so it isn't. ymmv.

 

I was very tempted to get this program, but I don't know anyone who has used it.

 

 

 

Angie, is there any way to tell the difference bt. a child with dyseidetic dyslexia and a child with vision processing issues (in the back of my mind I seem to remember your dd having both & was just thinking that these must look very, very similar, judging by that list). Just curious. I wonder how many kids with dyseidetic dyslexia also have (or perhaps instead have, for some) vision processing issues that would be helped by vision therapy. www.covd is a good site for info on that.

 

Merry :-)

 

My 7yo saw a dev opt a when he was 6yo (He was spelling WAY beyond his reading level which was nil, and I was concerned about his eyes.) and I was given some pencil/paper work to do with him. It helped somewhat, but I was advised that he needed to go back at age 8yo b/c some things needed more maturity to work on. He'll be 8yo in Jan and is actually reading OK at this point, but it is *work* for him. He tells me he sees red spots on the pages. I don't know what that means, except that I need to get him tested again.

 

I have a feeling that I am dealing with both dyslexia and visual processing problems with him. I am very :bigear: on the topic.

[siloam]

Lists I love lists!

 

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

 

All of us have issues with this. My oldest grew out of it by 9yo, but it has been more of an issue with the middle two. My ds seems to only have occasional issues. I can see it now, but when I was a child it was a real challenge. My dd would write whole words backwards with p, q, b, d, backwards and I would read it as what he intended to write not what he wrote.

 

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

 

This has only been a mild issue for all but my Honey Dew. She really had problems with these for a long time. She would read them backwards, or write them backwards.

 

* 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.

 

Myself and the younger two have issues with this. I don't see the older two as having a big problem with it.

 

* 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.

 

All of us have problems with this.

 

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

 

All of us have problem with this.

 

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

 

Not sure, I haven't really thought about it before.

 

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

 

Yep, only my oldest doesn't seem to have problems with this. She has an incredible visual memory that she can use to compensate with.

 

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

 

Trying to figure out exactly what this means, but I think so. I know I am a slower reader, and I assume part of it is recall based. I know my younger two and I all have visual word weaknesses because we don't use visualization with words by nature like my older two do.

 

* 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.

 

Yep.

 

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

 

Yep

 

* 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.

 

This is my oldest. I am highly analytical, but not language based. I am a math girl. While my younger 3 don't love math they all do better with math than language. My 2nd dd is probably the most balanced between the two and she can sound out longer words. My younger two and myself tend to become easily overwhelmed/frustrated and start guessing. I have started just looking up words on dictionary.com and listening to them for history and science reading. :D

* Difficulty recalling the shape of a letter when writing.

 

Myself and my oldest don't have problems with this, but the younger three do. Especially the younger two. My ds has been working on multi-sensory methods of writing and letter formation since he was 5 and still has problems remembering them.

 

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

 

I would say yes, but as an adult who had forgotten phonics it was sometimes bizarre. Now that I have re-learned them I do keep it phonetic.

 

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

 

Yep

 

I won't go through the audio one, but I know that my younger two and myself have audio problems as well. Now that I have been teaching phonics for years I have overcome most of mine. When I fist started I can remember not being able to hear the difference between short i and e. See what 7 years of teaching phonics can do for you? It is just like how I have learned to see when b and d are reversed and can now see when dd writes a word backwards. I knew it was probably going to show up, so over time I have been able to overcome it. But it has taken a lot of conscience effort and years of practice.

 

Going back to the original question, yes there are other things that work, but in my experience it is not uncommon for the child to hate o/g even through it is what they need.

 

My oldest is typical in this way. She is auditory/hands on learner. She hates using manipulatives, but when I finally forced the issue with Right Start math, things starting clicking. When she was struggling to pass science tests I finally MADE her read out loud to herself and her scores took a dramatic jump up. She still hates the idea of both, but realizes her own need for them.

 

My ds hates any sort of writing, so I do modify, by using sand and the white board, but in the end he has to do a certain amount of writing on paper with lines. Generally I start the week off in sand (when the material is new) and move to paper at the end of the week (when he is used to the words). These little compromises are how I keep his attitude up.

 

What is most frustrating is if you ask him about reading he will tell you he doesn't like it and doesn't want to learn. Now this isn't totally honest, he does like being able to read, but not enough to push through the lessons. He is still young enough that he can get away with having his sisters read for him. I think in a couple years when he moves into the all boy class in church, he will have a sudden and dramatic change of heart.

 

Heather

[MerryAtHope]

What is most frustrating is if you ask him about reading he will tell you he doesn't like it and doesn't want to learn. Now this isn't totally honest, he does like being able to read, but not enough to push through the lessons. He is still young enough that he can get away with having his sisters read for him. I think in a couple years when he moves into the all boy class in church, he will have a sudden and dramatic change of heart.

Heather

 

My son didn't like reading at this age either--it was just way too much work. Calvin & Hobbes helped some, LOL! But mainly it took until it wasn't so much work. Around age 10 he sometimes liked it. After 3 months with AAS he came to me and told me that he liked it (and that a book he previously thought had a meaningless first chapter, he then told me that it made sense!) Last spring (7th grade) he told me reading was getting easier after VT for awhile. This last week or so he just told me he can now read General Science as quickly as the audio (He listens & tries to follow along).

 

Hang in there!