Questions about dyslexia, poor working memory and and...

[BlueTaelon]

My brain is fried right about now from learning. I had my 10 yr old dd testing for LDs and the results are a bit shocking and the school district wasn't much help since were homeschoolers. I spent an hour on the phone yesterday going over test results and basically what I got out of it was "she's a very very visual learner, gets virtually nothing from verbal instruction (oops! thats probably why we've been having so much trouble the past 3 years. EVERYTHING was done orally because I can't get the child to write and forget reading) and would not fare well in a classroom environment because basically all she hears is blah blah blah blah when listening to lectures."

 

Her scores on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test show low scores pretty much everything related to Language arts, it was low scores across the board to be honest but this seems to mainly be testing LA stuff based on what we discussed (I don't have the official report in my hands yet). Some of it was a bit surprising since when I put her in public school this semester (lasted all of 8 weeks) but when I first put her in school they tested her for title 1 reading and they said she reads at grade level, decodes fine, comprehends about 80% of what she reads which was good, she's just a very slow reader at 61wpm. The Wechsler did not reflect that she was reading/comprehending all that well.

 

 

She was a very late reader, didn't start reading until about age 8, just did not grasp phonics well no matter what I tried. Finally got her reading with headsprout. Last night was the 1st time she's read a book, was something about someones paper pony. It was a level 3 I can read book. (I did some testing of my own and found out she does much better with large print and uncovered sentence by sentence.) I was over the moon! She's reading orally at an almost normal cadence which is a huge improvement over what she was doing just 2-3 months ago (they wanted her to do repeated reading to get her speed up, I thought she just needed to READ period. Your going to be slow when you never and I mean NEVER read beyond on screen directions for games. She's reading about 106wpm now.

 

 

Anyway based on the scores and what they told me which wasn't much I started googling and I swear I just about started jumping up and down when I learned dyslexia was about a lot more then confusing b,d,p. Its like a check list for my dd! I did ask the tester is she was tested for it and she said they do not test for it and the state does not require it (yes it does! they are refusing to comply) and I can not afford testing privately. I remembered my dad mentioned years ago my little sister was dyslexic and since it was caught early she did really well in school (we were not raised together and I only saw her once from early childhood until college) found out my dad and my aunt are dyslexic too. I had no idea! (I was raised by my mother on the other side of the country) So after a lot of reading yesterday (yes I know, thats only 1 day) and talking to my dad I am 99.9% sure my dd is too.

 

 

So, what do I do now? It looks like none of the stuff I planned on ordering for my dd would work well for a very visual learner. SOTW, FLL, WWE. What works with these kids? I need something guided that spoon feeds (ETA: "I" need the guided handholding so scripted stuff is great, in case you missed it, I need the spoon feeding lol:)) and is far more visual then auditory. In a prior post someone mentioned she needs to review phonics to get her reading up to speed. Its a bit childish for a 10 year old but would ETC online be a good choice? Does she really need to even if its more a fluency issue? I can kinda understand, latest testing shows she's not comprehending most of what she reads and she doesn't remember much of whats covered.

 

 

I feel like I'm not making sense and yikes! Just realized the time, need to leave in 45 min and I'm in my pjs, kids are asleep and I still need to shower and cook breakfast!

 

 

So, advice? curriculum reccs? (all subjects) (using TT5 for math and that seems to be working ok but she's having a fit over multiplication since she cant remember her times tables)

 

In case it helps on the WISC she did ok on comp verbal (39%) and perceptual reasoning (55%) but bombed on working memory (9%) and processing speed (9%) but they don't think the processing score is accurate since its timed and she would not stop talking about everything. (she is a major chatterbox)

 

 

ETA: more info in posts 20, 24, 27

Edited April 9, 2011 by BlueTaelon

[LizzyBee]

Comprehensive testing helps see the big picture, but often specialists yield more practical results. Here is what I would do:

 

1. Find an SLP who aggressively treats childrens' language issues, not just speech issues. Have an evaluation to see whether therapy is warranted.

2. Have an evaluation by a specially trained audiologist for auditory processing disorder. There are several subtypes, and knowing which ones apply to your child will help you and other specialists choose effective therapy. The audiologist will start by ruling out hearing loss and fluid in the ears; they use a tympanogram which allows them to see in the ear much more clearly than the thing the ENT doctors use (otoscope?). The audiologist may recommend FastForWord or Earobics; both work on things like phonemic awareness and filtering out background noise.

3. Have an evaluation by an occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder. If you can find one who is trained to administer the Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome, you can get those therapies covered by insurance, if your insurance covers OT.

4. Have an evaluation by a COVD certified developmental optomitrist (sp?). There may not be visual issues since your dd tested high on visual learning, but a few things jumped out of your post that could indicate some visual issues.

5. Use visual supports and manipulatives for teaching, but don't give up on remediating the auditory issues. My dd9 was diagnosed with all four subtypes of APD, but 2 yrs 3 mos later, 2 of the types were within normal ranges. It takes work, but improvement is possible and desirable!

 

Curriculum for visual learners:

Right Start math, Singapore math, Math U See

History - Usborne or Kingfisher books, make a timeline, Veritas Press cards

Language arts - Winston Grammar, graphic organizers for writing

Handwriting - use a salt box, air writing, whiteboard,

Vocabulary - Vocabulary Cartoons

Make flashcards with lots of white space for all subjects

Science - lots of hands on activities, gardening, nature walks, star gazing

Time tables - Times Tales; give her a multiplication chart to use during math, and after looking at it every day, she'll eventually know the facts.

 

Website - http://www.visualspatial.org

Books - Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World, Upside Down Brilliance, The Mislabeled Child

Edited April 6, 2011 by LizzyBee

[merry gardens]

Comprehensive testing helps see the big picture, but often specialists yield more practical results. Here is what I would do:

 

1. Find an SLP who aggressively treats childrens' language issues, not just speech issues. Have an evaluation to see whether therapy is warranted.

2. Have an evaluation by a specially trained audiologist for auditory processing disorder. There are several subtypes, and knowing which ones apply to your child will help you and other specialists choose effective therapy. The audiologist will start by ruling out hearing loss and fluid in the ears; they use a tympanogram which allows them to see in the ear much more clearly than the thing the ENT doctors use (otoscope?). The audiologist may recommend FastForWord or Earobics; both work on things like phonemic awareness and filtering out background noise.

3. Have an evaluation by an occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder. If you can find one who is trained to administer the Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome, you can get those therapies covered by insurance, if your insurance covers OT.

4. Have an evaluation by a COVD certified developmental optomitrist (sp?). There may not be an visual issues since your dd tested high on visual learning, but a few things jumped out of your post that could indicate some visual issues.

5. Use visual supports and manipulatives for teaching, but don't give up on remediating the auditory issues. My dd9 was diagnosed with all four subtypes of APD, but 2 yrs 3 mos later, 2 of the types were within normal ranges. It takes work, but improvement is possible and desirable!

 

 

Lizzy's advice is great. I especially highlighted the part about finding specialists who have experience working with dyslexia! It's worth spending extra time and money to find the right people. When I suspected problems, I took my son for testing with speech therapists, an audiologist, and vision doctors who do not specialize in these particular areas. The professionals we saw specialized in pediatrics, but that wasn't specialized enough. They found only hints of the problems and didn't know what to do with those findings or they told me there wasn't a problem. For example, I knew something was up with him when he wasn't even yet five, but the first speech therapist at the school district told us everything was within normal. Another speech therapist a couple years later found phonemic awareness problems and refered us to pediatric audiologist at a reputable hospital--who only tested for hearing tones (and I didn't know enough about phonemic awareness and auditory processing to ask further.) Over a year later, my son couldn't pass the phonemic awareness portion of a student screening for a dyslexia program! His phonemic awareness was far from normal.

 

My son is almost ten now, and he's making good progress. Fortunately, I have a background in healthcare, which turns out to have helped a great with our homeschooling. It could have been so much easier for us if the professionals we saw had been more familiar with dyslexia. Anyway, it turns out that I had to become that specialist for my son. :)

 

BTW, some of us on this forum are taking an on-line introduction class to the Orton Gillingham method that Lizzy brought to our attention. It might be something for the OP to consider as you learn more about dyslexia. So far, I have found the class neatly pulls together much that I have been reading about in books about dyslexia for the past couple of years.

Edited April 6, 2011 by merry gardens

[peacefully]

.

[RamonaQ]

LizzyBee, we need to sticky that post at the top of this board!! Perhaps we can title it "70% of new posters seeking answers will find them here!"

 

The only thing that would be different on my list is that our neuropsychologist saved us a visit to the audiologist, and even with my ds invalidating several of the tests (due to immaturity and noncompliance), that evaluation was so very valuable. I've said before, it also clarified a totally misguided assumption on my part. I was so certain that ds was dyslexic, since so many of his symptoms fit that profile. It turns out that he's not. The neuropsychologist caught this, steered us to the appropriate therapy providers, and gave us some valuable insight about ds's learning strengths. If not for him, I would have simply done O-G programs with ds, which would not have addressed his underlying issues. I cannot say enough how much the comprehensive testing helped us. However, if money is an issue, I do have to agree with everything on your list.

 

Can I add a number 6 too? Working memory is also an area that affects many students with LDs, and it is something that be improved. I use the program that our SLP has developed, but the exercises are so simple, I can't help but think that there has got to be an inexpensive workbook or video game that would also work. In just a few months, ds went from being able to hold 3 simple units of information to 8! (That's crazy to me -- I can't even repeat 8.) Now he's working on chunking that information in more complex clusters, and the way that I see this transferring to his academic work completely amazes me.

 

One more suggestion about curriculum, although I don't use it. Several posters have switched from O-G based AAS to Apples and Pears, since A&P relies more on visual memory to teach spelling. I was also considering that switch, but ds is now doing great with AAS. He would also have problems with all the writing in A&P.

 

:iagree: Personally, my feeling is probably a neuropsych eval is the most efficient way to determine, if and whether, OT, SPL, VT, etc.... (at least ours was, they clearly delineated who to visit or not).

[ondreeuh]

I don’t think you have to break the bank to see a neuropsych yet. Tests can identify weak areas on the test, but you’re still going to have to figure out curricula on your own. My son is pretty severely dyslexic, with low working memory, and I have finally found programs that work well for him. If they work for him, I have to believe they would work for anyone (truly!). I use a lot of workbooks, but he is not left on his own to teach himself. We use the workbooks to apply the concepts we’ve covered and I think they’re a great approach for a visual learner.

 

Spelling – Apples and Pears. Students practice patterns of spelling in a very methodical way (tracing, copying, writing from memory, writing the word when some letters are given, finding the word in a puzzle, writing the word in a dictated sentence). Patterns are reinforced over and over again so nothing is lost. It’s a brilliant program. I’ve never heard a bad review from someone who’s used it.

 

You will hear that Orton-Gillingham methods are the “gold standard.†For reading, yes they are good, but IMO not for spelling. AAS and other programs that are rule-based still require the student to visually imprint how to spell words, but they don’t provide a method for doing it! You can’t use their rules to explain why what and butt are spelled so differently (or of and love, or was and buzz, or are and car). A student who struggles to visually imprint rules is better off with a program that develops that skill, like Apples and Pears.

 

For reading, we used ETC (which I really like because the student has to read carefully!) and Phonics GAMES (file folder games from Carson-Dellosa). Honestly, we have made the most progress when I listen to him read aloud. If he mis-reads a word, I point to it and he tries again. If he can’t sound it out I break down the sounds and we move right along. He does enough encoding during spelling that I’m OK with this method even if it does lead to him learning sight words.

 

For writing, we were stuck until we tried Writing Skills. It breaks writing down into the smallest parts, and incorporates grammar. We also use FLL 2 but I add in worksheets from The Complete Book of Grammar and Punctuation. It gives a visual model of the grammar and practice applying it (something FLL lacks).

 

For history, I use The Complete Book of United States History (short, succinct) and The Story of the USA workbooks. I add in lots of videos, interactive websites, and activities. Oh, and we tie in read alouds and readers to history. For science, we use Singapore MPH and round it out with Bill Nye. Sometimes I have him write a paragraph about what we’re learning about.

 

 

For math, we use CLE because it's a workbook, but if TT is working then great! Times Tales is something I've seen people use to learn the times tables. My son actually did OK with flashcards because he could see the problem.

 

 

To work on her auditory skills, I would have her listen to audio books while she does something mildly engaging. I am NOT an auditory learner and will fall asleep if I am not writing notes or playing solitaire. Start with a short amount of time and work up. Let her listen to an audio book while she follows along in her book. Read to her aloud, and stop every so often to ask her about what’s happening, and work up to longer passages. It may not be her strength but it is still important to develop that skill.

[RamonaQ]

I don’t think you have to break the bank to see a neuropsych yet. Tests can identify weak areas on the test, but you’re still going to have to figure out curricula on your own.

 

In our case, they did, but likely because this team had homeschooled their own child (one of the reasons I chose them). I honestly felt that I left with a roadmap and areas of priority to address, along with therapies that would not be effective or useful given the diagnosis of my child.

[ondreeuh]

That's awesome! My psych was only able to recommend Fast ForWord and Lindamood-Bell. He had no suggestions for what I could do at home - I think it's unusual that they are familiar with parents who are in charge of their child's school curricula choices.

[RamonaQ]

Yes, I would very much agree, Ondreeuh.

 

I guess what I found helpful was that I was told, for example, OT, may have been helpful when he was younger, but not now. SLP, not helpful for him-- which were all things I had wondered about.

 

For me, I found that incredibly info valuable in terms of time and $$.

[LizzyBee]

LizzyBee, we need to sticky that post at the top of this board!! Perhaps we can title it "70% of new posters seeking answers will find them here!"

 

The only thing that would be different on my list is that our neuropsychologist saved us a visit to the audiologist, and even with my ds invalidating several of the tests (due to immaturity and noncompliance), that evaluation was so very valuable. I've said before, it also clarified a totally misguided assumption on my part. I was so certain that ds was dyslexic, since so many of his symptoms fit that profile. It turns out that he's not. The neuropsychologist caught this, steered us to the appropriate therapy providers, and gave us some valuable insight about ds's learning strengths. If not for him, I would have simply done O-G programs with ds, which would not have addressed his underlying issues. I cannot say enough how much the comprehensive testing helped us. However, if money is an issue, I do have to agree with everything on your list.

 

Can I add a number 6 too? Working memory is also an area that affects many students with LDs, and it is something that be improved. I use the program that our SLP has developed, but the exercises are so simple, I can't help but think that there has got to be an inexpensive workbook or video game that would also work. In just a few months, ds went from being able to hold 3 simple units of information to 8! (That's crazy to me -- I can't even repeat 8.) Now he's working on chunking that information in more complex clusters, and the way that I see this transferring to his academic work completely amazes me.

 

One more suggestion about curriculum, although I don't use it. Several posters have switched from O-G based AAS to Apples and Pears, since A&P relies more on visual memory to teach spelling. I was also considering that switch, but ds is now doing great with AAS. He would also have problems with all the writing in A&P.

 

You are too kind!

 

The reason I didn't recommend an NP evaluation is because the OP just had the school psychologist evaluation. I was thinking the specialists could take those results, add their evaluations, and recommend therapies. I'm probably in the minority, but I found the specialist evaluations much more practical than the psych eval.

[RamonaQ]

What I think is interesting is that there really is no single perfect, direct path through this, which is woeful and confusing at the beginning (and overwhelming). On the other hand, I think the good news is that there are many ways to figure out what is going on, and seek remediation. And, being the mothers we are, we will not settle until we have answers that make sense for us and our child.

[peacefully]

.

 

[PeterPan]

So, what do I do now? It looks like none of the stuff I planned on ordering for my dd would work well for a very visual learner. SOTW, FLL, WWE. What works with these kids? I need something guided that spoon feeds and is far more visual then auditory. In a prior post someone mentioned she needs to review phonics to get her reading up to speed. Its a bit childish for a 10 year old but would ETC online be a good choice? Does she really need to even if its more a fluency issue? I can kinda understand, latest testing shows she's not comprehending most of what she reads and she doesn't remember much of whats covered.

 

 

I feel like I'm not making sense and yikes! Just realized the time, need to leave in 45 min and I'm in my pjs, kids are asleep and I still need to shower and cook breakfast!

 

 

So, advice? curriculum reccs? (all subjects) (using TT5 for math and that seems to be working ok but she's having a fit over multiplication since she cant remember her times tables)

 

In case it helps on the WISC she did ok on comp verbal (39%) and perceptual reasoning (55%) but bombed on working memory (9%) and processing speed (9%) but they don't think the processing score is accurate since its timed and she would not stop talking about everything. (she is a major chatterbox)

 

First, I want to strongly agree with Lizzy's recommendation to get more evaluations. Dyslexia inherently involves both visual and auditory processing problems. For us, vision therapy, which we did after being evaluated by a developmental optometrist (http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org'>http://www.covd.org ) made a HUGE difference. Doesn't get rid of the dyslexia, but makes improves stuff that can be helped.

 

Next, I would question your assumptions and what those people said. For instance, my dd is a visual learner, but she doesn't PROCESS information well visually. In other words, the way she wants to learn (visually) isn't actually the modality she processes best. Think about that. My dd doesn't retain well auditorily, but she processes information more naturally that way because her visual processing is weak. It means you can't just put them into all visual materials and have it stick.

 

You mentioned you need something to spoonfeed. I'm not sure exactly what you meant, and I have a tendency to take things very literally. I would caution you to consider whether to you dyslexia means DUMB. It doesn't. My dh is an engineer, was class president in both high school and college, an extremely successful businessman, a leader in his field, heads a state level association for people in his field, and he's dyslexic. I went to a really interesting session by Esther Wilkison at the Cincy convention last week, and she pointed out that dyslexics aren't dumb. They just take a different route in the brain to get there. And because they take a different route (which takes longer), they form a lot more connections along the way, making them much more observant. So you'll notice how unusually good my dh is with people skills (reread that list, see how often he's chosen to lead!), and it's because of the DYSLEXIA. Dyslexia has gifts as a result, but we sometimes miss what they are. You have to start looking for the positive side of how it makes them think, what it makes them unusually capable of doing, and then you HARNESS it to teach the stuff they're not so hot at.

 

So what Esther said was instead of teaching to rote, you really, really need to focus on understanding. And it might take longer for that understanding to come. Or it might be they need to take a different route than you do to get there. But the more you take the time to UNDERSTAND, the better it's going to work out. So in science, you break out the manipulatives and do it over and over, in context, with word problems, till they get it. In science it means you do the lesson first with real things, then go back and read the book. (I'm learning that one the hard way!). In history it means they love historical fiction and love having all those facts put into a context, a big picture. It means you loosen up a bit on memorizing specifics and go more for understanding and relationships. My dd can't always tell you a date, but she can put you in a decade, because she gets the big picture. She can tell you about who married whom and who their kids were, because those relationships and a deeper understanding of the history fascinate her.

 

No, almost nothing done straight off the boards works for us. If you want a good picture of what COULD work for you right out of the box, take a look at the Christian Cottage Unit Studies. We're using one now, and they have a free unit you can download to try. Written by a lady with a dyslexic daughter, they have a happy merging of content, understand, lots of hands-on, time in books, etc. For us, that's where the happy spot is, when we have a bit of each. Less curriculum, more doing.

 

I'll say one more time, I highly recommend you get her eyes evaluated by a doc at http://www.covd.org The things you're describing with needing large print and a single sentence at a time are visual processing. They can help with that. We hit a wall where my dd could read the words on the page but wouldn't accept smaller print (which of course harder books have). One month of VT and things were totally different. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE change.

[LizzyBee]

What I think is interesting is that there really is no single perfect, direct path through this, which is woeful and confusing at the beginning (and overwhelming). On the other hand, I think the good news is that there are many ways to figure out what is going on, and seek remediation. And, being the mothers we are, we will not settle until we have answers that make sense for us and our child.

 

So true! When I pulled my middle dd out of school, I knew in my gut that if I had her evaluated, I'd be told she had ADD, but there was something else going on. It took me a long time to figure it out, and I didn't have her evaluated until I did. Thankfully, I had several professionals tell me I'd done the right things in spite of not having a formal evaluation sooner.

[LizzyBee]

You mentioned you need something to spoonfeed. I'm not sure exactly what you meant, and I have a tendency to take things very literally. I would caution you to consider whether to you dyslexia means DUMB. It doesn't. My dh is an engineer, was class president in both high school and college, an extremely successful businessman, a leader in his field, heads a state level association for people in his field, and he's dyslexic. I went to a really interesting session by Esther Wilkison at the Cincy convention last week, and she pointed out that dyslexics aren't dumb. They just take a different route in the brain to get there. And because they take a different route (which takes longer), they form a lot more connections along the way, making them much more observant. So you'll notice how unusually good my dh is with people skills (reread that list, see how often he's chosen to lead!), and it's because of the DYSLEXIA. Dyslexia has gifts as a result, but we sometimes miss what they are. You have to start looking for the positive side of how it makes them think, what it makes them unusually capable of doing, and then you HARNESS it to teach the stuff they're not so hot at.

 

 

Very well said! When we began realizing K. is dyslexic and just. like. her. severely dyslexic cousin, his mom and siblings immediately told me to make sure I find out what she's good at and give her opportunities to be successful.

[wapiti]

I want to emphasize that there is some great wisdom in this thread!!!!

 

I also wanted to point out that both people I know IRL with dyslexia are twice-exceptional, i.e., gifted with an LD (one is an engineer - what's up with that ;)). I don't think that's unusual.

[peacefully]

.

[PeterPan]

We've been down that route too, with someone telling me dd is ADD because she has working memory issues. The working memory she clearly has. When I asked how that turned into ADD, everything she described was, to my mind, a sign of being gifted. And when I asked, well that floored the lady. Since she was an OT and not legally able to state ADD anyway, I took the whole thing with a grain of salt. Definitely there's something, but seems like there's a lot of overlap in labels. I find the FACTS helpful. It's helpful to know there's a working memory problem. It's helpful to realize she has impulsivity issues. These are facts. And it's little stuff that is fact, not label, like why she says "huh?" a lot. She's not being disobedient or bad, she literally needs more time to process the auditory. It's not just a bad habit.

 

So anyways, it's just a process you work through. I've come to the conclusion over the last year of this journey (short, I know, lol) that kids are NOT being bad and WANT to please. Sometimes we get frustrated and make the whole thing pretty adversarial and forget to look for the PROBLEM that the behavior is trying to clue us into. KarenAnne (who doesn't post here anymore, sniff) was brilliant about first pointing this out to me. When your kid CRAVES hands-on (or whatever), it's actually the brain telling them, through this little child, *you need hands-on, you need hands-on*. In other words, the brain and neurology tells the child what it needs in therapy to help heal itself, and we need to pick up the clue phone and LISTEN. It's why it's ok to do more hands-on, even with an older child. It's why it's ESSENTIAL we change how we're working, because these changes actually help the child develop new pathways in the brain and heal and prepare to move forward.

[LizzyBee]

I want to emphasize that there is some great wisdom in this thread!!!!

 

I also wanted to point out that both people I know IRL with dyslexia are twice-exceptional, i.e., gifted with an LD (one is an engineer - what's up with that ;)). I don't think that's unusual.

 

Did you know that one of the nicknames for dyslexia is MIT disease? From what I've read, dyslexia is very common among engineers.

 

One day my dd9 was trying to tell me she wants to be an engineer, but every time she tried to say it, it came out as injury. It was so cute and so sad at the same time.

[BlueTaelon]

First, I want to strongly agree with Lizzy's recommendation to get more evaluations. Dyslexia inherently involves both visual and auditory processing problems. For us, vision therapy, which we did after being evaluated by a developmental optometrist (www.covd.org ) made a HUGE difference. Doesn't get rid of the dyslexia, but makes improves stuff that can be helped.

 

Next, I would question your assumptions and what those people said. For instance, my dd is a visual learner, but she doesn't PROCESS information well visually. In other words, the way she wants to learn (visually) isn't actually the modality she processes best. Think about that. My dd doesn't retain well auditorily, but she processes information more naturally that way because her visual processing is weak. It means you can't just put them into all visual materials and have it stick.

 

You mentioned you need something to spoonfeed. I'm not sure exactly what you meant, and I have a tendency to take things very literally. I would caution you to consider whether to you dyslexia means DUMB. It doesn't. My dh is an engineer, was class president in both high school and college, an extremely successful businessman, a leader in his field, heads a state level association for people in his field, and he's dyslexic. I went to a really interesting session by Esther Wilkison at the Cincy convention last week, and she pointed out that dyslexics aren't dumb. They just take a different route in the brain to get there. And because they take a different route (which takes longer), they form a lot more connections along the way, making them much more observant. So you'll notice how unusually good my dh is with people skills (reread that list, see how often he's chosen to lead!), and it's because of the DYSLEXIA. Dyslexia has gifts as a result, but we sometimes miss what they are. You have to start looking for the positive side of how it makes them think, what it makes them unusually capable of doing, and then you HARNESS it to teach the stuff they're not so hot at.

 

So what Esther said was instead of teaching to rote, you really, really need to focus on understanding. And it might take longer for that understanding to come. Or it might be they need to take a different route than you do to get there. But the more you take the time to UNDERSTAND, the better it's going to work out. So in science, you break out the manipulatives and do it over and over, in context, with word problems, till they get it. In science it means you do the lesson first with real things, then go back and read the book. (I'm learning that one the hard way!). In history it means they love historical fiction and love having all those facts put into a context, a big picture. It means you loosen up a bit on memorizing specifics and go more for understanding and relationships. My dd can't always tell you a date, but she can put you in a decade, because she gets the big picture. She can tell you about who married whom and who their kids were, because those relationships and a deeper understanding of the history fascinate her.

 

No, almost nothing done straight off the boards works for us. If you want a good picture of what COULD work for you right out of the box, take a look at the Christian Cottage Unit Studies. We're using one now, and they have a free unit you can download to try. Written by a lady with a dyslexic daughter, they have a happy merging of content, understand, lots of hands-on, time in books, etc. For us, that's where the happy spot is, when we have a bit of each. Less curriculum, more doing.

 

I'll say one more time, I highly recommend you get her eyes evaluated by a doc at www.covd.org The things you're describing with needing large print and a single sentence at a time are visual processing. They can help with that. We hit a wall where my dd could read the words on the page but wouldn't accept smaller print (which of course harder books have). One month of VT and things were totally different. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE change.

 

 

I wish we could afford the exam, she's worn glasses since she was 18 months old and her eye Dr was a COVD who recommended the VT exam but its not something we could afford then or now for that matter.

 

For the spoon feeding I mean ME, scripted lessons, that sorta thing. We used a k12.com school for the past 3 years because "I" need the hand holding and everything laid out for me. I know now the k12 school was one of the WORST possible choices I could have made, I literally had to read everything to her. It was probably 95% auditory and 5% visual and she would fight me tooth and nail to do the work. Now I understand why after seeing her scores and how she's processing information. I know dyslexia does not mean dumb, my sister was a straight A student from elementary to college even though she was dyslexic. It was caught in 1st grade and she was given the supports to help her succeed.

[PeterPan]

Wow, the money thing is hard. Does your COVD doc have any financial assistance? If he doesn't, I'd look for another who does. Our place had lots of options for people with financial hardships. They had huge discounts for people with certain income brackets. They had payment plans (credit with no interest, etc.).

 

I'm really not meaning to seem crass or insensitive, but my dh and I were just talking last night again about the lengths we would have been willing to go, in hindsight, to get the VT. If it's at all possible, I'd encourage you in that route. Sounds like the COVD doc has seen the need, which means you're not shooting in the dark. Our regular health insurance actually covered one of the months of vision therapy. It's something about how they code things. We don't have eye insurance either. It was our regular medical.

 

Anyways, since you know this is an issue, I would put your money into the COVD exam, not new curriculum. You can homeschool your kid for free using the library.

[BlueTaelon]

Comprehensive testing helps see the big picture, but often specialists yield more practical results. Here is what I would do:

 

1. Find an SLP who aggressively treats childrens' language issues, not just speech issues. Have an evaluation to see whether therapy is warranted.

2. Have an evaluation by a specially trained audiologist for auditory processing disorder. There are several subtypes, and knowing which ones apply to your child will help you and other specialists choose effective therapy. The audiologist will start by ruling out hearing loss and fluid in the ears; they use a tympanogram which allows them to see in the ear much more clearly than the thing the ENT doctors use (otoscope?). The audiologist may recommend FastForWord or Earobics; both work on things like phonemic awareness and filtering out background noise.

3. Have an evaluation by an occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder. If you can find one who is trained to administer the Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome, you can get those therapies covered by insurance, if your insurance covers OT.

4. Have an evaluation by a COVD certified developmental optomitrist (sp?). There may not be visual issues since your dd tested high on visual learning, but a few things jumped out of your post that could indicate some visual issues.

5. Use visual supports and manipulatives for teaching, but don't give up on remediating the auditory issues. My dd9 was diagnosed with all four subtypes of APD, but 2 yrs 3 mos later, 2 of the types were within normal ranges. It takes work, but improvement is possible and desirable!

 

Curriculum for visual learners:

Right Start math, Singapore math, Math U See

History - Usborne or Kingfisher books, make a timeline, Veritas Press cards

Language arts - Winston Grammar, graphic organizers for writing

Handwriting - use a salt box, air writing, whiteboard,

Vocabulary - Vocabulary Cartoons

Make flashcards with lots of white space for all subjects

Science - lots of hands on activities, gardening, nature walks, star gazing

Time tables - Times Tales; give her a multiplication chart to use during math, and after looking at it every day, she'll eventually know the facts.

 

Website - www.visualspatial.org

Books - Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World, Upside Down Brilliance, The Mislabeled Child

 

 

argh! I had a long post I was working on and it got eaten when the computer crashed. I don't have time to retype it right now, I'll try again this evening:)

[PeterPan]

On the math, yes I let her use her multiplication table too. I printed one and put it in a page protector. It works because they start to see the relationships and patterns in addition to just the visual input.

[BlueTaelon]

Wow, the money thing is hard. Does your COVD doc have any financial assistance? If he doesn't, I'd look for another who does. Our place had lots of options for people with financial hardships. They had huge discounts for people with certain income brackets. They had payment plans (credit with no interest, etc.).

 

I'm really not meaning to seem crass or insensitive, but my dh and I were just talking last night again about the lengths we would have been willing to go, in hindsight, to get the VT. If it's at all possible, I'd encourage you in that route. Sounds like the COVD doc has seen the need, which means you're not shooting in the dark. Our regular health insurance actually covered one of the months of vision therapy. It's something about how they code things. We don't have eye insurance either. It was our regular medical.

 

Anyways, since you know this is an issue, I would put your money into the COVD exam, not new curriculum. You can homeschool your kid for free using the library.

 

 

Well I just called the old eye dr who was a COVD (she's also the only one within 100 miles and is 50 miles away) and the cheapest is $135 per session and 1 session per week for 12 weeks. The home program is seeing the Dr once a month and is $800 for the 12 weeks. Still far more then we can afford, not to mention the cost to get there. Gas alone would be difficult for us to pay for. We are so low income that most people can't understand. The new school year starts in Aug and I plan on enrolling dd in a parent choice charter school so they would pay for homeschool materials I picked. Right now I'm stringing stuff together to get us by until then so its not a matter of just using school funds to pay for therapy. Anyway the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr about funding options when she comes back on Tuesday.

[PeterPan]

Ok, just to show I'm not insensitive on this curriculum thing, let me toss out some free or basically free options.

 

1) For history, look up the Childhood of Famous Americans series. Your library should have one. I used to have a list of them in chronological order, and if you google you'll find one. Start reading through them. Read, discuss, put the person on a timeline, look up some more online about what was going on in the book. Make a notebook page. Google for an activity. Your library should have plenty of activity books for american history topics. Ask the librarian to help you find them. They'll be in the juvenile non-fiction section.

 

2) WWE. You can get this from the library, and you don't need the workbooks. She probably won't like workbooks and all the writing anyway. So get WWE from the library and do it for 2 weeks, renew for another 2, giving you 4. Now switch and check out FLL 1/2 and do that for 4 weeks. Then go back and do WWE. Or see if your library will give you a teacher's card with a longer checkout. Sometimes the teacher checkout is several months.

 

3)http://www.mrsrenz.net/bookprojects.htm Use the free book report projects from this place. They're AWESOME. The lady won the Disney teacher of the year award. I did these with my dd a year or two ago, and they were very fun. If you do the book projects, subject narrations in history and science, and WWE, you have enough writing.

 

4)If she is a reluctant reader or needs some diversity, make things a bit fun with some kind of chart she fills up. When my dd was younger, I did a "book worm" caterpillar thing with circles where she could put up a new one with the titles and make it grow. Your dd might think that too young, but you could think of something else. One year I did reading worksheets where I wrote different categories of books (poetry, non-fiction, biography, etc.) required her to read one from each genre each week. Beyond that was her deal, but she HAD to read something to fill in each spot. Guess that takes care of your reading program.

 

5) Comics. Ok, may I say that it's time to start breaking some rules? My dd reads like the wind (thanks to years of SWR/WRTR, which we'll get to next), but she is a HUGE, huge, huge comic fan. There are WORTHWHILE comics, and I STRONGLY encourage you to pursue them. Some are more lighthearted and just socially useful like Family Circus or Dennis the Menace, but many will extend her vocabulary and be educational (Calvin & Hobbes, TinTin). Go to your library and show her the comics. Let her stay up at night reading them.

 

6) Audiobooks. You can get these from the library and also from some free sources online. Google free audiobooks and you'll find the places. (My mind fails me at the moment with names.) Reading is NOT the way you become a good reading. You become a good reader because you KNOW the words, having experienced them previously, and RECOGNIZE them when you read them. I tell you that is the reason my dd is a good reader. She couldn't sound out words till we did VT (vision therapy), but she could read like the wind. She listened to hours and hours of audiobooks every day when she was young. Don't underestimate the value. Oh, and no, um, crap. Only CLASSICS. They should be chapter books, stuff she doesn't even necessarily understand. These books should stretch her understanding. All the Lang Fairy Tale books (fabulous), the Narnia series, Uncle Remus stories, Little House on the Prairie, Charlotte's Web, Peter Pan (well I read that aloud myself so I could skip a couple words), etc. etc. Get some of these classics, anything she'll listen to. Put them on in the car. Put them on while she plays. 2-3 hours a day. I'm really, really serious about this. Pudewa (of IEW) has a convention talk where he espouses the virtues of reading aloud, suggesting you could actually spend a whole year doing it. He's dyslexic btw. It's NOT that she'll retain all the specifics. It's that all this stuff is going into her brain. Later, when she starts reading, her brain is going to draw on those things and use them. I know she can't narrate on what you read her or doesn't seem to retain. Do it anyway. 2-3 hours a day. Give her something to do with her hands and put the audiobooks on.

 

7) WRTR. There are a whole family of Orton-Gillingham based programs, but WRTR is the place you can start for free. You *might* even find SWR (Spell to Write and Read) at your library or on inter-library loan. You'll most certainly be able to get WRTR. WRTR =Writing Road to Reading. I know it doesn't bring all the tools AAS has, but the price is right. You can make the AAS manipulatives for free. Just make little index card pieces, write the WRTR phonograms on (they're identical), and put magnets on the back. As you do your WRTR or SWR, use your free cool manipulatives you made. Make your own phonogram and spelling rules flashcards using the info in WRTR. I know you might like something else better, but WRTR will be a very good start FOR FREE. I started with WRTR. I've used WRTR, SWR, and AAS, and I can tell you the others, while great, are conceptually the same. It's all the same content. Each just brings its own tricks and toys. So start with WRTR for free, learn the method, and go into a fancier program later.

 

Side note. She may need further help. Barton has a pre-test. If she can't distinguish vowel sounds, can't make a sound written connection, etc. you'll need some curriculum help there. But again, WRTR is going to clue you into what these issues are. If she can't do those things, then you're going to back up and go more foundational in the skills process. WRTR just gets you started for free, buying you some time, while you sort out all this.

 

8) Science. Ok, my absolute favorite science books of all time are from the American Chemical Society. Go to this link and see if you can get any of these things through your library. The middle school chem is a free download btw, totally free. http://portal.acs.org:80/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_SUPERARTICLE&node_id=180&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=6b0746bb-b02b-4161-b6c8-19ae46e673f7 Also Vicki Cobb has a number of fabulous, fabulous books on science topics that will be in the juvenile non-fiction section of your library. Pick one you like, read it, do the things in it, notebook about it. Don't make it harder than that. It's really and truly ok just to have FUN with this. No sequence, no freakiness about what year of a science sequence you're on. It's really ok just to do lots of things for a while yet while you get her skills in place.

 

Ok, what's left? You want math? I confess math is a lot harder to do free. Can be done, but I'm not that woman. I got a really nifty book on memorizing the times tables from our library, and right now I have dd doing a reproducible pre-algebra workbook I got from the library. As the librarian to help you find any teacher/curriculum resources they have. They may have more than you expect. Your local college or university will have a teacher's resource lab you should visit. They will have MANIPULATIVES, all the same manipulatives you lust for as you read on the boards and more!!! Go visit that resource lab and learn how to check things out from them. Not only will they have math manipulatives, but they should have science materials (the hands-on stuff!) too. Ours welcomes homeschoolers. Go visit yours and see how they can help you.

 

Ok, that's at least a start. Those are the types of things I've been doing with my dd the last couple years, so I'm not pulling junk out of thin air for you. That's how I teach my dd. I left off all the things I've tried with my dd that DIDN'T work, lol. Let me just tell you, you DON'T need curriculum. Some curriculum is really good, especially on that OG thing, where I'd like to see you able to get into a good one someday. But you know in theory you should be able to make even WRTR work for you. Don't buy lots of curriculum. Take advantage of your free resources and put the money into the VT. VT changed my dd's life.

[PeterPan]

Well I just called the old eye dr who was a COVD (she's also the only one within 100 miles and is 50 miles away) and the cheapest is $135 per session and 1 session per week for 12 weeks. The home program is seeing the Dr once a month and is $800 for the 12 weeks. Still far more then we can afford, not to mention the cost to get there. Gas alone would be difficult for us to pay for. We are so low income that most people can't understand. The new school year starts in Aug and I plan on enrolling dd in a parent choice charter school so they would pay for homeschool materials I picked. Right now I'm stringing stuff together to get us by until then so its not a matter of just using school funds to pay for therapy. Anyway the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr about funding options when she comes back on Tuesday.

 

That's comparable to what we paid. Yes, be a squeaky wheel on the assistance thing. These docs know what they do is valuable and changes lives. At our place the motto was they didn't want to turn ANYONE away. Now this was a big practice with some leeway to do that, but still. They really might work with you. Be upfront about how much you want it. Offer to clean their building in the evenings afterward. Pull their heart strings.

 

And yes, I know things are hard. You should have seen the thread on the general board with a poster lamenting. Her kid broke her glasses, and she didn't even have money to get them fixed. It's just hard. There used to be a file up on the web with a COVD doc's vision therapy handbook and exercises. Maybe someone downloaded it? I don't think I ever got around to it.

Edited April 8, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[BlueTaelon]

Comprehensive testing helps see the big picture, but often specialists yield more practical results. Here is what I would do:

 

1. Find an SLP who aggressively treats childrens' language issues, not just speech issues. Have an evaluation to see whether therapy is warranted.

2. Have an evaluation by a specially trained audiologist for auditory processing disorder. There are several subtypes, and knowing which ones apply to your child will help you and other specialists choose effective therapy. The audiologist will start by ruling out hearing loss and fluid in the ears; they use a tympanogram which allows them to see in the ear much more clearly than the thing the ENT doctors use (otoscope?). The audiologist may recommend FastForWord or Earobics; both work on things like phonemic awareness and filtering out background noise.

3. Have an evaluation by an occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder. If you can find one who is trained to administer the Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome, you can get those therapies covered by insurance, if your insurance covers OT.

4. Have an evaluation by a COVD certified developmental optomitrist (sp?). There may not be visual issues since your dd tested high on visual learning, but a few things jumped out of your post that could indicate some visual issues.

5. Use visual supports and manipulatives for teaching, but don't give up on remediating the auditory issues. My dd9 was diagnosed with all four subtypes of APD, but 2 yrs 3 mos later, 2 of the types were within normal ranges. It takes work, but improvement is possible and desirable!

 

Curriculum for visual learners:

Right Start math, Singapore math, Math U See

History - Usborne or Kingfisher books, make a timeline, Veritas Press cards

Language arts - Winston Grammar, graphic organizers for writing

Handwriting - use a salt box, air writing, whiteboard,

Vocabulary - Vocabulary Cartoons

Make flashcards with lots of white space for all subjects

Science - lots of hands on activities, gardening, nature walks, star gazing

Time tables - Times Tales; give her a multiplication chart to use during math, and after looking at it every day, she'll eventually know the facts.

 

Website - www.visualspatial.org

Books - Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World, Upside Down Brilliance, The Mislabeled Child

 

 

ok, lets try this again, I ordered 2 of the 3 books you recommended, Upside Down was insanely expensive for a book and wayyyy out of my budget. I'm reading my way through the website.

 

She already uses a white board for math which works well for her, I just discovered her writing is actually decent when you hand her broken chalk and a lap sized lined chalk board.

 

Yesterday I turned her into a reader:D She HATES reading with a passion! I got her a reading guide strip (made her look through all the colors until she found one that was really easy for her to see with) and sat down and read the first chapter of Robin Hood, was a level 3 I can read book with her. SHE made the decision to read 4 more chapters yesterday on her own then the last 2 this morning! She's decided she really likes reading now as long as she has her reading strip:D Even more surprising she was able to answer questions about the story showing comprehension and retaining memory:) She's made a huge jump in reading fluency just by giving her that strip. A little while ago she brought me a copy of the book Dragon Rider and asked me to read it with her. I think its a bit much right now so I will encourage lots of below grade level reading for fun to get her used to reading. I swear that strip is magic. Want to pick up a couple more when I go into the city next week, she misplaced it last night and was upset that she couldn't keep reading. (I found it this morning on my bed for some reason) I NEVER thought she would willingly read!

 

Getting private evals is not something we can afford period but I did put in a call to her old eye Dr who happens to be a COVD and wanted her to get the VT when she was a preschooler. Their rates are out of our reach and she's the only one within 100 miles but the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr when she comes in Tuesday to see if something can be worked out. I finally got my hands on a paper copy of the school eval test results and they did note problems with visual scanning and tracking.

 

Another thing in that report and I'm ticked at the school. I have a friend who has worked with SN kids for the past 20 years and she said based on how the scores are spread out she's sure she has a language processing disorder. When I talked to the school psych again her reply was "I TOLD you she was a very very visual learner and gets virtually nothing from verbal instruction." Then admitted that yes dd has the problem but she's not allowed to tell me because dd doesn't attend school there. WHAT!? Thats a rather important piece of info I think!

 

They have really got me ticked off on one thing in the report. dd has been enrolled in a k12.com school for 3 years (which I now know was the worst possible program for her and why she fought me tooth and nail). and they refuse to acknowledge that it was in fact public school. "Real education" ONLY happens in a brick and mortar classroom and her not attending school is the reason for all her problems. Yes, they put that in writing! They basically ignored every thing else in the report that they found during testing and seem to think sticking her in a regular classroom is the magic answer. Its not! I have no problem admitting that she may be behind, its because 90%+ of the k12 program was AUDITORY which is a major weakness for her. Not to mention the working memory issues, the processing issues, the visual issues, the listening issues. oh no, it will all be solved by sticking her in a classroom. ugh!

 

Today she grumbled about the school work that I put together for her but she did it without a problem and I made sure it was very visual. HUGE difference in how the day went. I think were on the right track. I just wish CAVA had done the testing like I asked (3 years of asking and they didn't) we could have avoided soooo many problems.

[wapiti]

ok, lets try this again, I ordered 2 of the 3 books you recommended, Upside Down was insanely expensive for a book and wayyyy out of my budget. I'm reading my way through the website.

 

Definitely check your library - many libraries have a copy of Upside Down Brilliance though there's often a waiting list. It's well worth getting on the waiting list. HTH :)

[rafiki]

.

[BlueTaelon]

Definitely check your library - many libraries have a copy of Upside Down Brilliance though there's often a waiting list. It's well worth getting on the waiting list. HTH :)

 

 

They don't have it, in fact they generally don't have 80% of the books I look for lately. Yes thats checking interlibrary loan too. Not that we use the library much, I find its cheaper to buy used on Amazon. No matter what I try (book basket, shelf, backpack, checking the book out from me for short times) my kids can not keep track of books even when its just one. The fees are killer at .25cents a day.

[BlueTaelon]

Talk with the doctor who did the eval directly (I did so in person), let him/her know you have no problem investing the time into therapy (appointments and homework) and truly want this for your dc, but simply can't afford the price that has been quoted. Remind them that being a homeschooler, you are available to come during off peak hours. Ask about possible scholarships for VT or somewhere that may be more willing to work with you financially. I did this just a couple weeks ago and ended up getting VT for three for less than he had originally quote for just one.

 

I will warn you, it is a lot of work. Not just getting to the appointments, but doing the daily homework, and having them physically exhausted afterwards. So make sure you are ready to put the time into it.

 

What exactly do they do that would leave them so exhausted?

[LizzyBee]

ok, lets try this again, I ordered 2 of the 3 books you recommended, Upside Down was insanely expensive for a book and wayyyy out of my budget. I'm reading my way through the website.

 

She already uses a white board for math which works well for her, I just discovered her writing is actually decent when you hand her broken chalk and a lap sized lined chalk board.

 

Yesterday I turned her into a reader:D She HATES reading with a passion! I got her a reading guide strip (made her look through all the colors until she found one that was really easy for her to see with) and sat down and read the first chapter of Robin Hood, was a level 3 I can read book with her. SHE made the decision to read 4 more chapters yesterday on her own then the last 2 this morning! She's decided she really likes reading now as long as she has her reading strip:D Even more surprising she was able to answer questions about the story showing comprehension and retaining memory:) She's made a huge jump in reading fluency just by giving her that strip. A little while ago she brought me a copy of the book Dragon Rider and asked me to read it with her. I think its a bit much right now so I will encourage lots of below grade level reading for fun to get her used to reading. I swear that strip is magic. Want to pick up a couple more when I go into the city next week, she misplaced it last night and was upset that she couldn't keep reading. (I found it this morning on my bed for some reason) I NEVER thought she would willingly read!

 

Getting private evals is not something we can afford period but I did put in a call to her old eye Dr who happens to be a COVD and wanted her to get the VT when she was a preschooler. Their rates are out of our reach and she's the only one within 100 miles but the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr when she comes in Tuesday to see if something can be worked out. I finally got my hands on a paper copy of the school eval test results and they did note problems with visual scanning and tracking.

 

Another thing in that report and I'm ticked at the school. I have a friend who has worked with SN kids for the past 20 years and she said based on how the scores are spread out she's sure she has a language processing disorder. When I talked to the school psych again her reply was "I TOLD you she was a very very visual learner and gets virtually nothing from verbal instruction." Then admitted that yes dd has the problem but she's not allowed to tell me because dd doesn't attend school there. WHAT!? Thats a rather important piece of info I think!

 

They have really got me ticked off on one thing in the report. dd has been enrolled in a k12.com school for 3 years (which I now know was the worst possible program for her and why she fought me tooth and nail). and they refuse to acknowledge that it was in fact public school. "Real education" ONLY happens in a brick and mortar classroom and her not attending school is the reason for all her problems. Yes, they put that in writing! They basically ignored every thing else in the report that they found during testing and seem to think sticking her in a regular classroom is the magic answer. Its not! I have no problem admitting that she may be behind, its because 90%+ of the k12 program was AUDITORY which is a major weakness for her. Not to mention the working memory issues, the processing issues, the visual issues, the listening issues. oh no, it will all be solved by sticking her in a classroom. ugh!

 

Today she grumbled about the school work that I put together for her but she did it without a problem and I made sure it was very visual. HUGE difference in how the day went. I think were on the right track. I just wish CAVA had done the testing like I asked (3 years of asking and they didn't) we could have avoided soooo many problems.

 

I know it's hard to read about therapies that worked for other kids and not be able to afford them. But you know, as valuable as therapy was, I'm convinced the biggest factor in my dd's progress is what we've done at home. The day-to-day plugging away, one small step at a time. I know someone who spent 2 years teaching her son the alphabet. I met him when he was 14, and he is a very smart, articulate young man. And he reads. :001_smile:

 

I wish the author or publisher would do another printing of Upside Down Brilliance. If your library doesn't have it, they might be able to get it for you through interlibrary loan.

 

If you google eye exercises or something similar, you might find some things to do at home. Even if it's slower and less effective than therapy, it might help. And now that you've found the trick to get your dd reading, her tracking will start improving just from reading. For auditory, I'd get Earobics. It's about $70, I think.

 

That is fabulous that your dd is reading willingly and with comprehension. Sometimes, it's the little things that make the biggest difference!

[merry gardens]

ok, lets try this again, I ordered 2 of the 3 books you recommended, Upside Down was insanely expensive for a book and wayyyy out of my budget. I'm reading my way through the website.

 

She already uses a white board for math which works well for her, I just discovered her writing is actually decent when you hand her broken chalk and a lap sized lined chalk board.

 

Yesterday I turned her into a reader:D She HATES reading with a passion! I got her a reading guide strip (made her look through all the colors until she found one that was really easy for her to see with) and sat down and read the first chapter of Robin Hood, was a level 3 I can read book with her. SHE made the decision to read 4 more chapters yesterday on her own then the last 2 this morning! She's decided she really likes reading now as long as she has her reading strip:D Even more surprising she was able to answer questions about the story showing comprehension and retaining memory:) She's made a huge jump in reading fluency just by giving her that strip. A little while ago she brought me a copy of the book Dragon Rider and asked me to read it with her. I think its a bit much right now so I will encourage lots of below grade level reading for fun to get her used to reading. I swear that strip is magic. Want to pick up a couple more when I go into the city next week, she misplaced it last night and was upset that she couldn't keep reading. (I found it this morning on my bed for some reason) I NEVER thought she would willingly read!

 

Getting private evals is not something we can afford period but I did put in a call to her old eye Dr who happens to be a COVD and wanted her to get the VT when she was a preschooler. Their rates are out of our reach and she's the only one within 100 miles but the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr when she comes in Tuesday to see if something can be worked out. I finally got my hands on a paper copy of the school eval test results and they did note problems with visual scanning and tracking.

 

Another thing in that report and I'm ticked at the school. I have a friend who has worked with SN kids for the past 20 years and she said based on how the scores are spread out she's sure she has a language processing disorder. When I talked to the school psych again her reply was "I TOLD you she was a very very visual learner and gets virtually nothing from verbal instruction." Then admitted that yes dd has the problem but she's not allowed to tell me because dd doesn't attend school there. WHAT!? Thats a rather important piece of info I think!

 

They have really got me ticked off on one thing in the report. dd has been enrolled in a k12.com school for 3 years (which I now know was the worst possible program for her and why she fought me tooth and nail). and they refuse to acknowledge that it was in fact public school. "Real education" ONLY happens in a brick and mortar classroom and her not attending school is the reason for all her problems. Yes, they put that in writing! They basically ignored every thing else in the report that they found during testing and seem to think sticking her in a regular classroom is the magic answer. Its not! I have no problem admitting that she may be behind, its because 90%+ of the k12 program was AUDITORY which is a major weakness for her. Not to mention the working memory issues, the processing issues, the visual issues, the listening issues. oh no, it will all be solved by sticking her in a classroom. ugh!

 

Today she grumbled about the school work that I put together for her but she did it without a problem and I made sure it was very visual. HUGE difference in how the day went. I think were on the right track. I just wish CAVA had done the testing like I asked (3 years of asking and they didn't) we could have avoided soooo many problems.

Since you mentioned that colored reading strips helped your daughter, I have two more book recommendations for you--both by Helen Irlen. The books are similar (and they repeat each other a lot.) I was able to find them at my library.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Irlen-Revolution-Guide-Changing-Perception/dp/0757002366/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3OFE3EVFPPF5G&colid=1GJJMBPWT1JSK

 

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Colors-Revised-Helen-Irlen/dp/0399531564/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I34GJ0ZUC6HR5D&colid=1GJJMBPWT1JSK

 

Upside Down Brilliance is out of print. I buy a lot of books, but I wasn't going to pay that price! I put my name on a library list and waited for a long time, but eventually I got it from the library too.

 

I'm finding this thread really interesting. Another wife of a dyslexic engineer here.

[BlueTaelon]

Since you mentioned that colored reading strips helped your daughter, I have two more book recommendations for you--both by Helen Irlen. The books are similar (and they repeat each other a lot.) I was able to find them at my library.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Irlen-Revolution-Guide-Changing-Perception/dp/0757002366/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3OFE3EVFPPF5G&colid=1GJJMBPWT1JSK

 

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Colors-Revised-Helen-Irlen/dp/0399531564/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I34GJ0ZUC6HR5D&colid=1GJJMBPWT1JSK

 

Upside Down Brilliance is out of print. I buy a lot of books, but I wasn't going to pay that price! I put my name on a library list and waited for a long time, but eventually I got it from the library too.

 

I'm finding this thread really interesting. Another wife of a dyslexic engineer here.

 

Her research is why I went looking for the strips, I was actually looking for page overlays. My friend misunderstood what I was looking for and said they had them at the school supply store but the trip was still worth it. Going to check office supply stores when I go into the city next week.

[PeterPan]

On this reading guide strip, is she looking *through* the strip, using it as a colored overlay? Or is she using the guide to block out the other info and only see one line at a time? See if it's covering info to allow her to see one line at a time and that helps the reading, then my guess is that's because of supression. When they tested my dd, they had her read with infrared goggles on that could track eye movement. When the eyes don't focus and converge correctly (the two images, one from each eye, converging to form ONE), then the brain gets doubled or blurry vision. Well the brain isn't stupid, and to resolve it the brain turns OFF one of those eyes. That supression can alternate, with the brain bouncing back and forth between eyes. When that happens the eyes lose track of where they were and end up backtracking, skipping lines, etc. So your reading guide gives her less to look at at a time and lessens the issue. It doesn't get rid of it, but there's an actual physical reason why it helps.

 

And no, just reading more won't make it go away. There are actually some free online exercises you can do. I came across the link before I started my dd in VT. Problem for us was she couldn't DO them. They required more of a starting point than my dd even had.

 

Well keep working on it. I'm not sure what kind of prices they quoted you. I've heard some whacky numbers. Our evaluation cost $250 for 2 1/2 hours with the doc, and while that's a lot of money, it's not $1000 or something like I've heard some people quote.

[BlueTaelon]

On this reading guide strip, is she looking *through* the strip, using it as a colored overlay? Or is she using the guide to block out the other info and only see one line at a time? See if it's covering info to allow her to see one line at a time and that helps the reading, then my guess is that's because of supression. When they tested my dd, they had her read with infrared goggles on that could track eye movement. When the eyes don't focus and converge correctly (the two images, one from each eye, converging to form ONE), then the brain gets doubled or blurry vision. Well the brain isn't stupid, and to resolve it the brain turns OFF one of those eyes. That supression can alternate, with the brain bouncing back and forth between eyes. When that happens the eyes lose track of where they were and end up backtracking, skipping lines, etc. So your reading guide gives her less to look at at a time and lessens the issue. It doesn't get rid of it, but there's an actual physical reason why it helps.

 

And no, just reading more won't make it go away. There are actually some free online exercises you can do. I came across the link before I started my dd in VT. Problem for us was she couldn't DO them. They required more of a starting point than my dd even had.

 

Well keep working on it. I'm not sure what kind of prices they quoted you. I've heard some whacky numbers. Our evaluation cost $250 for 2 1/2 hours with the doc, and while that's a lot of money, it's not $1000 or something like I've heard some people quote.

 

Its one of these, the pink area is transparent. It blocks out everything line by line.

[ondreeuh]

 

For the spoon feeding I mean ME, scripted lessons, that sorta thing. We used a k12.com school for the past 3 years because "I" need the hand holding and everything laid out for me. I know now the k12 school was one of the WORST possible choices I could have made, I literally had to read everything to her. It was probably 95% auditory and 5% visual and she would fight me tooth and nail to do the work. Now I understand why after seeing her scores and how she's processing information. I know dyslexia does not mean dumb, my sister was a straight A student from elementary to college even though she was dyslexic. It was caught in 1st grade and she was given the supports to help her succeed.

 

Take another look at the curricula I recommend. The reasons they are working so well is because they are straightforward to implement, are efficient, and are methodical. I've tried many other things that were just too scattered and required me to plan/tweak too much. They are also relatively inexpensive. Since my son is so much like your dd, I think they would be a good place to start.

[BlueTaelon]

Take another look at the curricula I recommend. The reasons they are working so well is because they are straightforward to implement, are efficient, and are methodical. I've tried many other things that were just too scattered and required me to plan/tweak too much. They are also relatively inexpensive. Since my son is so much like your dd, I think they would be a good place to start.

 

 

I am looking at it, do you have a URL for Writing Skills? I'm getting a ton of hits so its not easy to narrow down.

 

It sounds like apples and pears would be a good choice for spelling over AAS but I ran into a tiny little problem this morning doing the placement test. I am a natural reader, what phonics I know if from listing to the kids watch LeapFrog. I'm assuming the 1st placement test is checking for phonemic awareness? umm... yeah, I need to figure out what some of those sounds are lol. Some days youtube is my best friend:) (I paid for HeadSpout to teach my dd to read so phonics is not something I had to deal with)

 

For reading I'm still trying to figure out where she's at, her reading level is a lot higher then I expected once I gave her that reading guide. She was insistent on reading that Dragon Rider book last night and I explained my concerns and she cheerily told me that if its to hard she will just find another book but she REALLY wants to read that book. She did fine, there were a number of words that were new to her that she easily decoded and figured out. The book is listed as being for 9-12 year olds and 4-6th grade reading level.

 

For history I'd like to cover the middle ages, thats more likely to keep her interest.

 

I'm reading around and It sounds like The Sentence Family sounds like it might be a good add on (grr can't get the darn italics to turn off!) for writing.

 

 

[ondreeuh]

We don't do anything specific for reading. Apples and Pears teaches the morphemes, and it is helping him increase fluency in reading. I know AAS sells a CD of the phonograms but there should be a free resource somewhere. The most important thing is to isolate the sounds ("b" instead of "buh") and to use the short vowel sounds for single vowels.

 

Writing Skills is by EPS. I bought it through Rainbow Resource. My son is doing Book A, and then we will either switch to something else or just practice the skills before doing Book 1 in the fall (there's a bit of overlap).

 

Whatever you use for history and science, I would make sure it's a mix of reading, writing, activities, videos, etc. to address all learning styles.

[Dobela]

Well I just called the old eye dr who was a COVD (she's also the only one within 100 miles and is 50 miles away) and the cheapest is $135 per session and 1 session per week for 12 weeks. The home program is seeing the Dr once a month and is $800 for the 12 weeks. Still far more then we can afford, not to mention the cost to get there. Gas alone would be difficult for us to pay for. We are so low income that most people can't understand. The new school year starts in Aug and I plan on enrolling dd in a parent choice charter school so they would pay for homeschool materials I picked. Right now I'm stringing stuff together to get us by until then so its not a matter of just using school funds to pay for therapy. Anyway the receptionist said she would talk to the Dr about funding options when she comes back on Tuesday.

If you have state insurance (Medicaid), it will often pay for vision therapy. The Covd doc willhave to reassess every six weeks and be preapproved before doing any sessions though.

[Dobela]

What exactly do they do that would leave them so exhausted?

They will be retraining the brain. The eyes will be pushed to their limits to work together. Both are just tired because it is hard work. My son would be so tired after 45 minutes in the beginning that he would take a nap after each session and homework time. After several weeks he was not as tired, and by the end there was not any fatigue.

[BlueTaelon]

If you have state insurance (Medicaid), it will often pay for vision therapy. The Covd doc willhave to reassess every six weeks and be preapproved before doing any sessions though.

 

 

I will have to ask, I know years ago it wasn't covered. Maybe its state specific?

[cat]

I have two dyslexic kids, one mild and one profound. I used Barton Reading and Spelling with them. My mild child has only finished book 4 and while it would be great to finish it, he is reading 8th grade books. My profound has a harder time with it all....but is making great strides. We also use Great Leaps for fluency.

 

I have a friend who uses All About Spelling and is having lots of success with it.

 

We use Teaching Textbooks for math and my kids are doing great with them.

 

I have been doing my best to get them to switch from print to cursive writing which will help with all the backward letters.

 

We use SOS for history and my son is able to highlight what he can't read and have the computer read it to him.

 

I have also found that they are both mixed dominance and I have been working to get them aligned. They write with their right hand but they are left eye and ear dominant. I believe, getting them aligned will help with coordination.

 

I've enjoyed reading all the posts!

[PeterPan]

I know there are some practitioners of various types who say you should have all the dominances the same, at our VT place they left the dominances. Tiger Woods is left eye, right hand, so clearly mixed dominances CAN work. In fact, they said that's part of why he's so good--he sees with his dominant eye while he's stroking with his dominant hand. The thing they didn't like was indeterminant dominances. But as long as it was established, they left it.

 

Just something to consider.

[Dobela]

I will have to ask, I know years ago it wasn't covered. Maybe its state specific?

In my state it is covered under vision. The whole eval was paid for as part of the vision assessment. After ds qualified the doc had to submit scores and reasoning for VT. That took about a month for approval. After that we never had a lapse in visits but I do know that screenings and other short assessments were done and resubmitted every few weeks so they could get approval for the next cycle.

[Catherine]

Just and FYI regarding comics: my kids LOVE the Asterix comics. Also Tin-tin, but Asterix is special. Covers some ancient history in the mix too.

[BlueTaelon]

Comprehensive testing helps see the big picture, but often specialists yield more practical results. Here is what I would do:

 

1. Find an SLP who aggressively treats childrens' language issues, not just speech issues. Have an evaluation to see whether therapy is warranted.

2. Have an evaluation by a specially trained audiologist for auditory processing disorder. There are several subtypes, and knowing which ones apply to your child will help you and other specialists choose effective therapy. The audiologist will start by ruling out hearing loss and fluid in the ears; they use a tympanogram which allows them to see in the ear much more clearly than the thing the ENT doctors use (otoscope?). The audiologist may recommend FastForWord or Earobics; both work on things like phonemic awareness and filtering out background noise.

3. Have an evaluation by an occupational therapist for sensory processing disorder. If you can find one who is trained to administer the Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome, you can get those therapies covered by insurance, if your insurance covers OT.

4. Have an evaluation by a COVD certified developmental optomitrist (sp?). There may not be visual issues since your dd tested high on visual learning, but a few things jumped out of your post that could indicate some visual issues.

5. Use visual supports and manipulatives for teaching, but don't give up on remediating the auditory issues. My dd9 was diagnosed with all four subtypes of APD, but 2 yrs 3 mos later, 2 of the types were within normal ranges. It takes work, but improvement is possible and desirable!

 

 

I have been on the phone for ohhh, 4-5 hours today and discovered there is grant money for VT, we will have to pay $200 but the grant will cover the other $400 for the exam and eval. We have an appt for the 2nd of next mo:) We'll see about the cost of the actual VT after the exam is done.

 

Finding out where to get checked for CAPD was a run around from hades but I finally got to someone who could help and it turns out the nearest place is the childrens hospital 170 miles away. I can deal with that, we go there on a regular basis anyway. Best of all, my crappy insurance company may actually pay for the eval! I have to submit the school dist LD test stuff, info on CAPD and why we need the childrens hospital instead of the local cheap audiologist (he doesn't test for it) but speech and audiology services are covered so it might work.

[PeterPan]

Oh hurray!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest jessroweharris]

I am so thankful to have found this post and for all of the wonderful replies and suggestions. My dd (just turned 7) was diagnosed with severe dyslexia (NO phonemic awareness, at the time of testing last fall she still couldn't even tell you what sound every letter of the alphabet made, she could only *read* her name and a few other names that she had seen over and over as well as store logos like Target that she sees all the time), Sensory Processing Disorder/probable Auditory Processing Disorder. We decided to start with neurofeedback which unfortunately was VERY expensive. It helped SO much. In four months, she learned to make connections between the printed letters and sounds and started retaining what she was learning. We also started using the Snapwords cards from Child 1st publications and the Kid Friendly Addition & Subtraction also from Child 1st Publications. I can't say enough good things about that company - everything they make is for visual/right brained/dyslexic/ADD kids. The snapwords have changed my daughter's life - she now knows so many sight words that she can *read* the level 1 and 2 readers that are mostly sight words. Now if I could just figure out how to help her learn phonics....

 

Anyway, that's really exciting that you found a great for the vision therapy! I think we probably should look into vision therapy as well. We finally got insurance approval for 3 sessions with an Occupational Therapy to start next week.

[LizzyBee]

I am so thankful to have found this post and for all of the wonderful replies and suggestions. My dd (just turned 7) was diagnosed with severe dyslexia (NO phonemic awareness, at the time of testing last fall she still couldn't even tell you what sound every letter of the alphabet made, she could only *read* her name and a few other names that she had seen over and over as well as store logos like Target that she sees all the time), Sensory Processing Disorder/probable Auditory Processing Disorder. We decided to start with neurofeedback which unfortunately was VERY expensive. It helped SO much. In four months, she learned to make connections between the printed letters and sounds and started retaining what she was learning. We also started using the Snapwords cards from Child 1st publications and the Kid Friendly Addition & Subtraction also from Child 1st Publications. I can't say enough good things about that company - everything they make is for visual/right brained/dyslexic/ADD kids. The snapwords have changed my daughter's life - she now knows so many sight words that she can *read* the level 1 and 2 readers that are mostly sight words. Now if I could just figure out how to help her learn phonics....

 

Anyway, that's really exciting that you found a great for the vision therapy! I think we probably should look into vision therapy as well. We finally got insurance approval for 3 sessions with an Occupational Therapy to start next week.

 

At the NC dyslexia conference in February, one of the psychologists who spoke said that the results from neurofeedback so far are very promising. I'm glad you were able to do that for your dd.

 

As for learning phonics, phonemic awareness needs to be remediated first. The premiere curriculum for this is Lindamood Bell Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS). I bought the clinical kit from http://www.linguisystems.com rather than the publisher because Linguisystems offers free shipping, a $35 savings. After LiPS, the next step is using an Orton-Gillingham based reading curriculum. They range from Recipe for Reading for $25 which teaches you how to design your own OG program to Barton Reading and Spelling which is sold in 10 modules for a total of $2900, but tells you exactly what to do and takes your student through a 9th grade reading level. The modules have a good resale value and can be sold to help pay for the next level. Wilson is a mid-priced OG curriculum that is also popular with homeschoolers.

 

This is probably not what you want to hear, but if you want to remediate the auditory portion of your dd's reading skills, I would stop teaching her sight words. The more she learns to compensate with visual skills, the harder it will be for her to get motivated to work on the auditory skills. I would read aloud to her and let her listen to as many audiobooks as she wants to, but I wouldn't let her read by sight.

 

This is a really good yahoo group for homeschoolers who have kids who struggle with reading: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeartofReading/

 

This is my favorite website about dyslexia: http://www.dys-add.com. The woman who owns the website is certified in about 8 different OG programs and she's written her own (Barton Reading).

 

My favorite book about dyslexia is The Everything Parents Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall.

 

My favorite book about learning disabilities is The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide. They are medical doctors who homeschooled their own kids for a time because of LDs, so they have a nice balance between the theoretical and the practical.

 

I hope something here helps. Welcome to the boards!